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Unemployment Tops Florida Voters' Concerns as Election Nears

October 25, 2010 | WMFE - With Election Day just over a week away, the economy and high unemployment top the list of issues on many Florida voters' minds. All the state's political candidates are reflecting that fact in their campaigns as well.

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At a recent Orlando job fair, Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson led job seekers in a chant.

 “What do we want?” he asked.

 “Jobs!” they answered.

“And when do we want them?”

“Now!”

Orlando insurance adjuster Rasheeda Smith was in the crowd.  She was laid off in 2008. She has nearly exhausted her unemployment benefits and still hasn’t found work, despite her degree in finance and her best efforts.

“My full-time job now is looking for work,” Smith said. “I try to put out 3 to 4 resumes a day.”

Congressman Grayson organized the “job boot camp,” as he called it, and he is trying to stand out on this issue as the caring candidate.

“I think the fundamental difference between myself and every other candidate who’s running against me is that I actually give a damn,” said Grayson.

As the District 8 incumbent, Grayson has been hosting events like the job boot camp as a Congressman that bolster his populist approach as a candidate.  He also says he has created jobs as a Congressman. For one thing, he says he doubled the amount of federal grant money coming into his district.

But Republicans say government spending is not the right way to get folks back to work. Many in the GOP focus their anger on the federal stimulus package, and Grayson opponent Daniel Webster is no exception.

“I don’t believe the first stimulus bill actually helped, and I definitely would not support a new stimulus bill,” said Webster.

Webster is a former state legislator, but he prefers to stress his current role as small business owner to prove he understands the economy.

“Over the last year we haven’t hired anybody new and we have not expanded our business, even though we have cash to do that,” said Webster. “And our business may be a picture of other businesses who have a fear, a fear of tomorrow, a fear of what’s going to happen.”

But Grayson says it was stimulus money that kept the economy from a complete crash that could have brought those fears to fruition. In fact, Grayson says Orange County’s current 11.8 percent unemployment rate means the stimulus didn’t go far enough.

“I think it’s crazy to think that we’ve done too much,” said Grayson. “If we hadn’t done what we did, then the unemployment rate would be 20 percent or 25 percent.”

Both Democratic candidate Congressman Kendrick Meek and Independent candidate Governor Charlie Crist supported the stimulus and, like Grayson, are sticking by it. Republican candidate Marco Rubio blasted Crist in a recent ABC News debate for favoring the measure. Crist shot back that it saved 80,000 Florida jobs, a quarter of them teachers.

“I don’t know how you can look them in the eye, Marco, and say, ‘You know, I don’t care about you, you’re not going to have that food on your table for your families,’” Crist said.

Rubio thinks that argument pales in comparison to the damage being done by rising federal debt. He favors slashing spending and cutting taxes because he says tax cuts for businesses will prompt them to hire more.

“I know that jobs aren’t created by politicians. They’re created by everyday people that start a business or expand an existing business,” Rubio stated during the same debate. “And the job of government is to make it easier for them to do that, not harder.”

Clashes over job creation are dominating local races, too. In the Orange County mayoral race the two candidates are both pitching plans that include tax breaks for local businesses that hire or expand.

Former County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs wants the voters’ okay.

“The way that we will do that is put that on the ballot early part of next year – a mail-out ballot, which is the least expensive way to go and the most convenient for citizens,” she explained in a debate on WMFE’s “Ballot 2010, An Intersection Special.”

But her opponent, Commissioner Bill Segal said, why wait?

“I believe my plan will move quicker. People need jobs right now, and a ballot initiative, even a mail-in ballot, could cost well over a million dollars and may fail,” Segal said. “That’s money down the drain.”

Back at the job fair, Rasheeda Smith agreed people need jobs right now, but for her, it isn’t about political posturing. She’s focused on her day-to-day struggle.

“Going from an insurance adjuster’s salary to $300 a week…it hurts,” said Smith.

She knows all these candidates are pursuing her vote. She says to get it, they’ll have to stop fighting about the economy and start fixing it. 

PROGRAM NOTE:
This story is part of a three-part series on the issues facing Central Florida voters as they head to the polls.  Tomorrow, we'll look at the political implications of decisions about the future of NASA.  Listen for that on Morning Edition Tuesday at 6:33am and 8:33am.

 

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