Since the development of the federal NASA Merritt Island launch sites on Cape Canaveral (most notably Kennedy Space Center) in 1962, Florida has developed a sizable aerospace industry.
Another major economic engine in Florida is the United States military. There are 24 military bases in the state, housing three Unified Combatant Commands; United States Central Command in Tampa, United States Southern Command in Doral, and United States Special Operations Command in Tampa. Some 109,390 U.S. military personnel stationed in Florida,[201] contributing, directly and indirectly, $52 billion a year to the state's economy.[202]
In 2009, there were 89,706 federal workers employed within the state.[203] Tens of thousands more employees work for contractors who have federal contracts, including those with the military.
In 2012, government of all levels was a top employer in all counties
in the state, because this classification includes public school
teachers and other school staff. School boards employ nearly 1 of every
30 workers in the state. The federal military was the top employer in
three counties.[204]
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Tourism
If you can't find something to do in Florida, you're just boring...Tourism makes up one of the largest sectors of the state economy, with nearly 1.4 million persons employed in the tourism industry in 2016 (a record for the state, surpassing the 1.2 million employment from 2015).[185][186] In 2015, Florida broke the 100-million visitor mark for the first time in state history by hosting a record 105 million visitors[186][187] and broke that record in 2016 with 112.8 million tourists; Florida has set tourism records for six consecutive years.[188]
Many beach towns are popular tourist destinations, particularly during winter and spring break. Twenty-three million tourists visited Florida beaches in 2000, spending $22 billion.[189] The public has a right to beach access under the public trust doctrine, but some areas have access effectively blocked by private owners for a long distance.[190]
Amusement parks, especially in the Greater Orlando area, make up a significant portion of tourism. The Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited vacation resort in the world with over 50 million annual visitors, consisting of four theme parks, 27 themed resort hotels, 9 non–Disney hotels, two water parks, four golf courses and other recreational venues.[191] Other major theme parks in the area include Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa.
Agriculture and fishing
Oranges in Florida.
Citrus canker continues to be an issue of concern. From 1997 to 2013, the growing of citrus trees has declined 25%, from 600,000 acres (240,000 ha) to 450,000 acres (180,000 ha). Citrus greening disease is incurable. A study states that it has caused the loss of $4.5 billion between 2006 and 2012. As of 2014, it was the major agricultural concern.[193]
Other products include sugarcane, strawberries, tomatoes and celery.[194] The state is the largest producer of sweet corn and green beans for the U.S.[195]
The Everglades Agricultural Area is a major center for agriculture. The environmental impact of agriculture, especially water pollution, is a major issue in Florida today.
In 2009, fishing was a $6 billion industry, employing 60,000 jobs for sports and commercial purposes.[196]
Industry
The Miami Civic Center has the second-largest concentration of medical and research facilities in the United States.[197]
Mining
Phosphate mining, concentrated in the Bone Valley, is the state's third-largest industry. The state produces about 75% of the phosphate required by farmers in the United States and 25% of the world supply, with about 95% used for agriculture (90% for fertilizer and 5% for livestock feed supplements) and 5% used for other products.[199]After the watershed events of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the state of Florida began investing in economic development through the Office of Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development. Governor Jeb Bush realized that watershed events such as Andrew negatively impacted Florida's backbone industry of tourism severely. The office was directed to target Medical/Bio-Sciences among others. Three years later, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) announced it had chosen Florida for its newest expansion. In 2003, TSRI announced plans to establish a major science center in Palm Beach, a 364,000 square feet (33,800 m2) facility on 100 acres (40 ha), which TSRI planned to occupy in 2006.[200]
Economy
In the twentieth century, tourism, industry, construction,
international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare
research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial
space travel have contributed to the state's economic development.[citation needed]
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Florida in 2010 was $748 billion.[165] Its GDP is the fourth largest economy in the United States.[166] In 2010, it became the fourth largest exporter of trade goods.[167] The major contributors to the state's gross output in 2007 were general services, financial services, trade, transportation and public utilities, manufacturing and construction respectively. In 2010–11, the state budget was $70.5 billion, having reached a high of $73.8 billion in 2006–07.[168] Chief Executive Magazine name Florida the third "Best State for Business" in 2011.[169]
The economy is driven almost entirely by its nineteen metropolitan areas. In 2004, they had a combined total of 95.7% of the state's domestic product.[170]
Florida's constitution establishes a state minimum wage that (unique among minimum wage laws) is adjusted for inflation annually. As of January 1, 2015, Florida's minimum wage was $5.03 for tipped positions, and $8.05 for non-tipped positions, which was higher than the federal rate of $7.25.[173]
Florida has 4 cities in the top 25 cities in the U.S. with the most credit card debt.[174] The state also had the second-highest credit card delinquency rate, with 1.45% of cardholders in the state more than 90 days delinquent on one or more credit cards.[175]
