Florida is pretty famous for two things: retirees and tourists.
One of the gubernatorial candidates says those two groups are so important, Florida’s economy relies on them. Democratic candidate Nan Rich claimed:
"Tourism and retirees are the dominant economic engines in our state."
Rich made the statement during a speech to the Florida Press Association in South Florida this month. PolitiFact Florida rated the claim for its truthfulness. Writer Linda Qiu said it rates MOSTLY TRUE. According to Qiu, the numbers back Rich up.
“If you look at statistics, Florida’s population, one fifth of it is aged 65 and older and tourism generates about a quarter of the state's tax revenue,” Qiu said.
The trouble is, there’s no definitive way to figure out the dominant engine at in any economy.
Economists say its pretty clear that tourism and retirees play a vital role in the state’s economy. In fact, many agree that each is an important economic engine to the total picture. But, experts say those two industries tend to create low-wage jobs in the market place, which some could be a bad thing for Florida’s economy.
Because of those factors, PolitiFact rated the claim MOSTLY TRUE.
SOURCES: FLORIDA'S TOP ECONOMIC ENGINES
- PolitiFact's ruling
- LeRoy Collins institute, "Tougher Choices: Shaping Florida’s Future" February 2014
- Naked Politics, "News is grim in report by Collins Institute and UF," Feb. 20, 2014
- Tampa Bay Times, "Nan Rich rips Charlie Crist for not debating," July 11, 2014
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional data GDP, 2012
- Florida Department of Economic Opportunity,Florida Strategic Plan for Economic Development, 2013
- Visit Florida, Annual report, 2013
- Visit Florida, Research about tourism spending, Accessed July 11, 2014
- Palm Beach Post, "Nan Rich rips Charlie Crist’s credentials but says she’ll support him if he wins primary," July 11, 2014
- Interview, Nan Rich, Democratic primary candidate for governor and former state senator, July 11, 2014
- Interview, Kathy Torian, Visit Florida spokeswoman, July 11, 2014
- Interview, David Denslow, retired University of Florida economist, July 11, 2014
- Interview, Bill Seyfried, Rollins College economist, July 11, 2014
- Interview, Jessica Sims, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity spokeswoman, July 11, 2014
- Interview, Kwame Donaldson, Moody’s economist, July 11, 2014
- Interview, Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness, July 21, 2014