Cost of living is not everything..."Silent Potential" brewing in Miami (Miami Beach: houses, schools)

[305guy]

Originally Posted by MiamiVice1985

Sir, you are right about everything. We should be lucky the middle class doesn't riot! Imagine that! However, there will NEVER be a prominent middle class here if we don't dethrone the ruling class of "Spaniards" here. I am on an anti-Latin-upper class tirade this week! You can make excuses why the middle class avoids Miami or attack the heart of the problem, the greedy Financial-Real Estate-complex of Miami, which is run by rich Latin Americans with Latin business principles. BOOM-BUST-BOOM-BUST, just like the economies in their countries of origin! They made money in their countries whether the economy was in recession or expasion. They laugh their way to the bank all day long, just like here. They have a stranglehold on this beautiful city's heart! May their arms be cut of!!!

I appreciate your candor but I disagree. Your misguided resentment of wealthy spanish people is just that. Blame the hispanics for the cost of living down here...that is a new one. A Latin business principle? LOL Yeah, it's called GREEN principle as in Countrywide and Enron GREEN with Americans running the corporations cutting corners for the almight dollar.

While I agree with Miamiblue's post, unfortunately large metro areas on the water are always expensive but there is always going to be a middle class to sustain them. LA, San Francisco, San Diego, NY, D.C., etc. have all been expensive forever and Miami has actually trailed when it comes to those cities when it comes to cost of living. Miami is just going thru the market correction for real estate as is the rest of the nation, but there is always going to be a middle class that is willing to live with it. Some people will stay,some will go and some more will arrive from somewhere else. If the middle class can't afford to buy a house? They'll buy condos, if they can't afford to buy anything? They'll rent, it works for some and not for others. Look at San diego and LA, the middle class rents there and they adapt and some move because they are not willing to put up with renting. As long as someone is willing to do the job for that salary, why are companies going to pay more? You can go to any large city (metro-area) in this country and the complaints are going to be the same - low salary, high cost of living. Miami is no different....

[MiamiVice1985]

Originally Posted by tallrick

The earlier 80's bubble was Latin American in origin as well, but mostly from a domestic drug trade. While the business cycle is not caused by latin Americans, the money diverted from their homelands has a drastically bad effect here. Foreign money always has strings attatched, and the attitude it brings is rotten. Ever notice how most businesses in bubble areas are owned by foreigners? Those usually have poor customer service and high prices.

Rich refugees of banana republics are the "backbone" of Miami's economy (except Burger King, the only company where Spanish is not a prerequisite for a job). Foreign money is the key here, as well as the "rotten" attitude and business climate that is associated rich refugees and the way they do business. Foreign money that comes almost exclusively from one part of the world-South America-is unhealthy for a domestic economy such as Miami Dade. It would be one thing if the foreign money was more diversified, but just because a few Europeans bought condos on South Beach does not constitute diversity; the vast majority are from 'south of the border'.

New York, San Fran, etc., they have always been more expensive. But when they went through economic and real estate cycles, their peaks weren't nearly as high, and their bottoming out isn't going to be nearly as low as Miami's will be in a year or two. If only Fortune 500 would reconsider this city... It would take two or three of them to set up shop here and they would change the business climate for good!

[TannerMan]

Maimi might have the largest economic connection with Latin America, but if you were to look at where most international buisnness in Miami is from, the majority is actually Euroean. More European companies and buisnesses have economic ties here than Latin American companies and buisnesses.

[MiamiVice1985]

Originally Posted by TannerMan

Maimi might have the largest economic connection with Latin America, but if you were to look at where most international buisnness in Miami is from, the majority is actually Euroean. More European companies and buisnesses have economic ties here than Latin American companies and buisnesses.

Boy, I tell you what, prove it, I mean facts from a reputable source. That would be the revelation of the century.

[copacetic]

Who lives here and owns assets here is decided by the market. If Latin Americans have the money to buy up assets here then they will own those assets. And if they get overzealous and cause a speculative bubble, then so be it. That's how capitalism works--get used to it.

What about the speculative bubble in technology stocks in the late 90s? What about the bubble in commodities and oil that we are seeing currently? Are you going to blame those on Latin Americans also?