There were 2.4 million Floridians living in poverty in 2008. 18.4% of children 18 and younger were living in poverty.[176] Miami is the sixth poorest big city in the United States.[177] In 2010, over 2.5 million Floridians were on food stamps, up from 1.2 million in 2007. To qualify, Floridians must make less than 133% of the federal poverty level, which would be under $29,000 for a family of four.[178]
Because of the collective effect on the insurance industry of the hurricane claims of 2004, homeowners insurance has risen 40% to 60% and deductibles have risen.[59]
At the end of the third quarter in 2008, Florida had the highest mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S., with 7.8% of mortgages delinquent at least 60 days.[175] A 2009 list of national housing markets that were hard hit in the real estate crash included a disproportionate number in Florida.[179] The early 21st-century building boom left Florida with 300,000 vacant homes in 2009, according to state figures.[180] In 2009, the US Census Bureau estimated that Floridians spent an average 49.1% of personal income on housing-related costs, the third highest percentage in the U.S.[181]
In the third quarter of 2009, there were 278,189 delinquent loans, 80,327 foreclosures.[182] Sales of existing homes for February 2010 was 11,890, up 21% from the same month in 2009. Only two metropolitan areas showed a decrease in homes sold: Panama City and Brevard County. The average sales price for an existing house was $131,000, 7% decrease from the prior year.[183][dubious ]
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Florida in 2010 was $748 billion.[165] Its GDP is the fourth largest economy in the United States.[166] In 2010, it became the fourth largest exporter of trade goods.[167] The major contributors to the state's gross output in 2007 were general services, financial services, trade, transportation and public utilities, manufacturing and construction respectively. In 2010–11, the state budget was $70.5 billion, having reached a high of $73.8 billion in 2006–07.[168] Chief Executive Magazine name Florida the third "Best State for Business" in 2011.[169]
The economy is driven almost entirely by its nineteen metropolitan areas. In 2004, they had a combined total of 95.7% of the state's domestic product.[170]
Personal income
See also: Florida locations by per capita income
In 2011, Florida's per capita personal income was $39,563, ranking 27th in the nation.[171] In February 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 11.5%.[172] Florida is one of seven states that do not impose a personal income tax.Florida's constitution establishes a state minimum wage that (unique among minimum wage laws) is adjusted for inflation annually. As of January 1, 2015, Florida's minimum wage was $5.03 for tipped positions, and $8.05 for non-tipped positions, which was higher than the federal rate of $7.25.[173]
Florida has 4 cities in the top 25 cities in the U.S. with the most credit card debt.[174] The state also had the second-highest credit card delinquency rate, with 1.45% of cardholders in the state more than 90 days delinquent on one or more credit cards.[175]
There were 2.4 million Floridians living in poverty in 2008. 18.4% of children 18 and younger were living in poverty.[176] Miami is the sixth poorest big city in the United States.[177] In 2010, over 2.5 million Floridians were on food stamps, up from 1.2 million in 2007. To qualify, Floridians must make less than 133% of the federal poverty level, which would be under $29,000 for a family of four.[178]
Real estate
In the early 20th century, land speculators discovered Florida, and businessmen such as Henry Plant and Henry Flagler developed railroad systems, which led people to move in, drawn by the weather and local economies. From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development that overwhelmed a great deal of farmland.Because of the collective effect on the insurance industry of the hurricane claims of 2004, homeowners insurance has risen 40% to 60% and deductibles have risen.[59]
At the end of the third quarter in 2008, Florida had the highest mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S., with 7.8% of mortgages delinquent at least 60 days.[175] A 2009 list of national housing markets that were hard hit in the real estate crash included a disproportionate number in Florida.[179] The early 21st-century building boom left Florida with 300,000 vacant homes in 2009, according to state figures.[180] In 2009, the US Census Bureau estimated that Floridians spent an average 49.1% of personal income on housing-related costs, the third highest percentage in the U.S.[181]
In the third quarter of 2009, there were 278,189 delinquent loans, 80,327 foreclosures.[182] Sales of existing homes for February 2010 was 11,890, up 21% from the same month in 2009. Only two metropolitan areas showed a decrease in homes sold: Panama City and Brevard County. The average sales price for an existing house was $131,000, 7% decrease from the prior year.[183][dubious ]
Tourism
Statutes
See also: Law of Florida
In 1972, the state made personal injury protection auto insurance mandatory for drivers, becoming the second in the nation to enact a no-fault insurance law. The ease of receiving payments under this law is seen as precipitating a major increase in insurance fraud.[153] Auto insurance fraud was the highest in the nation in 2011, estimated at close to $1 billion.[154] Fraud is particularly centered in the Miami-Dade metropolitan and Tampa areas.[155][156][157]
Law enforcement
Further information: List of law enforcement agencies in Florida and Crime in Florida
Florida was ranked the fifth most dangerous state in 2009. Ranking
was based on the record of serious felonies committed in 2008.[158] The state was the sixth highest scammed state in 2010. It ranked first in mortgage fraud in 2009.[159]In 2009, 44% of highway fatalities involved alcohol.[160] Florida is one of seven states that prohibit the open carry of handguns. This law was passed in 1987.[161]
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Florida has the highest per capita rate of both reported fraud and other types of complaints and reported including identity theft complaints.[162]
Elections of 2000 to present
Main article: United States presidential election in Florida, 2000
Treemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election.
