TIME Magazine article slams Miami

[Bobdreamz]

The 'Major City' That Isn't: Can a New Mayor Start to Turn Miami Around? Published June 30,2011

Miamians hate it when media criticism of their city is couched in stale clichés like "Trouble in Paradise" or "Paradise Lost." I agree: it's time to nix the whole "paradise" chestnut, because Miami isn't and never really was paradise. In fact, it was originally a mangrove swamp; South Beach is entirely man-made. Yes, Miami winters are balmy, but have you ever spent an entire summer here? By August you're dreaming of Montreal.

But put aside Miami's natural attributes and consider its civic qualities, and things get really infernal. In March, the voters of Miami-Dade County, or metropolitan Miami, recalled their Mayor, Carlos Alvarez, who during the worst recession since the Great Depression gave his top staffers pay raises as high as 15% while using his government car allowance to help pay for his new luxury BMW. In the June 28 run-off election to replace Alvarez, the choices were a Hialeah politician under federal investigation for alleged loan-sharking (he denies it) and a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission, a body so clueless and cavalier that one of its members heads a construction company that gets contracts from Miami International Airport — which the Commission oversees.
(See TIME's photoessay: "Miami: Paradise Lost?")

Just last week, Miami's embattled police chief, Miguel Exposito, claimed that city officials offered him $400,000 to resign. Of course other U.S. cities, like Chicago, have corrupt government. But Chicago can afford it better because it has a real economy. Miami doesn't, which is why its unemployment rate is still mired at 13.7% while other Florida metropolises like Tampa (10.5%), Orlando (9.9%) and Jacksonville (9.7%) are emerging from the crisis. You'd think, with such problems, that Miami-Dade's 1.2 million voters would have come out in force on Tuesday to select their new Mayor, who turned out to be the Commission member, Carlos Gimenez. But turnout was a shameful 16%. "We just don't yet have the civic maturity of the major city we're supposed to be," says Dan Ricker, publisher and editor of the Miami-based WatchdogReport.net.

And Miami is supposed to be a major city: no less than the trade and cultural nexus of the Americas. Instead it more often seems a municipal version of the old joke about Brazil: that it's the country of the future — and always will be. Brazil has since grown out of that feckless reputation, but Miami just might inherit that mantle.

Miami faces the same problem that has always nagged developing countries like Brazil: the gap between its low wages and its high costs of living is one of the widest in America. Even in the 21st century, the Magic City still lives under its 20th-century illusion that tourism and condo construction are the basis of a modern economy. Nor has Miami found a way to turn its robust trade and banking sectors — some $95 billion worth of imports and exports moved through Miami last year, a 21% increase over 2009 — into equally vigorous job-creation engines.
(See a video of Miami post-Katrina.)

Florida on the whole is still far too low-wage and low-tech. But Tampa, by comparison, has pared a recession unemployment rate that stood at 13.1% last year largely because it's encouraging the kind of industries, like bioengineering, that ought to be blooming in a city that has Miami's large number of hospitals and elderly retirees.

But they aren't, and that's in large part the product of an abysmal leadership, like the Miami city officials who, despite a hiring freeze to help stanch municipal red ink, went ahead and recently made 200 new hires anyway. Miami-Dade desperately needs charter reform, but Commission members sabotaged approval of many amendments presented to voters in May. While they rightly proposed, for example, that members receive a $92,000 annual salary instead of the ridiculous $6,000 they get now — which is a big reason the Commission doesn't attract more honest and talented candidates — they tried to grandfather in a 12-year term limit that could have let some current members serve into the 2020s, a prospect too appalling for most Miami voters.
(See how Brazilians could help boost the U.S. economy.)

Miami-Dade Mayor-elect Gimenez, who will finish Alvarez's term until an election in November 2012 — and who faces a $239 million county budget deficit — "can at least restart the process" of charter reform, says Ricker. But unless he wins the 2012 race as well, what Gimenez won't have time to rectify is Miami's other key ill: its community balkanization. For all its potent immigrant energy, Miami still seems less a city than a collection of antagonistic ethnic enclaves separated by sprawl (public transportation remains virtually non-existent) and a lack of common purpose. That was all too evident when a group backing Gimenez, an affluent Cuban-American, went trawling for white and non-Latino voters by airing an ad (which Gimenez has less than convincingly disavowed) painting Hialeah, a working-class Cuban-American community where Gimenez's opponent, Julio Robaina, was mayor, as a seedy swamp of political crooks.

