Economic report: With a really bad financial outlook, Florida is ‘a state in trouble’
July 15, 2009 at 5:00 am by Wayne Garcia
Reading through the latest report from the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy I felt the words of Jeffrey Lebowski (”The Dude”) come to mind: “That’s a bummer, man.”
I have never seen Florida’s economy and shortcomings so well explained and so depressing and dire. Here are the report’s conclusion:
Key indicators of the health of Florida’s economy point to a state in trouble.
Of particular concern for the future will be the need to direct spending to the most important priorities of the state, such as investments in education that will strengthen the capacity of Florida residents to prosper in a different kind of economy, with the goal of producing higher-paid jobs. The traditional drivers of economic growth in Florida have weakened and in some cases there is no prospect for change in the near future. Population growth is not expected to match the historic post-World War II rate, providing less demand for new homes and other construction – demand that spurs economic activity. The huge supply of existing houses for sale will further depress construction and economic activity which, in turn, will dampen tax revenue collected by the state. As the recession wanes, tourism spending will begin to recover, and so will jobs in that sector of the economy. But most of those are of the low-wage service variety — not the kind of higher-wage occupations around which to build a vibrant economy.
Creating an economy with better jobs in the future will be made more difficult against the backdrop of state funding in many areas that has long been inadequate and now is being further cut as a national recession drives down the tax revenues needed to pay for government services.
Still not at panic attack stage yet? Try these bullet points:
Much of Florida’s economic well-being over the past few decades was tied to growth in population. The state’s population is now stagnant, however, and the proportion of children and youth – Florida’s future work force – is declining.
Florida’s rate of growth in income per person has fallen to 45th in the country.
The percentage of residents of Florida living in poverty has increased. About 180,000 more Floridians were living in poverty in 2007 than 2006. More than one out of every 10 people living in Florida receives food stamps.
The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest in Florida is widening and the gap between the richest fifth of Floridians and the middle fifth is even more dramatic.
The rate of growth in Florida’s gross state product – the value of goods and services we produce – has slowed over the past three years to where it ranks 47th in the nation.
Florida’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country and exceeds 10%.
Foreclosures in Florida quadrupled over the last three years.
Almost half of the state’s jobs are compensated at less than 150% of the federal poverty level, indicating the difficulty workers face in supporting themselves and their families.
Per capita state government spending in Florida is less than the national average and ranks 44th in the country.
Florida spends a smaller share of its budget on elementary and secondary education and higher education than most states, and spends a greater share on corrections than all but two.
The results of state spending are substandard, according to various measures:
1. Florida’s high school graduation rate is 45th in the country.
2. Florida’s health system is ranked 45th nationally.
3. Tens of thousands of Florida’s elderly and disabled are on waitlists for services and generally wait years to gain access to programs they need.
4. Waitlists for people with mental health and substance abuse needs are also prevalent and lengthy; 190,000 adults needing mental health services are not receiving them and 265,000 children with emotional and developmental needs are not receiving services they need.
Here is the entire report, in .pdf format. 022_final-well-being-report
