Florida's middle class is under siege and shrinking, claims a new report by two left-wing think tanks.
"The American Dream came to life in Florida in the form of a strong and vibrant middle class that sustained the states economy for decades. But for the ?rst time in generations, more people are falling out of the middle class than joining its ranks," said the study released Wednesday bythe Miami-based Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy and the New York-based Demos.
Matching up national statistics with Florida's, the report declared, "Florida workers have fared worse than the nation as a whole in terms of wages, bene?ts and employment levels."
Specifically, the study found:
- Florida has cut its unemployment bene?ts -- "already meager at a $275 weekly maximum, the fourth lowest in the country" -- limiting them to 23 weeks.
- The gap between rich and poor is relatively wider than the rest of the nation; only six states have a more unequal distribution of income.
- Twenty-three percent of Florida workers lacked health insurance, a level that tops the 17 percent national figure and an increase from the state's 18 percent figure in 1999.
- Fifty-five percent of the state's workers currently have no access to a retirement plan at work, a figure that has increased steadily since 2000.
- Union membership in Florida has steadily remained half as strong as the national average, amounting to just 5.6 percent (400,000) of Florida's workers.
The report took aim at Gov. Rick Scott, a former health-care CEO, but virtually all of the cited trends occurred on the watch of former Gov. Charlie Crist and his predecessors. For example, the state's rise to double-digit unemployment from 2007-2010 happened entirely under Crist, who was never mentioned in the report.
Demos, which calls itself "a nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization," also gave a pass to President Barack Obama for the latest dreary national economic numbers it conflated with Florida.
Authors of today's study omitted any reference to the state's May employment report, which showed Florida adding more jobs than all 49 other states combined.
Business and taxpayer groups, including Florida TaxWatch, have assailed Crist's quixotic or nonexistent economic policies for many of today's problems.
Sounding a now-familiar Democratic Party theme, Tamara Draut, vice president of policy and programs at Demos, said, "We cannot save the middle class without investments in the public structures that ensure individuals and businesses can flourish -- our infrastructure, our schools and our colleges."
Emily Eisenhauer, of theResearch Institute on Social and Economic Policy, called Florida "a good example of a state that sorely needs this kind of investment, as the tourism- and growth-based economy is very vulnerable to ups and downs of the kind we've seen in the past five years."
Bob Herbert, who fired several rhetorical shots at Florida's Republican politicians and the state generally during his stint as a liberal New York Times columnist, was hired by Demos last year to serve as a "senior fellow."
Read the full report here.
--
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 559-4719.
