The Presidential Race in Florida Dominated by Foreclosures and Unemployment Pain
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The presidential race in Florida is dominated by foreclosures and unemployment pain. It has again a vital role to play in the forthcoming elections. On 31st January will be held the Republican primary – the fourth contest (nominations).
It cannot however be said that Florida is the same state that it was four years previously. Its housing segment is face down with over 200,000 residences facing threat of foreclosure; the unemployment rate is much above the average of the nation.
The downturn is all too evident in places like the Episcopal Church in Riviera Beach of South Florida. The soup kitchen of the church is open for five days in a week for both lunch as well as dinner. In one week 2,000 meals are served. The number has spiked from what it was in 2010.
The programme is administered by Reverend Hap Lewis. He said that although the figures for employment saw some improvement nationally and in the state he has seen no impact on the faces of those who come to him. He said, “The main thing that we’re seeing is a lot more families coming. A lot of people have 31 days in every month and 21 days of money. So we find especially at the latter part of the month, our census rises”.
Many knocking on the door of the soup kitchen are not jobless. Lewis observed that during lunch hours entire crews roll in eager to save what they can on their lunch expenses.
The tragedy is that it is not only those who come to partake of the meals that are impacted by the downturn but those serving the meal have also been affected. Many of them like Howard Evirs are retirees. He recounted that the housing crash erased half the worth of his main support – his house. He had plans of selling it just prior to the crash but since then prices have tumbled and he has shelved the decisions ready to die here rather than sell it for a song.
Economist Sean Snaith of University of Central Florida said unemployment have brought down families on their knees but the penetration of the housing debacle cuts deeper. It has personally hurt each house owners in the state – hardly without exception.
He explained that the amount that families on an average have lost is staggering. He calculated, “If the median family of four in Florida were to save at twice the national savings rate, it would take something like 18 years to save back what they lost in home equity”.
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