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Experian

Florida’s outlook bullish despite pandemic, legislators say

November 10, 2020 By Kevin Weiss

Florida’s 2021 budget is expected to be lower than it was in 2020 — due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, but incoming Senate President Wilton Simpson remains optimistic about the state’s prospects.

Those were two takeaways from Simpson’s remarks at the annual Zephyrhills Economic Summit held on Oct. 12, and organized by the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

Simpson, a Republican from Trilby, predicted that 2021 will be “a very challenging budget year.”

He estimated that the state budget will be between $2 billion and $5 billion less in 2021 than its $93 billion budget last year.

Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Republican from Trilby, offered an overview of Florida business and the state’s pandemic response, during the Zephyrhills summit. (File)

“We have a lot of work do this year,” said Simpson, who was first elected in 2012 and represents Florida’s 10th district, which includes Citrus, Hernando and a portion of Pasco County.

He told those attending the summit that this will be the first time since he became a state lawmaker that the state’s budget will be lower in the coming year than in the previous year.

Despite the economic setback, Florida is well-positioned for the long-term because, for the past decade, it has been investing in infrastructure and cultivating a business-friendly environment, Simpson said.

For instance, the state has not skimped on investing in deepwater ports, and other transportation and roadway improvements. It also has slashed sales taxes on manufacturing equipment — to attract large firms and higher-wage jobs.

The state has paid off about $10 billion in debt during the last decade, bringing total debt to around $20 billion. And, it has reduced taxes by a corresponding amount, he said.

Moreover, the state boasts a AAA credit rating from all three credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, he said.

To put it into perspective, Simpson noted a similarly populated state like New York is “eight, nine notches down from a AAA credit rating.

“When you think about Florida, we’re one of the lowest tax states in the union, and there’s certain states we could probably never win because we don’t have an oil reserve here to where we can give dollars away, but other than that, we have no state income tax. From a regulatory structure, we have one of the best states to do business in,” explained Simpson.

New York, which has a population of about 19.5 million, has a budget of about $200 billion, Simpson said. By comparison, Florida’s population is about 22 million, and its budget is less than $100 billion.

“We extract half of the taxes that they extract from their system to run their government, versus our government,” Simpson said.

On a related note, Simpson said about 1,000 people move into the Sunshine State every day. The state’s population is predicted to reach about 27 million by 2035.

Taxes and regulations are two of the reasons people are moving here, Simpson said.

He observed: “What’s happening is all of your high-tax states, all of your overregulated states, those folks are voting with their feet. They’re moving to Florida.”

But, Florida has issues it must address, including the funding of the Florida Retirement System, he said. That system’s unfunded liability now stands at about $25 billion.

That situation “will keep the state of Florida restricted on how much dollars we can spend in the future,” Simpson said.

On the topic of COVID-19, Simpson praised the country’s ever-improving therapeutic medicines and pharmaceutical industry for advancing with vaccine options and trials. The lawmaker hopes an approved vaccine is produced by the beginning of 2021, then widely available by the middle of the year.

With health and safety guidelines now widely known and followed, Simpson said Florida “should not be in a situation where we have to re-shut down. The more serious we take it, the more our economy will flourish.”

Meantime, Simpson said the state’s economy “is picking up,” and showing signs of recovery since about 30% of it was shut down for two-plus months in the wake of COVID-19.

It could’ve been an even larger hit, Simpson said, if not for the state’s robust agriculture industry and other central businesses, including first responders, health care providers, education, and truck drivers and delivery services.

Simpson, himself an owner of a regional egg farm operation, put it like this: “You don’t have farmers taking any days off. You have a farmer take a day off, grocery stores are gonna run out of groceries.”

State Rep. Randy Maggard weighs in on Florida’s future
State Rep. Randy Maggard, a Republican from Dade City, another speaker at the summit, echoed much of Simpson’s sentiments on Florida’s outlook in 2021 and beyond.

State Rep. Randy Maggard, a Republican from Dade City, discussed some Florida legislative priorities for 2021.

