[Scientifical Madness]

But Miami cannot compete with Raleigh in terms of quality of life, REAL diversity, and education.

[CollegeGuy9]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

I think Florida is doing great in the economic downturn when compared to others


^^^ You live here?

Yes!

[CollegeGuy9]

Originally Posted by grapico

nice post , as education, when it was seeming to start to shoot for par, gets slashed allover the state....

I'll restate what I said in my original post since apparently you misunderstood me based on your response.

K-12 education in this state was a disaster before the economic meltdown. Therefore the low quality of education in this state may not be due to financial reasons. However slashing the education is likely not going to make the problem better. Education should have been immune to any discussions on budget cuts. Entire departments in this state should have been eliminated before a vital service such as education be cut. Apparently our legislatures due to value education which is regrettable.

Having said that, I'm not convinced that throwing more money at K-12 education would solve the problems facing it, such as low graduation rates and unsafe schools.

Yet I specifically stated in my original post that if it were proven that increases in education funding would equate to a better education, then I would strongly support a large increase in the sales tax so education could have a specific source of funding. Teachers and school boards have proposed this option.

What I would be strongly against would be changing the Constitution of the state and instituting an income tax. Yet, some people seem to be pushing hard for that option. Tax consumption, not hard work!!

[CollegeGuy9]

We may be ground zero for the housing market meltdown (well south Florida, not north Florida), but if you want to see a place really hit hard by this recession look at Michigan. We are no where near Michigan's economic decline, and we are fairing a lot better than a lot of other states whether you want to admit it or not.

The Geography of a Recession - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

[grapico]

I'm referring to university cuts. ya know...blowing the whole lottery fund/bright futures... entire dept cuts at tier 1 research universities... massive layoffs...enrollment caps...

As for other stuff... I know it has not been good for years... I went to a seperate gifted only pod school K-8 but I know that program is now only pieces of what it once was due to funding. Kind of sad actually. In h.s. I only had 1 class out of 8 slots available to take as a senior in FL because I had already maxed out all the gifted and AP courses that were available.
I know schools in other states offer stuff like philosophy/economics/political science...etc... not here (as far as I know)

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

But Miami cannot compete with Raleigh in terms of quality of life, REAL diversity, and education.

You would make a great attorney, but this thread is about the economy.

[Scientifical Madness]

I know it's about the economy, I threw that one out there b/c I knew you'd bite, lol.

[polo89]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

Umm... PSL? Ft Myers?

I didnt say the state of NC or the state of SC, I said Greenville and Raleigh are good places to weather the downturn... Greenville is a far cry from the problems SC (the state has). SC has poverty problems, crime problems, and education problems, all pretty much stemming from the high amount of AA's (lets be honest) in the low-lying areas of SC and in the middle of the state. Greenville is much more like a Raleigh or smaller version of Seattle than "typical" SC. I dont really like SC other than Charleston and that area, and the Upstate (Greenville). But Miami cannot compete with Raleigh in terms of quality of life, REAL diversity, and education.


Forbes says Greenville SC - an Affordable Place To Weather Downturn .
Tale of Two Main Streets: One Community Struggles, Another Holds Its Own - ABC News

The others holding steady or improving include Austin, Texas; Houston; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; San Jose, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and Seattle
America's Recession-Proof Cities - Forbes.com

Raleigh's unemployment rate is 8.3%; Greenville's is 9.6%, and the national average is 9.4% I believe. Not too bad.

REAL diversity? Raleigh seemed just as black and white to me, just as much as Miami felt Cuban.

[Scientifical Madness]

Blacks and whites are more diverse than just Cubans, right?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

Blacks and whites are more diverse than just Cubans, right?

Miami is maybe 30% Cuban vs Raleigh being almost 80% black and white. You do the math. And for the record, yes there are different types of whites and blacks in Miami too not just different types of "Hispanics". Amongst the white population there are Jews, Russians, Italians, regular "anglos", and yes even a few "Florida Crackers" thrown in for good measure. Amongst the black population there are black Americans, black Africans, and black West Indians. Raleigh has slightly more Asians. Miami isn't incredibly diverse but to say that Raleigh has more "true diversity" is kind of laughable.