It was also a reminder that Miami's most gaping breach is between rich and poor. Less than a fifth of Miami-Dade's population inhabits the middle class, and the city of Miami has one of the U.S.'s highest poverty levels. Yet Miami-Dade consistently ranks among the top 10 U.S. counties in the number of millionaires. The Miami Heat's embarrassing choke in the NBA finals this month proved that overpaid showboats don't necessarily win championships. Nor do they make you a major city.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...#ixzz1S15iJcqh

[desertpunk]

Somebody didn't get his happy ending at the Airport Spa...

[casamagda]

So many incorrect statements of fact that is not worth responding...

[URBANITY REPORTS]

Originally Posted by casamagda

So many incorrect statements of fact that is not worth responding...

such as?

[casamagda]

Originally Posted by URBANITY REPORTS

such as?

Paragraph 1. "South Beach is entirely man-made."
No it isn't.

etc. etc. etc.

[CalleOchoGringo]

Originally Posted by casamagda

So many incorrect statements of fact that is not worth responding...

Yeah I'm sadly going to have to agree with Urbanity and Spellbound on this one. This article as painful as it is to hear is almost dead on with everything, except maybe the unclassy cheapshot at the Heat at the end. If he had just not put that in at the end it would have been a much stronger argument sounding like it came from a good reporting. But as Spellbound said, that ending makes the whole thing sound like it was written by some bitter vindictive Ohioan expat who's still mad he'll never see his team in the finals. It unnecessarily takes a lot of merit away from the rest of the article.

[casamagda]

Originally Posted by CalleOchoGringo

Yeah I'm sadly going to have to agree with Urbanity and Spellbound on this one. This article as painful as it is to hear is almost dead on with everything, except maybe the unclassy cheapshot at the Heat at the end.

Dead on about everything?
Paragraph 1. South Beach is entirely man made...
History tells us that the land now known as South Beach was first used for agriculture.
What the author seems to think is that the dredging of the mangroves BETWEEN Miami and South Beach created South Beach. If the author would have said, "Palm, Hibiscus, Star, Rivo Alto, Dilido, San Marino, and Belle Islands were all entirely man-made than that would be true.
What the author wrote is not true. It is dead wrong. It is not a matter of opinion...it is a matter of fact.

Further, the paragraph where the author says, "Florida on the whole is still far too low-wage and low-tech. But Tampa, by comparison, has pared a recession unemployment rate that stood at 13.1% last year largely because it's encouraging the kind of industries, like bioengineering, that ought to be blooming in a city that has Miami's large number of hospitals and elderly retirees.

But they aren't,..."

But they aren't??? Miami is not encouraging [high wage] industries like bioengineering says the author.
Donna Shalalah talks about the Universtiy of Miami investint $1,000,000,000 in the Health District. SSC forumers have posted this news about the new research facilities....but this author missed it.
Terramark Worldwide was just acquired by Verizon about 3 months ago. Verizon is moving jobs from the Northeastern United States to bring them to Miami to the Technology Center of the Americas in Park West... but, somehow, this author missed it.
"But they aren't..." No...they are, you just didn't seem to investigate enough to realize it.

etc. etc. etc.

[UMdev]

This article to me sounds like it was written by an ugly smart girl who is venting about another girl who isn't as smart but is beautiful. While the Beautiful girl isn't as smart she can actually get smarter. However the smart ugly girl will always be ugly.

"But put aside Miami's natural attributes and consider its civic qualities"

It kills me how people like to have arguments in a vacuum. "If Brett Rogers wasn't an a Superbowl winning quarter back and had to work a real job I would be more successful than him." Sounds good but is still pointless because in reality we pay quarterbacks a lot of money.

It's like they're trying to penalize Miami for its attributes. People love to vacation here and millionaires love to have a second home here. I mean how is that fact that Miami ranks in the top 10 for millionaires a bad thing. Do they need to add more middle class jobs? Sure, but the fact that it attracts millionaires in the meantime is hardly a bad thing.

As a UM alum I've had the opportunity to work with MAMCO and got to see everything they are doing with the life sciences park. I don't know how you write an article it time magazine and completely omit this when talking about bioengineering.

The article also touches on trade and then never says anything about the port dredging or rail projects that are setting Miami in a great position for future growth.

And it's funny that the author seems to make a reference to a knock on Brazil. Especially as the Real is doing great against the dollar. It appears to me that this is just a long rant about how Miami doesn't confirm to what some people think a major city should be, which is includes things like being mostly white.

So Chicago's corrupt politicians are okay because the city has a different economy???

Furthermore it seems a little odd that after complaining about "Alvarez", the example for corruption in Chicago was "Exposito" and then highlights "Gimenez" then goes into the knock on Brazil.

So basically Miami isn't a real "major city" because it's filled with ethnic people that don't vote at a high percentage rate and a lot of rich people want to live here.

