Gov. Jeb Bush has created this commission to enhance the state's senior friendly image.  What should be Florida's most important promotional asset is also its own worst and very important liability: the residents and retirees already in Florida are also the parents of baby boomers and have friends or relatives who are potential retirees.  These people come to us for advice and guidance for the simple reason that we live here.  We speak honestly to them about Florida's many advantages and Florida's many problems.
 
Virtually anyone who has attempted to retire in Florida can relate horror stories affecting almost every aspect of life for the elderly: building frauds; insurance frauds; code enforcement irregularities; health care problems; difficulty finding a trustworthy and competent doctor; difficulty finding a professionally run hospital; homeowner association tyranny - the litany is long.
 
For most individuals, their home represents their most important asset and investment.  Most elderly retirees live either in condos which are state "regulated" or homeowners' associations (with both members and non-members) that are not state regulated.  It is hard to believe but the state refuses to regulate homeowners associations and gives them legal status without any checks or investigations for legitimacy thus allowing these HOAs to take away a person's home through the process of lien whether that claim of assessment is legitimate legally or not.  The HOA is a legal no-man's land.  The only recourse under Florida's irresponsible and reprehensible system is for the homeowner to sue in a dubious court system with attorney fees among the highest in the nation - hardly a viable option.  Is this senior friendly?
 
State Senator Locke Burt, now running for Attorney General, has been quoted as calling Florida the "rip-off capital of the world."  Can this be senior friendly?
 
Unless this commission addresses these very real problems and their root causes: failure of local, county, and state governments to enforce their own laws, granting agencies great authorities without any oversight or accountability, potential retirees will see ALL promotions as the hype and baloney that they are.  We would also note here that the valiant efforts of groups like CyberCitizens for Justice and the heroic reformers like Willow Vance and Professor Evan McKenzie, author of PRIVATOPIA and others have been virtually ignored.  This is a grave mistake and very short sighted.  Constructive criticism is always welcomed by the fairminded.
 
This commission is well aware that Florida has a badly tarnished image created largely by the incompetence and lethargy of its own government and bureaucratic structure.  The baby boomer population that you wish to "lure" is better educated, better informed, more politically aware and more environmentally conscious than our generation.  They are not too easily fooled.
 
You good people on this commission have a moral obligation to bring about substantive changes at all levels of Florida government and law enforcement.  We wish you success.  We will be happy to work with you to make Florida truly senior friendly.
 
Respectfully submitted:        Anthony C. Diliberto, retired consultant, E.I. duPont de Nemours
                                                Judith M. Diliberto, retired professor, New York State Univ. system