State economists report that they project Florida will collect $31.4-billion less in taxes than expected over the next four years. Why? Fewer people are moving to the state for the first time since air conditioning was invented.
According to the St. Petersburg Times, our governors and legislators relied for years on population growth to create jobs, avoid raising taxes and shield the state from recession. They saw Florida’s population swell annually by 2 to 3 percent, enough to add a city the size of Miami or Tampa each year.
Every few years, an event would expose weaknesses in Florida’s economic system: a recession in 1991, a school overcrowding crisis in 1997, a steep drop in tourism after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. But the growth machine always roared back to life — until now.
With the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch and the flatlining of the population, the twin industries that buffered Florida through two previous recessions, real estate and construction, are weighing down Florida’s economy, complicating a recovery and making it likely Florida will be among the last to bounce back.
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