How dire are Floridas current economic problems? So dire that three leading gubernatorial candidates tried to present their plans for financial recovery to a forum of business people and others two weeks before the Legislature convened.
The candidates and other speakers at the Five Good Things About Floridas Economy forum Feb. 15, reported that Florida is poised to recover from the current recession, but it needs to take steps to capitalize on the states chances to grow.
The forum was hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business/ Florida, a small business association, and Florida TaxWatch .
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said rising property sales were a good sign for the states economic future.
Sink said the state is also well-placed to take advantage of international tourism and business with Latin America. It should intensify exports to Latin America, Europe and, once the Panama Canal opens to larger vessels, Asia.
State Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, said the state has been relying for too long on the travel and tourism industries. The state needs to diversify its industries to attract and develop new business, he said.
Above all else, the next governor needs to keep the state diversifying, he said.
McCollum said targeted tax breaks for businesses are not an effective way to stimulate business. The state needs to keep taxes low and streamline business regulation, he said. He said complicated regulation laws can make the state less competitive than its neighbors, and certain laws should be simplified, although not necessarily abandoned.
McCollum said the state also needs to dramatically reform its litigation laws. High volumes of malpractice suits, especially in Miami, discourage new businesses and result in a shortage of doctors. The state also needs to examine its property, water and insurance rates.
Senator Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland , said that she was also in favor of reforming litigation laws and corporate taxes. The Republican gubernatorial candidate said she is in favor of tax breaks for businesses.
She also said she would like to create a "Red Tape Commission" to reduce government bureaucracy.
Dockery is co-sponsoring an ethics bill that would require House and Senate legislators to refrain from voting on issues that provide financial gain to them or their families. She said she is in favor of investigating credit card use among the Republican Party of Florida.
Sink said that one of the most important keys to strengthening small businesses in the state is to improve access to credit and healthcare.
In Florida, were really about small businesses. What we need to get the economy turned around is get access to credit, she said.
Sink, defining herself as fiscally conservative, said she was in favor of business diversification and lower taxes, but she said she was also in favor of tax breaks for businesses.
She said she supported a two-year postponement of the state unemployment compensation tax for businesses. The tax is scheduled to be collected April 1. The state House of Representatives Committee for Economic Development approved the delay last week, and the state Senate is expected to address the issue soon after convening March 2.
Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business/ Florida, said the tax is the most critical economic decision facing the Legislature. If businesses dont have to pay the increased unemployment tax, they can hire more people, he said.
Theres nothing they can do to help employment more than to put a cap on the unemployment tax, he said.
