Fitzgerald: Florida must do 360

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By RICHARD DYMOND - [e-mail]

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The Florida of 1946, known for its pristine beaches, East Coast tourist traps, cheap, plentiful real estate and magic carpet-like roads, is a model that won’t work in the future.

The Florida of 2046, if it is to rank among the nation’s successful states, must “become that cool place” where major cities are interconnected by rail and autos are no longer king, where “the Silicon Valley of the 2000s” is the unofficial state motto and “living green with renewable energy” is the official one.

In a word, Florida must do a 360-degree “pivot,” said state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, who spoke before about 50 who attended the Tampa Bay Partnership’s Chair’s Leadership Breakfast at Northern Trust Bank Tuesday.

“We were a state created for people who made their wealth elsewhere to come and spend it,” Fitzgerald said. “We were not a wealth-producing state. We didn’t have smokestacks. Our industries were real estate, tourism and services such as banking, finance and law. Is that sustainable for the future? I think not.”

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I would love to see Florida do something like this. The chances of it happening, however, are slim to none, IMO.