If you’re not already depressed about the state of our state, don’t read the story in Time magazine that seems to suggest that the Sunshine State is crashing and burning.
Writer Michael Grunwald, who lives in Miami, says there is trouble in paradise.
“We’re facing our worst real estate meltdown since the Depression. We’ve got a water crisis, insurance crisis, environmental crisis and budget crisis to go with our housing crisis,” he writes.
“We’re first in the nation in mortgage fraud, second in foreclosures, last in high school graduation rates.”
Population is also stagnant and the Florida Legislature would rather focus on the State song than more substantive issues.
There’s more, but read it for yourself. You’ll also see a familiar name quoted in the story: USF historian, Gary Mormino.
He says to Grunwald, “The dream is fading. People think Florida is too crowded, too expensive, too crazy, too many immigrants – name your malady.”
We have a lot of maladies – far too many to list here.
But is the dream really dead? Has Sunshine State really lost its luster?
What do you think?
Reality Czech
1 year ago
Don’t blame the satte song thing squarely on the Legislature…there are enough clowns there as it is, but the song issue was pushed by the Clown Prince Himself, Governor Stupid.
He gets far too many free passes by the media in this state. It’s time they sharpen the knives and let Floridians know what a joke Tallahassee has become.
That his popularity ratings continue in the stratosphere shows an ignorance or willful blindness of most Floridians.
But perhaps ignorant Floridians was the wholepoint of the Time article.
alex pickett
1 year ago
I’m not that old, but I’ve been hearing this kind of talk about Florida since I was a kid. Florida has always been the wang of the country for several different reasons (most notably poor schools and low wages)… but I don’t think it’ll ever stop wide-eyed people from moving here with a dream. Florida won’t go under, just get even crazier…
Clyde
1 year ago
I think we’ve been here before – 1920’s – and likely will be there again, because we don’t learn. One of the problems is that our nice weather attracts crooks who like to steal year-round in comfort (Hiassen has it right)And we have an ignorant electorate (thanks to our fine school system) that continues to elect ignorant politicians who make it easier for them. We get pretty much what we deserve. Florida is a great place to live – if you have money – because the state is run for the benefit of people with money.
calebism
1 year ago
Florida is North America’s liver– it filters out the toxins and cleanses the rest of the continent. Good for North America, bad for the peninsula.
Ben Fry
1 year ago
I love Florida and am willing to fight for it. It’s funny, because if this were pretty much any other state (like my native Indiana, for example) and things got bad, I would leave for greener pastures. It would only make sense. But there’s something about Florida that makes retreat unacceptable. I can’t exactly explain it, but I have sand and palm trees in my blood.
There are a lot of people here who don’t love Florida. People who moved here just to escape the snow, or because of Florida’s iconic image as a vacation playground, etc., but still carry a torch for their native states (New Yorkers?) and believe where they came from is so much better than Florida. In some ways they may be right (see: schools, economy, leadership, and on and on and on). Hopefully, they will leave and I will applaud them. I encourage them to go now. Right now.
Hopefully, then we will be left with a population of Floridians who will demand better stewardship of this pristine piece of real estate. We have something special here. Those of us who truly care about FL will wait it out and work to better it.
AC
1 year ago
Caught “Follow That Dream” with Elvis this past weekend (it was filmed in Florida) and I was so melancholy to see what Florida used to look like when I was a child.
I have been told a number of times by retirees that they should not have to pay for education via taxes because they have already paid for their children’s and grand-children’s education somewhere else. Some tourists reported me to a supervisor for using “big words.”
The Florida that I and my parents, and grandparents knew is gone for good. At least I have photos
GKR
1 year ago
Yes, I am hoping that the current exodus strips the State of all of the losers who’ve came down here because we’re at the end of I-75 and they are trying to escape: the law; having a job; a messy divorce; or reality in general. Many are merely cheap-a** tax dodging extremists.
As I have said before, this State is a siren that draws the idealistic to the rock, and as such, it can kill you.
But if all of the losers leave it will be just the stupid good ol’ boys who control things based on their historical ties, and those that see the potential of the place and want to work to make it better.
Who wins will determine if this state has a future.
Del Allegood
1 year ago
Like in the rest of the nation,big money and business interests chart the direction of government in Florida.We have many ills,these listed here and more.most could be cured with adequate funding.The more money people have ,the less they want to pay a fair share of taxes.People with money influence our government to insure that their perks continue.Sharing their costs is forced on the rest of us and if it comes down to having adequate education, health care,roads,clean air,or any thing else they would have to actually pay a fair share for,then it won’t happen as long as money can influence government.