The happiest place on earth is a nightmare for thousands struggling to make a living

Metro Orlando is one of the most-visited places in the entire world, where tourists like to see the so-called "happiest place on Earth." For those of us who live here, however, it’s not the vacation paradise it’s made out to be. There’s a well-known caste system that locals have understood for decades, yet only recently has it been getting some attention from the outside world. There have been exposés in The Washington Post and Time magazine, along with a major Hollywood picture called The Florida Project. Although our local problem has gotten a national spotlight, things haven’t gotten any better for our shadow working class. In fact, since the pandemic began, it’s gotten way worse.

Many families in this area are trapped in a cycle of poverty that lasts for generations. The sick thing is that these families are indeed working—very hard. Yet because Orlando has the lowest paid labor force of any metro area in the United States and is ranked the worst in the nation for access to low-income housing, there is an epidemic of local workers and their families being forced to live in hotels. Some of these hotels aren’t even that cheap, but it is often the only option available besides the streets—or the swamp. The entire county of Osceola, which includes Kissimmee, has no homeless shelters. Meanwhile, as tourism has recovered from the pandemic, and theme parks are again posting record attendance, it’s unforgivable to hear horrifying stories of families without basic amenities, or even sanitation. Parts of Central Florida resemble a nation in the global south instead of a tourist mecca.



https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2072670