Reapportionment following the 2010 United States Census gave the state two more seats in the House of Representatives.[142] The legislature's redistricting, announced in 2012, was quickly challenged in court, on the grounds that it had unfairly benefited Republican interests. In 2015, the Florida Supreme Court ruled on appeal that the congressional districts had to be redrawn because of the legislature's violation of the Fair District Amendments to the state constitution passed in 2010; it accepted a new map in early December 2015.
The political make-up of congressional and legislative districts has enabled Republicans to control the governorship and most statewide elective offices, and 17 of the state's 27 seats in the 2012 House of Representatives.[143] Florida has been listed as a swing state in Presidential elections since 1950, voting for the losing candidate once in that period of time.[144]
In the closely contested 2000 election, the state played a pivotal role.[140][141][145][146][147][148] Out of more than 5.8 million votes for the two main contenders Bush and Al Gore, around 500 votes separated the two candidates for the all-decisive Florida electoral votes that landed Bush the election win. Florida's felony disenfranchisement law is more severe than most European nations or other American states. A 2002 study in the American Sociological Review concluded that "if the state's 827,000 disenfranchised felons had voted at the same rate as other Floridians, Democratic candidate Al Gore would have won Florida—and the presidency—by more than 80,000 votes."[149]
In 2008, delegates of both the Republican Florida primary election and Democratic Florida primary election were stripped of half of their votes when the conventions met in August due to violation of both parties' national rules.
In the 2010 elections, Republicans solidified their dominance statewide, by winning the governor's mansion, and maintaining firm majorities in both houses of the state legislature. They won four previously Democratic-held seats to create a 19–6 Republican-majority delegation representing Florida in the federal House of Representatives.
In 2010, more than 63% of state voters approved the initiated Amendments 5 and 6 to the state constitution, to ensure more fairness in districting. These have become known as the Fair District Amendments. As a result of the 2010 United States Census, Florida gained two House of Representative seats in 2012.[142] The legislature issued revised congressional districts in 2012, which were immediately challenged in court by supporters of the above amendments.
The court ruled in 2014, after lengthy testimony, that at least two districts had to be redrawn because of gerrymandering. After this was appealed, in July 2015 the Florida Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers had followed an illegal and unconstitutional process overly influenced by party operatives, and ruled that at least eight districts had to be redrawn. On December 2, 2015, a 5-2 majority of the Court accepted a new map of congressional districts, some of which was drawn by challengers. Their ruling affirmed the map previously approved by Leon County Judge Terry Lewis, who had overseen the original trial. It particularly makes changes in South Florida. There are likely to be additional challenges to the map and districts.[150]
According to The Sentencing Project, the effect of Florida's felony disenfranchisement law is such that in 2014, "[m]ore than one in ten Floridians – and nearly one in four African-American Floridians – are [were] shut out of the polls because of felony convictions," although they had completed sentences and parole/probation requirements.[151]
Governance
Main article: Government of Florida
See also: List of Florida Governors, United States Congressional Delegations from Florida, and Florida Cabinet
Florida Capitol buildings
The Florida Legislature comprises the Florida Senate, which has 40 members, and the Florida House of Representatives, which has 120 members. The current Governor of Florida is Rick Scott. The Florida Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Justices.
