The Florida Economy--It Really Is That Bad

I live in Florida, and not even a very heavily populated part of Florida. Now, the big cities of Florida--as few and far between as they might be--might be hanging on in this troubled economy--I doubt it, because Florida is sustained by wealth that often comes from other places, and the wealth of many has been diminished on many fronts, and by many causes. Here in my little town, we are suffering. And I want people to know it. Here in my little town, the mortgage crisis and glut of foreclosed homes has hit new construction badly. In fact, it has stalled construction of residential properties altogether. Those who worked in and around the construction industry have found themselves without a job. Unemployment in my burg is officially 9.8%--but probably more. One in ten families are on food stamps. Food banks are seeing types of people they have never seen before, and their inventory is getting dangerously low. Homes sit empty, and cities are having to scramble to find SOMEONE responsible for their upkeep while in that limbo state between foreclosure and resale. And cuts are being made in the state budget of Florida that affect teachers, administrative workers, and other government services. In a word, it's bad here--very bad--and likely to get worse. Instead of seeing an increase in people retiring to Florida's sunshine, the state is seeing a drop, as those in colder areas of the country give up their dream of retiring in the sun. That means a smaller tax base, and less money for schools and services that would, in fact, draw even more people to Florida. We are snowballing downward in this state, and I don't see any turnaround for some time.

Those who doubt the value of a 'stimulus' for our economy should try living here for a while. We are NOT sustained by any government spending at the moment, and that's why we are heading into a downward spiral. There is no big-city-money and investing at the moment, and the people that live here are tightening belts and trying to help other family members that have found themselves in the economic doldrums of our time. That means even LESS money to sustain remaining businesses here, because the money will be tied up helping others. See the pattern? We have to get out of it somehow--not only here but in communities all across the nation.

I like to think of the nation's economy in the same way I think of my own. If a time of great trouble occurs, we may have to extend our credit in order to get through it, knowing all the while that it will put off some other dreams we had for the future, or re-arranging priorities to accommodate those dreams. We will have to do that as a nation, too. We may not be able to do the foreign aid we would have liked to prop up other governments. We might not be able to flex our military might as we are used to. We might not be able to 'take offense' whenever some tin-horn nation rattles a sword or lets out a cry in a threatening tone. We may have to remember our OWN goals and our OWN needs first.

Reality sucks--and we are waist-deep in it lately. Let's not listen to those making promises we know can't come true. And let's listen hard for the voices of reality--and sanity.