Meeting Notice: In-Person and Zoom
When:  Monday, May 8, 2023 at 7:00 PM

Where: Unity of Sarasota, 3023 Proctor Rd., Sarasota FL 34231

Speaker: Eugene (Gene) Henry, AICP, CFM.

Topic: Mr. Henry is a certified flood specialist and expert in community hazard mitigation. He has years of planning experience. His work is critical for the safety of our communities as climate change contributes to more frequent and intense natural disasters. Mr. Henry will be speaking on Natural Hazards, Increasing Risks and Our Increasing Vulnerabilities.

ZOOM: You must register in advance for the Zoom webinar.

Florida governor has ‘lavished the industry with favors and benefits while everyday Floridians suffer’, key report says.
 

DeSantis’s administration has put the insurance companies’ interests ahead of Florida’s own citizens, who are battling homeowner insurance rates nearly triple the national average.

What to Expect From MAGA Default

Heather Cox Richardson summarizes what to expect if MAGA extremists allow America to default on its debt that was in a large part incurred by them. 

“No one should assume that the Fed can really protect the economy and the financial system and our reputation globally from the damage that [a U.S. default] might inflict,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said, “We shouldn’t even be talking about a world in which the U.S. doesn’t pay its bills. It just shouldn’t be a thing,” he added.

Interestingly, while Republicans are blaming Democrats for creating inflation by pumping too much money into the economy through social welfare programs, The Wall Street Journal yesterday embraced the argument that a key factor in inflation has been price gouging by corporations. A piece by Paul Hannon noted that businesses are boosting their profit margins, confident that consumers will blame supply chain issues and higher energy prices rather than the companies padding their profits.

For example, oil giant Shell just announced almost $9.6 billion in profits in the first three months of 2023.

And if the U.S. goes into a longer default, (more than a week) the Council of Economic Advisers says, 8.3 million people will lose their jobs and the stock market will fall by 45%.