Uncertainty remains the future of Floridas and the nations economy.
As a diverse group of Florida small-business owners were advised on how banks, university business schools, and the government can help them grow, they were also advised by leading economists in the state that doubt remains the hallmark of the countrys anemic recovery that has been sputtering for four years.
Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Floridas Institute for Economic Competitiveness, joked during the two-day Jim Moran Institute and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater-hosted Small-Business Leadership Forum at the Weston Island Hotel in Tampa that a good title for the novel about the recovery would be Fifty Shades of Gray, indicating the storm clouds that hang over the remaining months of 2012.
This is/has been an underwhelming recovery, Snaith said. Why? There is uncertainty weighing on this recovery, a black cloud hanging over us.
The economists pointed to a number of reasons the uncertainty will continue to linger into 2013: the future of the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare; Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, better known as Dodd-Frank; the looming fiscal cliff of federal budget reductions and tax increases that kick in at the end of the year; and the November election that is offering voters two clearly divergent economic paths.
One positive for Florida, which historically lags in recovery compared to the rest of the nation, is the supportive efforts of state leaders toward business, said David Denslow, an economics professor and researcher from the University of Floridas Bureau of Economic Business Research.
Ive never seen it with a positive attitude on the part of government, state, local -- you name it --toward business, Denslow said. Ive never seen such a full acceptance and realization in wanting to encourage job creators.
For a state that has seen its share of business-supportive governments and real estate booms, Denslows view is saying something.
Atwater has been using the forum to provide small-business owners with information on access to capital, matters of human resources and potentially linking them with mentors and investors.
At the same time, he has placed an emphasis on the regulatory impacts of Dodd-Frank, named after sponsors Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. State leaders have been targeting Dodd-Frank as they push to revamp federal financial laws and identify state regulations that need to be repealed.
Dodd-Frank, signed into law in July 2010, has been considered a harsh measure following the late 2000 recession that has overreached in restricting financial institutions and establishing government partnerships with large Wall Street institutions.
Atwater has described the act as horrific on community banks.
Jay DesMarteau, the head of small-business and government banking distribution for TD Bank, downplayed the impact of Dodd-Frank, which he agreed is still being sorted through.
Instead, he said, the overall uncertainty in the economy has caused many small businesses to hesitate on expanding.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
