2009: Martin County Economy
Commentary by Maggy Hurchalla: The Chamber of Commerce has spent $20,000 to produce a report that says that Martin County's economy ranks near the bottom nationally.
First of all, the "ranking" was done by the Chamber's paid lobbyist, Bill Fruth. In Fruth's "Policon Report" ratings, the slower you grow, the worse you are.
More important, he wasn't even using statistics about Martin County . He was referring to the Pt. St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area(MSA). Martin County is only 34% of the PSL MSA.
Fruth's diatribe on the distressed economy is an indictment of Port St. Lucie's growth management policies, not ours.
Please see the reports below for Maggy's research on the Bureau of Economic Research data and other sources used by Fruth and Maggy so you can make up your own mind. Maggy reminds us that it is likely that the Hobe Grove and Harmony developers will likely use Fruth's mis-information to justify their approvals.
Maggy Hurchalla has set the record straight and debunks the Fruth "Policon Report" which claimed Martin County was among the most distressed economies in the nation.