Florida has 67 counties. Some reference materials may show only 66 because Duval County is consolidated with the City of Jacksonville. There are 379 cities in Florida (out of 411) that report regularly to the Florida Department of Revenue, but there are other incorporated municipalities that do not. The state government's primary source of revenue is sales tax. Florida does not impose a personal income tax. The primary revenue source for cities and counties is property tax; unpaid taxes are subject to tax sales which are held (at the county level) in May and (due to the extensive use of online bidding sites) are highly popular.
There were 800 federal corruption convictions from 1988 to 2007, more than any other state.[130]
Elections history
Further information: Politics of Florida, Elections in Florida, and Political party strength in Florida
| Florida registered voters as of August 31, 2016[131] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage | |||
| Democratic | 4,733,359 | 37.93% | |||
| Republican | 4,459,087 | 35.73% | |||
| No Party Affiliation | 2,949,668 | 23.63% | |||
| Minor Parties | 337,170 | 2.70% | |||
| Total | 12,479,284 | 100% | |||
From the 1930s through much of the 1960s, Florida was essentially a one-party state dominated by white conservative Democrats, who together with other Democrats of the Solid South, exercised considerable control in Congress. They gained federal money from national programs; like other southern states, Florida residents have received more federal monies than they pay in taxes: the state is a net beneficiary. Since the 1970s, the conservative white majority of voters in the state has largely shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party. It has continued to support Republican presidential candidates through the 20th century, except in 1976 and 1996, when the Democratic nominee was from the South. They have had "the luxury of voting for presidential candidates who pledge to cut taxes and halt the expansion of government while knowing that their congressional delegations will continue to protect federal spending."[132]
In the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Barack Obama carried the state as a northern Democrat, attracting high voter turnout especially among the young, Independents, and minority voters, of whom Hispanics comprise an increasingly large proportion. 2008 marked the first time since 1932, when Franklin D. Roosevelt carried the state, that Florida was carried by a Northern Democrat for president.
The first post-Reconstruction era Republican elected to Congress from Florida was William C. Cramer in 1954 from Pinellas County on the Gulf Coast,[133] where demographic changes were underway. In this period, African Americans were still disenfranchised by the state's constitution and discriminatory practices; in the 19th century they had made up most of the Republican Party. Cramer built a different Republican Party in Florida, attracting local white conservatives and transplants from northern and midwestern states. In 1966 Claude R. Kirk, Jr. was elected as the first post-Reconstruction Republican governor, in an upset election.[134] In 1968 Edward J. Gurney, also a white conservative, was elected as the state's first post-reconstruction Republican US Senator.[135] In 1970 Democrats took the governorship and the open US Senate seat, and maintained dominance for years.
Since the mid-20th century, Florida has been considered a bellwether, voting for 13 successful presidential candidates since 1952. It voted for the loser only three times.[136]
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 49.02% 4,615,910 | 47.81% 4,501,455 |
| 2012 | 49.13% 4,163,447 | 50.01% 4,237,756 |
| 2008 | 48.22% 4,045,624 | 51.03% 4,282,074 |
| 2004 | 52.10% 3,964,522 | 47.09% 3,583,544 |
| 2000 | 48.85% 2,912,790 | 48.84% 2,912,253 |
| 1996 | 42.32% 2,244,536 | 48.02% 2,546,870 |
| 1992 | 40.89% 2,173,310 | 39.00% 2,072,698 |
| 1988 | 60.87% 2,618,885 | 38.51% 1,656,701 |
| 1984 | 65.32% 2,730,350 | 34.66% 1,448,816 |
| 1980 | 55.52% 2,046,951 | 38.50% 1,419,475 |
| 1976 | 46.64% 1,469,531 | 51.93% 1,636,000 |
| 1972 | 71.91% 1,857,759 | 27.80% 718,117 |
| 1968 | 40.53% 886,804 | 30.93% 676,794 |
| 1964 | 48.85% 905,941 | 51.15% 948,540 |
| 1960 | 51.51% 795,476 | 48.49% 748,700 |
The fast-growing I-4 corridor area, which runs through Central Florida and connects the cities of Daytona Beach, Orlando, and Tampa/St. Petersburg, has had a fairly even breakdown of Republican and Democratic voters. The area is often seen as a merging point of the conservative northern portion of the state and the liberal southern portion, making it the biggest swing area in the state. Since the late 20th century, the voting results in this area, containing 40% of Florida voters, has often determined who will win the state of Florida in presidential elections.[138]
The Democratic Party has maintained an edge in voter registration, both statewide and in 40 of the 67 counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, the state's three most populous.[139]
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