Offices of medical specialists are seldom far from retirement communities

19 Offices of medical specialists are seldom far from retirement communities 

A further economic impact is created by the fact that nearly 25% of Florida s elderly are currently employed, either full time or part time. Of those who are unemployed, about a third indicate interest in part-time or full-time work (Florida Department of Elder Affairs 2009 140). Many times the elderly are filling minimum-wage jobs that result from a shortage of teenagers (Mormino, 2005 143). Other seniors have resumed their careers in Florida. In addition, about 30% of Florida s elderly volunteer time that the Florida Department of Elder Affairs (2009 138) estimates is worth 2.5 billion. 

For many years, the elderly were perceived as an impoverished group and were often ignored politically. Today, they are a special interest group who has changed the state of Florida by lobbying for elderly benefits, such as Social Security and other governmental programs. 

A similar situation arose with Century Village Deerfield Beach. H. Irwin Levy, the developer of Century Village, points to anti-Semitic feelings when he first tried to build Century Village Deerfield Beach. Deerfield Beach was a small, conservative Christian town that had little desire to add 15,000 liberal Jews from New York (Sanua 2007). Levy had difficulty in obtaining a building permit. Deerfield was a very small community of about five thousand. All five members of the City Commission were conservative Republicans who were clearly nervous about losing their positions when 14,000 mostly liberal Jews moved in. (They did.) 

The State of Florida encourages tourism and markets the state as a wonderful place to visit, live in, work in, and retire to. While the state itself has encouraged 

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