Welcome to

One out of every five dollars of personal income in Florida comes from government programs, and by years end many of those programs will be scaled back. The research comes from Moody’s Analytics a New York based research group, but what it means to Florida, as Whitney Ray tells us, is fewer dollars for people to spend on food, clothing and other necessities.

The recession has more Floridians enrolling in unemployment, food stamps and social security programs. But by years end, many of those programs will be cut.

Tuesday Florida House Democrat Alan Williams was speaking up to save Medicare. He says the cuts will hurt.

“I think it leaves a lot of folk behind and it leaves a lot of services that could be given to our citizens when they need them the most,” said Williams.

On top of Uncle Sam closing his wallet, the state is also scaling back the amount of money it gives people in need. August 1st changes to the state’s unemployment compensation system will keep thousands from claiming benefits.

Rob Weissert, the Vice President for Research at Florida TaxWatch, says the changes mean fewer dollars for Floridians to spend at Florida businesses.

“This change will likely have a negative impact on real Floridians and on Florida’s fiscal situation, but it could be a positive in the long run,” said Weissert.

The positive, says Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, is that the cuts are expected to help businesses create jobs. Carroll says the strategy is already starting to work.

Carroll: Right now we are also seeing that in the short term that our revenues coming in are higher that expected.
Reporter: So it’s all about jobs.
Carroll: Jobs jobs jobs.”

But with 20 percent of the personal income in Florida coming from the government, if those jobs don’t come soon the recession will likely deepen.

Since Florida has no income tax and relies heavily on sales tax to fund government, cuts in entitlement programs could hit Florida harder than other states.