Floridians feeling broke, bummed out

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"Consumer confidence among Floridians has hit an overall low not seen in more than five years, pushed down by negative views of personal financial situations that have not been seen since 1991.

The overall index as compiled by the University of Florida stands at 74, its lowest level since August 2002. Each month, the university queries hundreds of people throughout the state about their views on their personal financial situations and the broader economy.

Sales have so far been sluggish this holiday season, with retailers hoping that consumers are delaying shopping for this last long weekend before Christmas.

But according to Friday's survey, perceptions about personal finances and whether it was a good time to buy big-ticket items hit 16-year lows -- not since 1991 have respondents given such negative answers, survey director Chris McCarty said.

"One thing that keeps the economy humming when everything else contracts is the consumer," he said. "These are getting to levels where you have to argue the consumer is going to stay out of it for a while."

UF has been doing the monthly survey for more than 20 years. The index for December was conducted from 494 responses."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/353495.html

...For the other half of the Population..This Floridian can only say.."This is what you wanted...This is what you get".

Florida, where the people are Democrats and the voting machines are Republican.

I agree, Crist is an (expected) disappointment...

I left downtown St Pete last night after a party at my son's house. As we drove by the I-375 exit we saw literally hundreds of homeless living under the overpass. It is a sad state of affairs when so many have so little. The only thing Florida has to offer anymore is warm weather.

"The only thing Florida has to offer anymore is warm weather." - Lowell
Tonight it is expected to be below freezing in many FL towns. St. Pete will probably be one of them. Admittedly it's a late first cold front this year and by Sat. we'll be running around in shorts again, but you're right - for the homeless and the plant growers, it's a big problem.
The much debated recession in the rest of the country is firmly ensconsed in FL and has been for at least two quarters already. Tourism is down, the citrus industry is a mess, construction has all but disappeared in many boom towns.
There was always a huge service employee population to cater to the gizillionaires along the coasts. But with the great insurance rip-off and the ever-increasing fiscal appetites of the municipalites (read: rapidly rising RE taxes), the service sector can't afford FL anymore. One wag recently suggested that in the FL keys - once the bastion of the end-of-the earth crowd - that the millionaires will soon be cutting the billionaires grass. No one else can afford to live down there anymore!
Don't get me wrong, it's no ghost town, yet. A recent news article detailed how more people are leaving the state than coming in - first time that's happened in a long, long time. I live on the East Coast and have business throughout the state. So far, it (the bad economy) appears to have hit the West Coast more severely.
There is a major shakeout taking place in FL these days. It's happened before, but it'll be interesting this time to see what and who survives.
...and yes, I am very worried.