Looking for Opportunity in Economic Trends and Regulatory Changes

Economic Trends:

1. According to Florida Trend, the recovery from the recession is creating jobs for Floridians.  The economy is becoming more stable thus creating confidence in business growth. The projection for the largest growing job market in 2016 is in construction, creating many positions for those who were previously out of work due to the recession. There are many opportunities associated with this trend. With the economy leveling out and even growing, more businesses may want to expand. There will be opportunities for business growth, in the organizations that are hiring these construction companies and the construction companies themselves. With more projects comes a greater demand for employees. With more employees comes a greater demand for housing opportunities. The rising economy creates a trickle effect. The customers for these opportunities are the business owners and the employees of that business. The opportunities are easy to exploit. As in any situation where there is growth, bringing more people into an area, there needs to be more housing, more food options, possibly more child care options.

Having friends that are in the construction business, from friends that own a lumber supply store to friends that work for painting contractors, it has been my observation that this growing field creates many opportunities. It brings more people into a centralized area, creating more needs. Some people may travel for these jobs. Depending on how long the project is going to take, they may need temporary housing and they certainly have to eat at some point.

2. A look at a more local trend is the housing market in Gainesville. According to The Florida & Metro Forecast the housing market in Gainesville is rising, becoming a seller's market.  This can be contributed to a low unemployment rate in Alachua County, one of the lowest in the state of Florida. There is also a decreasing number in foreclosures, making property values rise. There are some opportunities that can come from this trend, making it an easy exploitation. Many home owners can sell their homes at a higher price than in the past. This can mean that they have more income to purchase a more expensive home and the trend would continue upward. Also, many contractors and builders can profit from this. New housing developments can emerge creating more job opportunities. Land owners can sell their land at an inflated price for these housing developments.

As stated above, I have observed some of these opportunities from friends in the construction business. I also have friends that are currently trying to take advantage of this situation. They are trying to find a house in Alachua County to purchase before the housing prices become too high for them to afford the size house that they need. They are also trying to make improvements to their current home as to maximize their selling price.

Regulatory Changes:

1. A new law passed in Florida is that all police must have procedures in place for body cams. Many articles can be found about this, but for the purposes of this assignment, I am going to use the article from Greene Publishing, Inc.: http://www.greenepublishing.com/new-florida-law-requires-police-department-body-cams/
This new law does not require that agencies use body cams, just that they have procedures in place for the training and retention of such devices and recordings to keep in compliance with Florida's public record law.

 I believe that there is a small opportunity with this new law. It has the potential to create more jobs with the larger agencies. I don't believe that this is an easily exploitable opportunity, but it is not difficult either. The opportunity is going to lie with the larger agencies such as Miami-Dade PD. Here, in Gainesville, I know that there is not enough funding for such devices and/or jobs. Even though I am not a law enforcement officer, nor do I work for the Gainesville Police Department, I do work with an agency that works in close relations with GPD.

2. Veterans Court is a law that has been passed for those who have served in our military that may have issues related to their time of service, including PTSD. Not many people are aware that there is such a program. You can read about it here: http://health.wusf.usf.edu/post/new-florida-law-allows-more-vets-receive-treatment#stream/0 

Many of our military heros have come home wounded, mentally and emotionally. This can lead to drug problems, alcohol problems and minor deviant behavior. This is an opportunity for them to get the help that they need and stay out of jail. This is not an opportunity for the masses, but it is a huge, life changing opportunity to these men and women who struggle with these issues. To me, that is the most important opportunity, a chance to get these men and women back on their feet, but it also is an opportunity for those counselors and therapists to reach these men and women and help them. Here, in the Eighth Judicial Circuit, we have had Veterans Court for a while, but with this beginning to be seen more around the state, opportunities could arise for more treatment facilities and therapy centers, thus creating more jobs.