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Oh hey beach43. Cool that you made another account.
I did. I said all those things. . They are true.
Sorry konbuch, I'm NOT beach, I'm a long time Bay resident who knows Sarasota Manatee very very well...including its economy...
Don't get paranoid, pal...everybody on CD has their own opinion and set of experiences...and please know that this area is NOT losing population, neither is the State of Florida...
The State has a pretty diversified economy looking at certain metrics. Of course tourism is a key component, but it's certainly NOT the only component at all.....look at the Panhandle (heavy in defense, and even in timber), Jacksonville is diverse (banking, shipping,Defense, tourism, sport health), Tampa (medical, Insurance/finance/banking...oh my..Capital One, Citi, JPMorgan backoffice, Raymond James, Franklin Templeton, Corporate USAA, Florida Progress/FPL, and in Lakeland, Publix)...in South Florida there is HUGE international finance and banking, trade, shipping.....
I guess I could go on and on. Around Sarasota, there is evidence of many successful startups in tech like you wouldn't believe over the past 7 years....within that time several manufacturing companies have relocated to Bradenton Florida (e.g. a national custom cabinet manufactuer)....an OEM auto wiring harness manufacturer is also located in Bradenton unbeknownst to many residents, there is a huge presence of HR/PEO national companies based here as well (e.g. TriNet, et al)...
No ...Sarasota Manatee has evolved tremendously just over the past 10 years alone.
Look around and do your own research.....
Sarasota has really never been a "tourist town" at all...that would be Orlando (but they are diversifying as well)....Sarasota is a strong "seasonal resident town" for sure...but things aren't overly "dependent" on "tourist dollars", that's simply not true in toto.
Sorry konbuch, I'm NOT beach, I'm a long time Bay resident who knows Sarasota Manatee very very well...including its economy...
Don't get paranoid, pal...everybody on CD has their own opinion and set of experiences...and please know that this area is NOT losing population, neither is the State of Florida...
The State has a pretty diversified economy looking at certain metrics. Of course tourism is a key component, but it's certainly NOT the only component at all.....look at the Panhandle (heavy in defense, and even in timber), Jacksonville is diverse (banking, shipping,Defense, tourism, sport health), Tampa (medical, Insurance/finance/banking...oh my..Capital One, Citi, JPMorgan backoffice, Raymond James, Franklin Templeton, Corporate USAA, Florida Progress/FPL, and in Lakeland, Publix)...in South Florida there is HUGE international finance and banking, trade, shipping.....
I guess I could go on and on. Around Sarasota, there is evidence of many successful startups in tech like you wouldn't believe over the past 7 years....within that time several manufacturing companies have relocated to Bradenton Florida (e.g. a national custom cabinet manufactuer)....an OEM auto wiring harness manufacturer is also located in Bradenton unbeknownst to many residents, there is a huge presence of HR/PEO national companies based here as well (e.g. TriNet, et al)...
No ...Sarasota Manatee has evolved tremendously just over the past 10 years alone.
Look around and do your own research.....
Sarasota has really never been a "tourist town" at all...that would be Orlando (but they are diversifying as well)....Sarasota is a strong "seasonal resident town" for sure...but things aren't overly "dependent" on "tourist dollars", that's simply not true in toto.
Mag, thanks for the detailed response and I apologize for the assumption.
I agree with your entire post. Bradenton/Sarasota has a pretty good manufacturing industry. We're essentially saying the same thing. Earlier in this thread, Beach43 was ragging on our economy as being tourism depended and said that manufacturing jobs were dirty.
Mag, thanks for the detailed response and I apologize for the assumption.
I agree with your entire post. Bradenton/Sarasota has a pretty good manufacturing industry. We're essentially saying the same thing. Earlier in this thread, Beach43 was ragging on our economy as being tourism depended and said that manufacturing jobs were dirty.
Ya....that didn't set well with me either. No area would willingly turn down good manufacturing jobs, especially the populace.
Detroit and Cleveland definitely aren’t what they were 10 years ago.
Wish I were in the financial position of those hipsters from Brooklyn who are buying up those gorgeous old homes and buildings and gentrifying those areas. The art scenes there are as full of participants as they are with spectators.
Mag, thanks for the detailed response and I apologize for the assumption.
I agree with your entire post. Bradenton/Sarasota has a pretty good manufacturing industry. We're essentially saying the same thing. Earlier in this thread, Beach43 was ragging on our economy as being tourism depended and said that manufacturing jobs were dirty.
"ragging" Quite the opposite, look at my posts about all the high rises going up downtown and how many cranes can you count. I'm constantly boasting about our economy and all the growth and incoming wealth. I'm one of the biggest braggarts and defenders of our area there is.
I did say many manufacturing jobs were dirty, but not all. I think I cited IT, high tech manufacturing as clean, and okay. I also cited the reasons why manufactuers don't see this area as desireable...
-largely a retiree area so smaller pool of potential workers
-we are near the southern part of a penninsula surrounded by water, so costly to move goods to customers.
I'm all for clean manufacturing coming in to our area with good jobs, but I'm not holding my breath for our economy to change anytime soon. I just don't see it as being desireable for that sector, but that is just my opinion as a business owner w/ a 20-year career in logistics & MBA, plus a 10-year resident of this area (if you include St. Pete/Tampa/Bradenton/Sarasota County).
I would see the I-4 corridor, Ocala outskirts near I-75 off some sleepy exit towards Gainesville, & Lake City as being much better due to location, logistical issues like access to roadways that reach both sides of the state, & land costs.
