Conexion Miami / Youth unemployment 

The truth about young people and unemployment does not offer a pretty picture, according to Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization. The effective unemployment rate for 18-29 year-olds, which adjusts for labor force participation by including those who have given up looking for work, is 14.7 percent. The federal government records unemployment rate for 18-29 year-olds as 9 percent. Among African-American 18-29 year-olds effective unemployment is 21.9%; for Hispanics it is 15.3%; and for women it is 12.5%.

Money in politics 

Since the U.S. Supreme Court 2010 ruling in Citizens United allowed unlimited contributions to third-party groups, Republicans have taken the upper hand over Democrats in steering money into races for governor, state legislature and attorney general. An example is the Republican Governors Association, which contributed $18.5 million to Florida Governor Rick Scott, a record amount from the Washington, D.C. fundraising organization, but a fraction of the $130 million it spent nationwide.

The real winners last week

Campaign finance documents show some of the real winners in last week’s elections. Among them are the media and consulting corps. Multi Media Service Corp, an Alexandria, Virgina firm, was a big winner, leading the Top 10 list of vendors for the 2014 election. Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Party of Florida spent $69.3 million through them. Three Florida companies also appear on the list of winners: Majority Strategies of Ponte Vedra Beach, NoiseWorks Media of Coral Gables and Contribution Link of Tallahassee. More than $157 million was spent through or with these and other companies. Gov. Scott’s Let’s Get to Work Committee, the Republican Party of Florida and the Florida Federation for Children spent $7.8 million on direct mail services with Majority Strategies.

Republican control

Nationwide, Republicans last week won control over 4,100 of the nation’s 7,383 state legislative seats, the most since 1920, according to the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. Republicans now control 30 legislatures (including Florida where they control the House, Senate and Governor), while Democrats control 11. The rest are divided.

Pot received a majority but lost

Florida’s Amendment 2, the medical marijuana amendment, failed in spite of registering a 57 percent majority of voters in favor. Florida law requires a 60 percent for constitutional amendments. Interesting when you compare the results to the governor’s race where Scott won with a minority of votes… Word is that medical marijuna will be back on the ballot in 2016, a presidential election year where many more vote. If Florida politicians were serious about listening to voters they would pass it in the legislature, seeing as how a great majority of Floridians approve of the measure.

Miami receives ACA $$

The Miami Herald reported last week that that five Florida health centers would receive nearly $1.25 million in funding under the Affordable Care Act to provide mental health and substance abuse services. Three of the centers – the Camillus Health Concern, Community AIDS Resource and Jesse Trice Community Health Center – are located in Miami. Two others are in Manatee and Putnam counties. All received grants of about $250,000. A statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that about 18,850 Floridians would receive new or expanded care as a result of the grant.

A Rubio decision soon

Sen. Marco Rubio says he’s nearing a decision on whether to run for president or for re-election in 2016. “For me,” he said Thursday during a radio interview in Colombia, “the decision is made based on the following: I have my agenda that I have talked about for more than four years and the decision that I have to make is where is the best place to advance this agenda as a presidential candidate or continue at the majority in the Senate, that is a decision I will make in the coming weeks along with my family because it requires a whole series of things.” [The quote is typical Rubio double-speak.] Rubio, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, was in Colombia to meet with officials.

Drowning while driving

Florida leads the nation by a wide margin in the number of people who drown inside their vehicles each year. An Orlando Sentinel review of federal crash data – from 2008 to 2012 – shows 49 people drowned inside vehicles in Florida during that five-year period. Texas is a distant No. 2 with 18 deaths, followed by Indiana with 14, and Louisiana and Arizona with 10 each. Palm Beach County has more motor vehicle drownings than any other county, according to the Sentinel review, followed by Broward then Miami-Dade.

ObamaCare sign up starts Nov. 15

Starting Nov. 15, uninsured Florida residents can sign up for coverage on HealthCare.gov, the federal online exchange set up under the Affordable Care Act. Advocates don’t expect it will be difficult to find many more to enroll in a state where an estimated 22 percent of those under 64 lack coverage. Florida is one of more than 30 states that opted not to set up its own health exchange, leaving residents to find coverage on the federal site.

Crist won youth vote by 10 points

Youth vote experts from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) released an in-depth analysis on youth voters in Florida during last week’s election in the state. In a wave election for the GOP young voters (ages 18-29) in Florida favored Democratic candidate Charlie Crist by a margin of 51% to 41% over incumbent Florida Governor Rick Scott (R-FL).  Those 10 percentage points were Crist’s largest margin of support of any age group of Florida voters.

Good news: Water use down

Across the country and in Florida, Americans are only using as much water as almost 45 years ago, even though the population has grown by more than 100 million people, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Environmentalists point to efficient toilets, low-flow showers and limits on lawn sprinkling, saying water conservation is the way to go. Florida freshwater use in the state decreased 22 percent from 2000 to 2010, while the state’s population increased 18 percent. In South Florida, the amount of water used is about the same as it was in 1995, even with 1.1 million more people in the region, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

Money does not always elect republicans

Money does NOT always win in political races. Two examples right here in Miami: State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez lost to lost to former Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia in a runoff last week. Gonzalez outspent Garcia two to one. In another race where republicans also backed a loser with big money, State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez (Democrat from Miami) beat challenger Daniel Diaz-Leyva in District 112 in spite of Diaz-Leyva spending almost a million dollars in a majority republican district and the GOP establishment (Jeb and Ileana) behind him.