Courtesy of Jonathan M.
Photograph by James Randklev/Getty Images
Here in Florida, the housing overhang is a huge concern and will continue to affect the economy for the foreseeable future. Although Florida has this rather movie star image with residents like John Travolta and Tiger Woods (no state income tax) the truth is rather more mundane.
For a long time, the Florida economy has depended on the construction of huge tracts of retirement homes in sprawling subdivisions that were sold to comfortably off General Motors retirees, retired cops from New York, and so on. Huge numbers of people had well paid jobs in construction, and there were numerous small businesses laying carpet, planting the obligatory two palm trees, and mowing the neatly kept lawns. These developments were (are) serviced by every mushrooming strip malls containing Super Walmarts, Dollar Trees, and a few other stores.
Now all that has ended and it’s not coming back in a hurry. Huge numbers of these out of work men are now dependent on the income of their wives and girlfriends working as nurses or nursing assistants in Florida’s numerous hospitals and nursing homes, or as cashiers in the supermarkets. The money for the wide screen HDTVs has dried up, and the strip clubs stand empty on payday nights. Even prostitutes have a hard time getting takers for 2-for-1 specials, because the money just isn’t there. Even if the unemployed want to make a living flipping burgers, the burgers are not there to be flipped, or they are already being flipped by someone else who wants to continue flipping.
Even if Mr. Obama was to fly in and wave a magic wand, not much would change. Governor Rick Scott is pursuing a strategy of trying to lure corporations from other states that don’t mind relocating to a hurricane zone, but while we wait for them to come, he is laying off state employees with a vengeance. Even prisoners are not safe, as they are increasingly being kicked out of their cots and sent out into the cold hard world to earn a living.
*****
Excerpts from comments:
-
ilene
Are you joking: "Even prostitutes have a hard time getting takers for 2-for-1 specials, because the money just isn’t there." Or have you done some independent research? Do they carry "special 2-for-1" signs wherever the appropriate hangout may be?
-
drcraig
2-for-1 specials?? Maybe I will visit Mom for Thanksgiving after all!
In all seriousness, it’s hard to imagine how this could reverse.
-
ilene
I don’t see how it can reverse, short of something majorly catastrophic to the current status quo.
-
jmm1951
Ilene,
I was joking, but give me a few minutes and I might be able to find some documentation to support the thesis.
-
jmm1951
Ilene/2 for 1
Well I couldn’t find anything as specific as that, but look at the link below. You will see that the lady concerned has reduced her rates to $70 per hour compared to $80 per hour last time she advertised, a discount of 15% over last week, which even allowing for possible depreciation of her assets must cut into her margins.
http://sarasota.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/come-and-let-me-do-the-work-70-incall-special-fun-sweet-cute-and-100-real-25/4773010
-
jmm1951
Ilene
Of course what I have written above may not necessarily match the opinions of economists. I am now retired, but a year ago, I had administrative responsibility for a Crisis Stabilization Unit in North Florida and we were seeing a lot of young unemployed guys from the construction business coming on weekends following suicidal gestures, often related to arguments with the girlfriend along the lines of "Why don’t you get a job instead of sitting around the house drinking while I’m at work?" I also heard stories from many of the hundreds of employees I had contact with about the problems their husbands, boyfriends, and sons were having finding work. I had a deal with injured employees and talked to people who had cut themselves in their $10 an hour job in the kitchen, which they had taken on after being used to making $40 per hour in construction plus overtime. The wife of a friend of mine has not worked for nearly three years. One month she made $14,000 in commissions as a real estate sales lady selling condos for a developer. On the strength of her success they bought rental properties which subsequently were foreclosed on and they filed for bankruptcy to avoid a deficiency judgment. In the Mexican supermarket near by house where I often pick up a few items, nearly all the other customers seem to use Food Stamps debit cards.
There are some reports that tourism is up, but the occupancy rates in the hotels in the area where I live are extremely low. You just have to see the number of cars outside.
Jmm, thanks for sharing your observations about the sad state of Florida’s economy. As for the 2-for-1, I’m reminded of this article which I recently posted: http://www.philstockworld.com/2011/09/27/cheap-dates/. This trend is probably a big negative for escort/prostitution businesses. ~ Ilene