Again....No area would willingly turn down good manufacturing jobs ("dirty" or not, whatever that means), especially the populace. Ever.
We had a power company build a power plant in our county about 10 years ago. Not only does it contribute nearly 16 million dollars in property taxes to the county it created over 300 high paying jobs.
And just a drive through North Port shows that there are enough working families that could staff foundries and factories. I doubt there would be any workers that would turn down a good job in a factory that paid $25-$30 an hour and stay at the local Publix or Wal-Mart. Nor would any city officials would turn down the great impact it would have on the local economy and tax rolls. Then not only would younger people would be more likely to stay near family and not have to go elsewhere to earn a decent wage, we could see more people relocate here.
Like I pointed out elsewhere it's good to see our state and local officials working to bring those good jobs here. And with I-75 and the ocean close by transportation is no problem.
And trust me, as a fellow retiree I can understand wanting our area to remain unchanged. But would I put my "wants" over others "needs"? Especially when it has the potential to greatly improve the economy and enrich their lives? Nope, no way.
DaGoose said: "We had a power company build a power plant in our county about 10 years ago. Not only does it contribute nearly 16 million dollars in property taxes to the county it created over 300 high paying jobs."
They pay those 16 million in property taxes, and then spread out the 16 million dollars amongst their customers, then add the entire cost to their customers' electric bills spread out over each year. Companies do not pay taxes in the end, they just pay them temporarily until they recoup them from their customers embedded within the prices they charge.
These are called "embedded taxes". YOU are paying for the power company's 16 million dollar property taxes, you are just paying a small sliver of it so you dont realize it, and it may not be itemized on your power bill, but you are definitely paying for it. In the end, Corporate taxes are a hoax. Consumers are paying 100% of them.
I should know, I've owned a company for 15+ years and I do this every day. I've also been an Exec for Fortune 500's; Ryder, UPS, & GE, and they ALL did this too. Every company does it.
I suggest you read the book called The Fair Tax by Neal Boortz. He explains this quite well. Or, just Google "embeded taxes" and read.
And just a drive through North Port shows that there are enough working families that could staff foundries and factories. I doubt there would be any workers that would turn down a good job in a factory that paid $25-$30 an hour and stay at the local Publix or Wal-Mart. Nor would any city officials would turn down the great impact it would have on the local economy and tax rolls. Then not only would younger people would be more likely to stay near family and not have to go elsewhere to earn a decent wage, we could see more people relocate here.
I talked to our cable guy who has been in Florida for 20 years - from the Upper Midwest originally. He's a hard worker and a smart dude...and, of course, Cable doesn't pay very well. Neither, according to him, does that big window factory nearby. He worked there.
He told me that factories and other industries in Florida (or near here, at least) have a difficult time getting responsible employees among the "natives". Drugs, booze, laziness, lack of education.....all evident, according to him.
Obviously this is a generalization...but I have seen it myself at times in Florida. This cable guy had quickly rose through the ranks when he worked in a factory since they instantly recognized that he actually worked. Showing up and working was considered 9 points out of 10.
Anyway, this could bear on the ability of a modern factory in the area to obtain the proper type of employees in bulk and to pay them a true living wage. There is a reason companies like Boeing and BMW and Mercedes and many others opened in SC and vicinity. Lots of workers who aren't spoiled...especially when you pay them double or more what they were making elsewhere.
Based on demographics alone, there aren't that many younger people in this area who would line up for assembly line or factory work.
Note- currently 5% of Florida Economy and 4.3% of the workforce is in manufacturing. That is mostly not in traditional manufacturing, but in Aerospace and Medicine and Orange Juice, etc.
Of course, it goes without saying that most of the "stuff" Floridians buy and use is made elsewhere...has to be. So it's silly for Floridians to claim "we are clean" while making their pollution elsewhere (China, Midwest, Texas, etc.).
Thx craigiri, you confirmed much of what I've ben saying on the topic of manufacturing jobs coming to SW Florida. I hope we keep outsourcing our pollution to China, Midwest, Texas, ect....I prefer this to polluting our beautiful area. I wish we'd buy less from China though and more from Midwest and Texas.
OP: "Stock and Housing Market Cooling, Debt Soaring and Economy Starting To Slide"
This may be the case in some Northern highly taxed cities, but for Florida & SW Florida the Energizer Bunny just keeps on banging that drum...boom...boom...boom! Our economy's still booming here and not showing any signs of slowing.
Here's a bar graph showing Florida's growth, and the article explains why Florida's growing while highly taxed area up North are losing population & jobs. When people and jobs leave, property values fall, and the economy's in those states plummet.
With this kind of growth and new wealth coming into our area year after year, SW Florida will continue to outpace most others economically. I couldn't be more optimistic about this area's economic outlook, but I wouldn't want to own a home right now in NJ, NY, IL, CT, CA unless I those homeowners are safely in the top 1%.
According to this article, our housing market is NOT cooling, debt is NOT soaring (too many cash buyers here) and our economy is NOT sliding.
And, to all the naysayers who said Red Tide was going to kill our tourist and snowbird season, go try to find a parking spot at Siesta Key beach right now (Saturday Noon 12-29). It's time for you all to admit, you were wrong. I predicted this will be one of the best seasons ever, and thus far, my prediction is looking solid. I look forward to the #'s being realeased in late April.
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. They are true.
