Tampa Bay’s coming storm
Tampa Bay resident here (Brandon suburb really, but close enough).<p>The reason this happens is simple: other people&#x27;s money is subsidizing the losses.<p>First, Florida is extremely fiscally conservative. Taxes for anything are a hard sell. Without additional taxes, our infrastructure will continue to lag, causing far more damage than would&#x27;ve been had we ponied up the taxes in the first place. Also, infrastructure is not prioritized over glitzy marketing. St Petersburg is in dire need of a waste water treatment plant upgrade, but it&#x27;s mayor is going to spend the money on a development project instead (&quot;The Pier&quot;).<p>Second, insurance: the state has a high risk pool that you can join as an insurer of last resort, and they&#x27;ll insure you across multiple losses. As long as we continue to issue insurance (taxpayer sponsored!) for properties that are subject to repeated losses or sea level rise, we&#x27;ll continue to throw good money after bad.