Today\u2019s wobbly federal economic policies may be considered just as much slapstick as the 1980 comedy Airplane!, but off the big screen, the joke is on Florida.<\/p>\n
In his state economic outlook for 2014-2017, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith expects the economy to grow less than 3 percent despite promising signs that might otherwise indicate more improvement.<\/p>\n
Factors such as population growth, the rebounding of the housing market, speedy job growth and unemployment rates below the national average should signal that Florida is flying higher. But economic policies that create more problems than they solve are a downdraft on the state\u2019s economy, Snaith says.<\/p>\n
\u201cForgive me if I do not raise a toast to the start of a new phase of robust growth in the U.S. economy that is here to stay, to a long-awaited period of actual recovery that will lift all boats with its rising tide of prosperity,\u201d said Snaith. \u201cI\u2019ve seen this movie before and that is not what follows this current scene of positive economic data reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the villain awaits us in 2014 and the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank regulatory reform and what path the Fed will follow as it unexpectedly took its first step in its taper of bond purchases in December are a cabal conspiring to suck out the wind that currently is providing the economy with its lift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snaith says policy uncertainty is likely lasting, although the deal to avoid a government shutdown, and a 4.1 percent growth rate for real GDP in the 3rd quarter of 2013 indicate promise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are all positive developments, but they do not negate the remaining sources of policy uncertainty, and we have seen in this recovery bursts of economic activity that ultimately give way to a return to subpar growth,\u201d Snaith said. \u201cIf the Sunshine State were free from the restraints of policy uncertainty that will remain in place in 2014, growth would undoubtedly be much more robust.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the complete Florida forecast, click here.<\/p>\n
Other highlights from the report include:<\/p>\n
Snaith is the director of UCF\u2019s Institute for Economic Competitiveness. He is a national expert in economics, forecasting, market sizing and economic analysis who authors quarterly reports about the state of the economy. Bloomberg News has named Snaith as one of the country\u2019s most accurate forecasters for his predictions about the Federal Reserve\u2019s benchmark interest rate, the Federal Funds rate.<\/p>\n
Snaith also is a member of several national forecasting panels, including The Wall Street Journal Economic Forecasting Survey, CNNMoney.com\u2019s survey of leading economists, the Associated Press Economy Survey, the National Association of Business Economics Quarterly Outlook Survey Panel, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia\u2019s Survey of Professional Forecasters, the Livingston Survey, Bloomberg U.S. Economic Indicator Survey, Reuters U.S. Economy Survey and USA Today Economic Survey Panel.<\/p>\n
The Institute for Economic Competitiveness strives to provide complete, accurate and timely national, state and regional forecasts and economic analyses. Through these analyses, the institute provides valuable resources to the public and private sectors for informed decision-making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s wobbly federal economic policies may be considered just as much slapstick as the 1980 comedy Airplane!, but off the big screen, the joke is on Florida. In his state economic outlook for 2014-2017, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith expects the economy to grow less than 3 percent despite promising signs that might otherwise indicate more improvement. Factors…","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[1486,4194,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-56529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-community","tag-economic-forecast","tag-sean-snaith","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\n