Local View:
Hurricane Irma still is pounding working poor.
The rain has stopped, the winds have subsided, and the too-familiar grumble of generators has quieted. Although the storm was here for only 10 long hours, Central Floridians will feel the effects of Hurricane Irma for far longer.
Estimates on the economic impact of Hurricane Irma are coming in at anywhere from $35 billion to $70 billion. This, of course, factors in lost tourism. Five times more people visit our state every year than live here. Tourism is one of the main engines of our local economy and accounts for a significant percentage of the jobs — many of which are low-wage and will take the financial brunt of this disaster in terms of lost wages, fewer work hours and less availability of resources to help them.
Of course, the short-term expenses of dwelling repair, debris removal and restocking perishable foods are expected, but for many it’s not as easy as absorbing a little extra expense one month. The financial challenges that face ALICE — Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed — have been exacerbated by the storm.
ALICE lives paycheck-topaycheck, and any extra, unexpected expenses can snap the fragile tightrope these residents are walking. United Way’s 2-1-1 Information & Assistance Crisis Line has experienced 10 times the expected call volume since the storm. That means that 10 times the number of people need help, and our already overworked social-service system is experiencing 10 times the demand.
The Federal Reserve is projecting that Hurricane Irma “will have no lasting economic impact.” According to a postmeeting statement from the Fed, “Past experience suggests that the storms are unlikely to materially alter the course of the national economy over the medium term.”
I’m not sure what sunshiny vista the Fed is looking at, but from my point of view, I still see downed trees, employees unable to return to work and families struggling even more than they were before the storm.
Also, let’s look to history to give us a clue. In 2004 from Jeanne, Charley, Frances and Ivan, there was $790.7 million in added costs vs. $751.9 million in added revenue. In 2005, from Dennis, Wilma, Katrina and Rita, there was $624.4 million in added costs vs. $422.1 million in added revenue. One can only expect that a similar trend will be followed for our state budget this time around.
I would challenge anyone who sits miles and miles away from hard-hit areas to come listen to one call from our 2-1-1 Crisis Line and then tell me that the economic impact is minimal. It’s tough to see the sun shining for the thick clouds of economic uncertainty that still hover over our region.
However, I would be remiss to say that bad as it was, we got relatively lucky in Central Florida. Thinking of our friends throughout the state, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, things could have been much worse. It’s my hope that in the months and year to come, this natural disaster does not turn into a financial one for Central Floridians living on the cusp.