The Jacksonville Business Journal recently hosted the Economic Outlook 2025 inside WJCT’s studios. Yours truly was amongst the crowd of attendees along with Mayor Donna Deegan, local CEOs, business executives, and a few other familiar faces.

 The event was advertised as an opportunity to gain “valuable insights” from “world-class” economists and industry experts on Jacksonville’s economic outlook for the coming year. A massive screen served as the backdrop and retro black chairs lined the stage alongside the speaker’s podium. A huge spread of fruit, traditional breakfast bites and drinks lined one side of the dimly lit space. Journals dotted black linen wrapped tabletops indicating where attendees should sit. I snagged a seat in the back.   

The food, the atmosphere, the journal, the attendees… so far, I am impressed. Then, it started. Soon after my pessimism level was back to normal, if not slightly elevated.

 I was expecting an informative speech or two and then an open discussion with the panelists expressing different opinions and viewpoints. That was my bad. I guess my excitement over the free journal with several different sizes of multicolored sicky notes caused me to forget where I was and who I was with. Instead of what was advertised, the audience received familiar diatribes from like-minded trendy professionals promoting exactly what Deegan is politicking.

 The morning’s agenda began with a few remarks by Jacksonville Business Journal’s market president whom, according to an online profile, uses He/Him pronouns. He/him said some stuff and then introduced Jacksonville’s mayor. 

Deegan set the tone with a speech sounding a lot like every other speech she’s given as mayor. She touted all the things her administration is doing on our behalf, starting with her desire to create a “thriving downtown.” The mayor listed UF’s new local campus, the Four Seasons, Friendship Fountain, and the stadium deal as some of her accomplishments. She is also proud of securing the $150 million Community Benefits Agreement from taxpayers as well as the $147 million Emerald Trail. As my mind began to wander, the mayor caught my attention mentioning a greenbelt alliance. Sounds like something I would make fun of. Turns out, it is.

The Greenbelt Alliance, an ideological nonprofit, works alongside Smart Growth America, another ideological nonprofit, promoting “climate-smart development to create thriving, resilient neighborhoods with ready access to transit and housing choices,” while protecting the “greenbelt from sprawl development.” Notice these nonprofits and groups with trendy names all project the same ideology, while using the same language and buzz words? Is anyone else starting to notice the same spirit of the age vernacular throughout the mayor’s speeches, transition report, and special committee recommendations? (greenbelt is mentioned on page 92 of the mayor’s 2023 Transition Committee Report)  Anyways, both Marxist-esq nonprofits teach local governments to buy/seize private property, homes, and business in order to preserve the land, saving the planet from hypothetical model-based weather patterns in the future. The city of Jacksonville recently reversed some local climate change by spending Fed money on three random houses along the Ribault River. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv5J6h9ANQA

For more on Smart Growth America and its influence on the mayor’s policy read: https://eyeonjacksonville.com/fake-affordable-housing-crisis-paves-way-for-fundamental-transformation-of-jacksonville/

Back to the speech. Deegan finished by reciting her usual meaningless mantras. Fulfilling political promises, turning renderings into reality, and finishing with her favorite, building a city that “works for all of us.” With that, she exited stage right and her people hastily shuffled her out.

Next up, a keynote speech from Jeff Korzenik, who is the chief economist of Fifth Third Bank, a co-host of the event. Korzenik discussed five different “themes” we should expect in 2025.

-U.S. growth continues-Inflation persists-Labor shortage resumes-Limited rate relief-Place matters.

The economist credited data provided by a think tank and encouraged us to visit the group’s website. https://empoweringamericancities.com

I visited the website and then I visited a few more to learn more about Mr. Korzenik. He is quite a character. Turns out, he is just another DEI loving highly educated elitist, suffering from blind entitlement and white guilt.

Back in 2021 Korzenik wrote a book begging business owners to hire convicted felons. The idea is called “second chance hiring” or “fair chance hiring.” In a video posted on YouTube titled, “Your Next Hire Could be a Felon,” Korzenik argues the American birth rate is declining so we must replace those unborn lost workers with convicted felons or as he said, “untapped talent.” The comments are disabled, of course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y85WCPwUOIg. Korzenik’s socials are also filled with left-wing propaganda from radical nonprofits.  

Back to the event at WJCT. Korzenik overarching thesis of his keynote argued, while U.S. growth continues expect a labor shortage because “foreign born workers”, both legal and illegal, will leave the country causing continued inflation. On a positive note, he mentioned Jacksonville is in a great place logistically because of our ability to affordably move things around the state. Other than that, Korzenik’s speech was matter of fact, uninspiring, and uninteresting.

Next, the panelists took the stage. The dean from JU’s business and tech college, a young real estate and investment lady, the president of JAXUSA (who is also a Jacksonville Transportation Authority board member), and a government affairs guy donning a cool mustache representing the real estate developer, Corner Lot. The panel’s moderator rocked a tan suit and double humped man bun.

JU’s dean complained about a higher education shortage and wants businesses to partner with the highly educated. It is all about the “talent.” She warned local employees should be trained in “digital literacy” or we will fall behind. The dean’s wish-list echoed that of the mayor’s desire for Jacksonville to experience something called a “brain gain not a brain drain.”

Panelist Aundra Wallace, who is JAXUSA Partnership President & a JTA board member, also brought up “talent” as a major issue, saying “Talent is key.”

The discussion then moved towards a familiar narrative that dominated the rest of the conversation: Jacksonville is the cheapest major city in Florida to live and those in charge want “top talent” moving here. Despite “700 homes and apartments available for lease” in the downtown area, the only way the young and talented will relocate is if the city government creates an “urban type lifestyle,” building affordable housing, missing middle housing, and workforce housing complexes along public transportation routes. And of course, the only way to profitably build any of those things is with “public private partnerships,” which is college talk for taxpayer funded development.

Wallace encouraged everyone to use Smart Growth policies in real estate development and as a way to attract new talent to the city. The government affairs guy brought up missing middle housing, saying partnering with government is the only way to get it done.

The panel discussion ended with panelists giving their local 2025 economic prediction. The representative from Corner Lot wants to “take Jax to the Max” when it comes to real estate development and he’s cools with the public footing some of the bill. He tried to inspire the room with the phrase “Fortune favors the brave.” His half-hearted words of inspiration seemed to fall flat following the morning’s agenda.

The Economic Outlook could have been an inciteful conversation benefiting those in the room. Instead, it was a missed opportunity. Perhaps that was the point. Perhaps the whole thing was a stunt and this time I was the pawn.