Thread by @Scott_Maxwell, The rest of the world is starting to see who we are.This [...]

The rest of the world is starting to see who we are.

This is powerful, depressing storytelling.
And maybe this Post piece will awaken people in a way previous stories haven't.

But i doubt it. (1/6) https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/kissimmee-star-motel/?fbclid=IwAR17C2dsTV1DCjzTobsnusS4FNn2vBRdcAZimcliXHLfU5MihA65fnd-Sew

A pandemic, a motel without power and a potentially terrifying glimpse of Orlando’s future

Florida’s tourism economy crashed, leaving dozens of low-wage workers trapped in a crumbling motel without electricity.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/kissimmee-star-motel/?fbclid=IwAR17C2dsTV1DCjzTobsnusS4FNn2vBRdcAZimcliXHLfU5MihA65fnd-Sew

We've written about this for years.
I've written about this for years.
The "Florida Project" was an Academy Award-nominated film about this exact thing - Orlando's destitute motel class toiling in poverty in the shadow of Cinderella's castle. (2/6) https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-florida-project-poverty-orlando-scott-maxwell-20171013-story.html

‘The Florida Project’ shines a spotlight on Orlando’s motel class

Columnist Scott Maxwell writes that a new, critically acclaimed independent movie depicts the real Central Florida, not the one in travel brochures.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-florida-project-poverty-orlando-scott-maxwell-20171013-story.html

Yet nothing seems to open the minds and hearts of leadership in this community -- which continue to subsidize the low-wage tourism industry at the expense of almost everything else. (3/6) https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orlando-lowest-wages-america-scott-maxwell-20190405-story.html

Orlando has lowest wages of any big city in America ... again | Commentary

Can't make ends meet? You're not alone. Orlando ranks 50th out of 50 for wages ... again

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orlando-lowest-wages-america-scott-maxwell-20190405-story.html

I thought maybe - MAYBE - a global recession would be the wake-up call we needed ... (4/6) https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orlando-last-wages-first-layoffs-scott-maxwell-20200414-zwc2cfdxqbhy3nu43uze5zkqzq-story.html

'Uniquely disastrous’: Orlando, Vegas take harder financial hit than most of America | Commentary

Coronavirus crushes Orlando’s low-wage economy. Researcher: ‘You’d be hard-pressed to find a more disastrous and particular crisis.’

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orlando-last-wages-first-layoffs-scott-maxwell-20200414-zwc2cfdxqbhy3nu43uze5zkqzq-story.html

... and then the county expressed support for adding another 1 million square feet to the convention center. (5/6) https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orange-county-convention-center-no-expansion-scott-maxwell-20200609-wzx5fpioqvbtzgjtepkqacaaoe-story.html

Another million square feet and $700 million debt for giant convention center? No freaking way |...

Despite an economic crisis, Orange County may still barrel ahead with plans to spend $700 million expanding its already-giant convention center. What a rotten idea.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-orange-county-convention-center-no-expansion-scott-maxwell-20200609-wzx5fpioqvbtzgjtepkqacaaoe-story.html

I'm guessing the people & leaders of Central Florida who read this story will be saddened, even touched.

And then they will just just turn the page.
Because this has been this community's story for years.

I truly believe we can do better. (6/6) https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/laborland/os-bz-tourism-industry-disney-wages-20191205-46u5ykiro5cx3n25qronziiify-story.html

In a theme park parking lot at night, a worker sleeps in her car. This is life in America’s most...

In Orlando, home to Disney, Universal and SeaWorld, workers struggle with the lowest wages of the top 50 metropolitan areas in the country.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/laborland/os-bz-tourism-industry-disney-wages-20191205-46u5ykiro5cx3n25qronziiify-story.html

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