The lawmaker said he’s looking forward to the coming legislative session, but cautioned tough decisions lie ahead, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Going forward, it will be a little bit challenging on appropriations and money,” said Maggard, who’s district 38 covers most of Pasco County east of U.S. 41. “You heard the senator (Wilton Simpson). We’re gonna be down. When you have that much of your businesses not producing revenue, something’s gotta give, but I think we can do it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, Florida will come out of this extremely well, just because of how it’s been ran. The legislators before me were always planning for the ‘what if,’ whether it’s a hurricane, a pandemic, but we were able to absorb a lot of that,” he said.

Maggard also addressed the state’s failures in providing timely unemployment benefits through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).

In defense of the program, Maggard pointed out the DEO system was never designed to handle the influx of financial assistance requests brought about by the coronavirus, particularly between March and May.

Maggard made an analogy of the state’s unemployment system with his own career, where for 30 years he’s been vice president of Sonny’s Discount Appliances in Dade City.

“I can deliver 20 items a day, I’m set up for that. But, if I have to deliver 1,000 the next day, I got a problem. Well, we had a problem, because it was millions (of people), not thousands that we were dealing with,” he explained.

Maggard added he and his colleagues have “learned a lot” from the DEO malfunctions, noting the faults should be addressed in upcoming sessions.

“The pandemic really caught all of us a little off-guard,” said Maggard, who won a special election in 2019 to finish out the seat vacated by former Rep. Danny Burgess.

“If you were not an essential (worker), it was really rough. Our office held many, many phone calls and emails trying to help individuals who lost their job, to get state funding; and, it was overwhelming. It was very humbling to see what happens to your neighbors and friends here, and we all know the system didn’t work exactly like it’s supposed to,” he said.

Published November 11, 2020

Students should learn about credit scores

November 28, 2018 By Mary Rathman

Your credit score is a three-digit number that has a long-lasting effect on your buying power.

When you apply for credit, your score will be checked. Employers and landlords also can do a credit check. The higher your credit score, the better the chances are that you will be approved.

It’s important to know your three-digit credit score when applying for credit and loans. (Courtesy of CardGuru)

Students should become familiar with their credit scores, which can determine whether you get a loan and what your interest rates will be.

There are several scoring methods, but the most widely accepted one comes from FICO. Scores can range from 300 to 850.

These calculations make up a FICO score:

Thirty-five percent is based on your payment history. Pay your loans and credit card bills on time. Early payments will result in a higher number than on-time payments, which, in turn, will have a higher score than late payments.

Thirty percent is based on outstanding debt. Outstanding debt is how much you owe on car loans, mortgages, credit cards, etc. The number of credit cards you have and if those cards are near the maximum borrowing limit will hurt your score.

Fifteen percent is based on the length of time you have had credit. The longer you have been borrowing money (using credit) and paying it back in a timely manner, the better your score will be.

Ten percent is based on new credit. If you have opened several new accounts, that will have a negative on your score. Also, the more inquiries on your credit report in a year, the lower your score will tend to be.

Ten percent is based on the types of credit you currently have. Refrain from going overboard on a bunch of new loan and credit cards in a short period of time, which makes it look like you are desperate for credit. But, it is a good idea to have a credit mix, such as revolving debt and installment loans.

A credit score is derived from a credit report, which is made up of your identification information, such as current and previous addresses; and your history of dealing with credit, such as payments on student loans and credit cards.

It’s important to make sure the information on your credit report is accurate, and it is up to the individual to have any errors fixed.

Get free access to a credit score/report from Experian, Equifax, TransUnion or CreditKarma, once every 12 months, from AnnualCreditReport.com.

Published November 28, 2018

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06/04/2022 – D-Day reenactment

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The Church at Myrtle Lake, 2017 Riegler Road in Land O’ Lakes, will host the Spark Studios Vacation Bible School from June 13 to June 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is free for children of age who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade. Registration is open online at MyrtleLake.org. For information, call 813-949-5516. … [Read More...] about 06/13/2022 – Vacation Bible School

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