[I-275westcoastfl]

Saying Tampa is doing better than Miami makes me laugh, this metro has the worst economy in the state. In fact during the boom we couldn't even use it to our advantage like Miami, we didn't grow like Miami did. Also most new job creation in this metro has been low wage because we also have a wage gap so this article might as well bash Florida.

[skyscraperhighrise]

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

Saying Tampa is doing better than Miami makes me laugh, this metro has the worst economy in the state. In fact during the boom we couldn't even use it to our advantage like Miami, we didn't grow like Miami did. Also most new job creation in this metro has been low wage because we also have a wage gap so this article might as well bash Florida.

I Know that's right.

[AddictedToSpace]

Consider the fact Miami has such a gap between the poor and rich a look into the future of what the entire country will look like when the Middle Class is completely destroyed by the GOP.

[LCIII]

Originally Posted by AddictedToSpace

Consider the fact Miami has such a gap between the poor and rich a look into the future of what the entire country will look like when the Middle Class is completely destroyed by the GOP.

Hahaha that's my good laugh for today. I suppose you've been absent these past several years where "Hope and Change" shit the bed and rolled in it.


Thank GOD the country is coming to their senses though.Fresh Gallop Poll numbers indicate that a generic 'Republican Candidate' has now extended the lead against Obama and his massively failed economic policies to 47% to 39%.

Looking more and more like 2012 will look a lot like 2010 in the voters booth.

[DGM]

Originally Posted by Time Magazine

The Miami Heat's embarrassing choke in the NBA finals this month proved that overpaid showboats don't necessarily win championships. Nor do they make you a major city.

Dang, he had to go there, didn't he?

[spellbound]

Mixed-feelings on this. Some of the points are completely valid but it's not very balanced and the writer seems to have some real animosity for the city above and beyond the reporting side.

We do ourselves no favors by pretending some of these issues don't exist. Unemployment in Greater Miami is above the national average. Our wages are below national averages, and we have lower educational achievement numbers and a smaller middle-class than many other cities. Those are real problems that affect everything from local buying power to attracting talent and they must be addressed.

By the same token, an article like that might also take into account that 'boom/bust' cycles in South Florida are hardly anything new and that Miami---like any city with a large immigrant and/or undocumented population---is going to have a bit of an extra burden when it comes to poverty levels, social services, education, etc. It also should be noted that Miami is pretty resilient and usually emerges on sound footing moving forward, even if some negatives remain unresolved.

Again, I don't see why anyone writing objectively about Miami needs to put on a cheerleader outfit and wave pom poms but in this case some more balance would have been welcome (and a more accurate portrayal).

[wpolom]

Originally Posted by spellbound

Mixed-feelings on this. Some of the points are completely valid but it's not very balanced and the writer seems to have some real animosity for the city above and beyond the reporting side.

We do ourselves no favors by pretending some of these issues don't exist. Unemployment in Greater Miami is above the national average. Our wages are below national averages, and we have lower educational achievement numbers and a smaller middle-class than many other cities. Those are real problems that affect everything from local buying power to attracting talent and they must be addressed.

By the same token, an article like that might also take into account that 'boom/bust' cycles in South Florida are hardly anything new and that Miami---like any city with a large immigrant and/or undocumented population---is going to have a bit of an extra burden when it comes to poverty levels, social services, education, etc. It also should be noted that Miami is pretty resilient and usually emerges on sound footing moving forward, even if some negatives remain unresolved.

Again, I don't see why anyone writing objectively about Miami needs to put on a cheerleader outfit and wave pom poms but in this case some more balance would have been welcome (and a more accurate portrayal).

Agree 100 percent!

[CalleOchoGringo]

Originally Posted by spellbound

We do ourselves no favors by pretending some of these issues don't exist.

TOO BAD... WE DO!!!!

Originally Posted by spellbound

Again, I don't see why anyone writing objectively about Miami needs to put on a cheerleader outfit and wave pom poms...

*continues chearleading with everyone else*

[miami305]

I think the writer did not get any (sex) while in South Florida...so he/she might be a little angry .....

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by miami305

I think the writer did not get any (sex) while in South Florida...so he/she might be a little angry .....

He's actually based in Miami (since 1999)...but that doesn't mean he's 'getting any.'

[Zhiao]

Avg ft wages in the county is around $53,000 a year. Not low at all.

[Hia-leah JDM]

Is this the same guy from TIME that writes a nasty piece on Miami every 2 or 3 years it seems? This is more of a distraught local than a huge exposé.
I understand a lot of what he's saying about local politics but how he chose to end his piece said plenty.