The Florida Jobs Summit, Battling Unemployment by Legislation Input

January 15, 2010, Orlando, Florida - Any large event is the sum of its parts, 400 attendees at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort came with one mind, to contribute to the health of the Florida Economy by offering suggestions to legislative leaders about specific legislation, or general policy direction. House leader Dean Cannon or Senate leader Mike Haridopolos chaired the proceedings. The event lasted till 3pm and included breakfast and lunch.
Topics for each 50 minute session were: Promoting Job Creation, Barriers and Building Incentives. Leveraging Existing Resources to create Sustainable Jobs. Immediate Opportunities to Grow New Sectors. Strengthening Florida's Traditional Economic Pillars. Smart Growth: Balancing Florida's Interests. Getting the Workforce Ready to Work.

As far as my participation went, I arrived with three goals. First to shut up and listen. Second, to present the idea of dramatically increasing the bonding authority of the State for super highway construction, and dramatically raising the bar of expectation about the technical quality of such roads going forward. Third, to focus attention of the alternative energy community on using the Gulf Stream to generate electricity.

The first speaker was Harry Rosen, owner of the fabulous Shingle Creek Resort. His opening remarks included a moment of silence for the tragedy continuing to unfold in Haiti. The Governor, Charlie Crist made his remarks, the event sponsors made their opening remarks, and as I sat there, I became overcome with the number and quality of individuals in the room, and their collective ability to lead the state of Florida in a collective response to the earthquake victims. The work of assisting these suffering people at this moment I judged to be the most important work we could ever attempt. Morally, we are compelled. Geographically, help from America can only come from Florida. Vocationally, no one should be ashamed to accept funds for their work in the process of funneling aid to those in dire need. Strategically, Florida would suffer most if the attempt to aid and rebuild Haiti should fail or come up short.

With the relief Telethon efforts of America to help starving Ethiopia and tsunami victims as my mental model, I began to circulate the idea of lighting up broadcast sound stages, scheduling time, enlisting talent (celebrity and technical) for the purpose of getting this job done. I approached Mr. Haridopolos, the CEO of Universal Orlando, John Sprouls, and the Governor's staff with my concerns. I tried to communicate that not just government assets, but the full engagement of the public was necessary to make a dent in the enormity of the problem. I used the phrase, "reverse Dunkirk, supported by a Telethon" to communicate the urgency of life and death and a civil defense mentality. The evacuation of the retreating British Army from the beaches of Dunkirk by an impromptu civilian fleet mobilized to save lives under fire was a seminal moment in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. They assured me that my inspiration was helpful, and that work was proceeding to this end in real time.

After I settled down, I began to notice a pattern, there were two categories and several distinct groups of presenters. There were presenters who wanted to contribute wealth to the State and may have needed relief from legislative restrictions, as distinct from those who wanted tax breaks, to maintain their vocations.
In the former were advocates for petroleum production, and the latter were film industry representatives, solar energy advocates. Other groups included advocates for disabled workers, small business, and education.
One innovative education approach brought their exhibit to the parking lot - a traveling bus outfitted to teach manufacturing skills to a novice workforce on site within eight weeks.

I was able to fit a word in edgewise regarding "smart growth." Instead the usual conversation offered by others, the need to balance growth and the need to provide jobs, I chose to re-direct the entire concept of smart growth back to the Florida that I continue to believe in, a Florida defined by Walt Disney, and his fond expression of Jules Verne. This is a Florida focused on the frontiers of human exploration, a Florida that takes a one hundred year old science fiction work, and sends real men to the moon, a Florida that is in the forefront of the exploration of the oceans for the betterment of all mankind. I advocated for a competitive Space Tourist Industry, and a project to capture the energy of the Gulf Stream, for unlimited amounts of free, clean electricity. As long as we focus on the frontiers, the stars and the seas, our people will never want for work.

A very pleasant surprise to me personally, was the appearance of the Chancellor of the University System of Florida, Frank Brogan. He is very much in support of the Gulf Stream Energy proposal, as pioneering work in the field has been accomplished at Florida Atlantic University, were he served as president. I personally lobbied him for the idea of raising additional dollars via the Florida Lottery, by offering a new product - a peel off sticker which would have a prize underneath, and the sticker could be used for a variety of commercial purposes, such as Gators Noles , Bulls etc.

At lunch, in the question and answer session following the talk of Mr. Tony Villamil, economics professor, an interesting skirmish line developed between pro-business forces, who advocated against a constitutional amendment that would require public votes to amend the county development master plan, and the pro-amendment forces, who argued that such an amendment would have constrained growth in the latest boom bust cycle, which would have made for a more sane and sustainable growth path.

At the end of the day, after hearing many fine presentations from solar energy experts, and experts in robotics technology, I presented a grand vision for the remaking of Florida's interstate Highway system. As a result of the financial bankruptcy of the Federal Government, Florida can no longer rely a tradition Interstate highway funding system. I made the case that this is a good thing. Florida is no longer content with the road system of the Eisenhower era. It is time to make a case with the international finance community to buy bonds supported by tolls generated by the first superhighway of the 22nd century - Florida Autobahn 2.0. We have technologies today that have not been deployed on our roads, robotics, collision avoidance, new safety innovations that will make the turnpikes of the future faster and safer than the roads of today. Merely the speculation that Florida is contemplating such roads will stop the free fall of land prices in the bad economy, and help to make economic recovery swift.

I would say that the event at least met the expectations of those who attended. However, the success of any event can only be measured by the metric by which it is established. If Florida's unemployment rate is higher in one year than it is today; if the bold promise of real jobs offered to the leaders go unaccepted, this event will have failed.