Is *everything* their fault ?

[MiamiVice1985]

Originally Posted by copacetic

What about the speculative bubble in technology stocks in the late 90s? What about the bubble in commodities and oil that we are seeing currently? Are you going to blame those on Latin Americans also?

Is *everything* their fault ?

To answer you sir, no. But I'm sure there are entities to blame for those crisis as well.

Every "effect" is caused by something, or a group of somethings. The term "business climate" that I referred to earlier is a fairly broad term, however, there is no way to be more specific, other than to say "business climate in Miami." In my opinion, there could be a more stable apparatus of political and economic power in Miami if the current ruling class of "rich refugees" were displaced by a more stable one, preferably of northern origin.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by copacetic

Are you going to blame those on Latin Americans also?

You forgot about the rude people!!! It's all there fault too!!! And the crime! And they are all racist of gringos!!!!!!! IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT!

[MiamiVice1985]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

You forgot about the rude people!!! It's all there fault too!!! And the crime! And they are all racist of gringos!!!!!!! IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT!

Once again, my friend, you are being too vague. Clerify your thoughts and be specific, this is no shouting match.

[TannerMan]

Originally Posted by MiamiVice1985

Boy, I tell you what, prove it, I mean facts from a reputable source. That would be the revelation of the century.

WorldCity, (5) Who's Here - South Florida's Global Companies: Part 1 | Miami | Publications | WorldCity Business Magazine | Connecting Local Business Leaders To The Global Economy (http://www.worldcityweb.com/home/MIA/publications/magazine/51/874/ - broken link)

From the article....
U.S. multinational companies dominate, with 56 percent of the total. Tied for second place are the U.K. and Spain with 59 companies apiece. In fourth place is France with 46 and Japan with 39, followed by Germany (30), Canada (27), Italy (25), Switzerland (24) and the Netherlands (18).

If we lump the companies together by geographical region, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) is by far the largest source of multinational investment in South Florida, with more than 300 companies with a presence in South Florida. Latin America is next with 116 companies (led by Mexico, with 17; Brazil, with 16; and Venezuela, with 14). As a whole, Asia has a limited presence in South Florida, with only 76 companies."

[MiamiVice1985]

These large international businesses have little to do with the local politics, and are not ingrained in the culture, community, or business climate of Miami. In fact, they are isolated from Miami’s mainstream business community. It is Miami’s mainstream business community; i.e. locally owned local banks, car dealerships, realtors, construction companies, healthcare providers, and insurance brokers who are the true merchants of “banana wealth” in Miami-Dade county. Wonton capitalism with a dose of Latin American greed has perverted the business climate in this county to the point where the standard of living, foreclosures, repossession of vehicles, Consumer Price Index (CPI), and median income are the opposite of what they should be.

FYI – “Banana Wealth” = Income disparity brought on by a nonexistent middle class, a greed-oriented business acumen, an absence of regulatory oversight, and an overabundance of entrepreneurial immigrants.


If you only count the biggest companies, you are leaving out a wide spectrum of smaller businesses. Most companies in Miami-Dade employ between one four employees. As your article pointed out, this data is on multinational companies who use “South Florida” for office space.

Of the companies listed…

-A great many foreign companies sell products to other countries, while sending their profits to places other than Miami. (New York, Hong Kong, London, etc.; places that need capital the least)

-These corporate chains don’t alter the landscape that they occupy. They are regarded as welcome guests in the Miami landscape, but they don’t make a difference in the lives of everyday Miamians.

-Many of the companies listed are located in Miramar, Plantation, Coral Springs, Ft. Lauderdale, and are therefore outside the scope of this thread.

-This survey only counted 728 of the 1,183 foreign companies. My guess is if the rest were counted, a great portion would be smaller import/export or financial service firms from South America.

-Many of these “office” companies provide great white collar jobs; but very few manufacturing or wage earning jobs. We could use some manufacturing to lower the unemployment in Carol, Liberty City and Opa Locka from 18% - to what it was in the 1970’s (7+/- %) when there were many local manufacturers.