Touron Industrial Economics (For all Floridans here)

[MKSheppard]

from a board I frequent, an oldie but goodie on the Touron Economy in
Florida:

********************

They just cut 800 million from the budget (hey, no new taxes!
Good politician, here's your donut).

Where did that money go? It disappeared when the touron-based
econonomy went bad and the budget projections were based on
sales tax revenue projections.

This is what happens when you let the touron industry determine
your economy.

Of course, there are TWO punchlines here.

20 million of taxpayer dollars just went to the touron industry to
help them promote it. Gee, this is the same touron industry that
contributes nothing but overcrowded highways and low-pay jobs to
the state. And the taxes they collect on hotels rooms and rental cars
go back into the touron industry - the City of Orlando even asked
for some of it and was told to go suck eggs.

And the second punchline is that it is the influence of the touron
industry that prevents the state from having real insudtry in the
first place. Florida is a great place to bring in better work that
actually produces something but if the pollys did that, then the
touron industry would have to pay a real salary to it's workers
and that simply cannot happen. The touron industry and the
developers has so much control over government, that is, the
industry creates the crappy jobs while the developers will build
the houses needed that are created by the other created need,
that bringing in high-paying jobs with tax incentives is simply
not allowed.

Die, Disney, die. I hope the touron industry tanks so bad
that Disney becomes the next wildlife management area.

Why post this here? It serves as a great example of the simple
and easy "service based economy" that this country seems to
have a love affair with is basically an emporer without clothes.
Florida is but an example of one kind of service industry.

We have some members who can't find good jobs, I am one
of them (and I don't even require a "good" job. I can drive
the poop-truck and still enjoy the paycheck). We have "the
new economy" to thank. Where was all the production sent?
Better learn to live in Mexico.

I remember all those articles in the early 90s about 'service
based" economy and how every newby-yuppie and businessman
gettgin started out of college was just dying to insert themselves
into some process and charge for it. That is what the service
industry is: you can go to a farmer and get a box of oranges
OR you can pay a lot more at the store with the money
going to middlemen.

And all those poor restaurants here in Orlando. They charged
high prices because of the tourons with a "locals can shove it"
attitude. Who's shoving it now? (and I know some restauranteurs
who were running honest businesses and don't deserve this).

[The Yosemite Bear]

Over here they made a county ordinance right after the Flood (1997), that hiked the Hotel, Bus, and vehicle rental sales tax to 10% (6.75 is the State Slaes tax rate, but each county adds their own sales taxes in). This also increased Rent for the residents of Mariposa county. But what it has gone into I don't know.