...The following is from the recent edition of the Employer Advocate

Investing Now for a Return to Prosperity
March 17 , 2008

Several months ago, we at AIF felt that with the current economic situation, the business community needed to be proactive by developing a plan that would energize the economy.

I put together a plan called the Economic Stimulus Package (ESP). As I began to meet with different business leaders in Florida, I found that not only did they agree with our assessment on how to energize the state’s economy, they signed on as supporters of the plan.

Today, the ESP is appropriately the cover story for this issue of Employer Advocate and endorsed by 18 different business groups and Florida TaxWatch. The ESP is essential if Florida is to successfully weather the economic trough that we find ourselves in right now.

According to a recent Washington Post poll, 59 percent of the respondents believed that the US is already in a recession. A recent Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll indicated that 73 percent of respondents had personally felt the effects of our economic downturn, while 18 percent believed it was just something that news reporters talk about.

Since Americans and Floridians are feeling the pain of our economic slowdown, it is important that government play a role in creating jobs to help stimulate our state’s economy. While in Washington, DC, Congress is talking about putting money in the
pockets of consumers, here in Florida we must focus on putting people back to work. And what better way to do that than by using non-recurring dollars to invest in permanent infrastructure. Gov. Charlie Crist, the Senate, and the House are willing to seriously consider doing just that.

The goal of the ESP is to invest now in permanent projects that will benefit Florida when we exit this slowdown, which unfortunately could be several years down the road. Construction and the housing market are bearing the brunt right now, but the slowdown is now expanding to other sectors of our economy. So, the best thing that we can do is to build roads, concurrently put into place the necessary water infrastructure, continue to construct schools, and provide the opportunity to create affordable workforce housing along with downpayment assistance where necessary.

The American Dream is home ownership and to the extent that we can help facilitate that desire we are helping ourselves for the future. Accomplishing all of these will help Florida to be properly positioned for whenever our state’s economy picks back up and once again continues to grow albeit more slowly and, hopefully, smarter.

The other proposed investments are in our ports, in space, in the research institutes, and in a targeted fashion, the tourism market, especially in foreign markets where the result could be that we see sales tax dollars immediately flowing into the state’s coffers.

Just like at the federal level, the quicker that we can put state dollars to work the more likely that it will have a positive impact. AIF and the business community will be working closely with the Legislature to ensure that some version of the ESP becomes a reality. Florida needs this now!

516 North Adams Street ● Post Office Box 784 ● Tallahassee, Florida 32302-0784 ● Phone: (850) 224-7173 ● Fax: (850) 224-6532 ● www.aif.com