Top Three Takeaways – March 31st, 2021
- You can’t control outcomes, but you can control effort. I’m far from the first person to have a saying to this effect but it is something my wife and I frequently talk about. It’s something I remind myself of near daily and it’s part of how I rationalize the frustrations when life/or generally in the case of the day job – issues - don’t go the way I’d like it to. A quick search of that saying pulled up several similar quotes. One is from Mark Cuban. He had this to say – There's only one thing you can control in your life – your own effort. Why is this my top takeaway? Aside from it being top of mind with me anyway, it’s reportedly a struggle Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is having with himself. That Matt Gaetz is potentially considering a jump from Congress to Newsmax isn’t new. There are numerous politicians who’ve segued from elected office to news media outlets. What is a bit different about this one is the timing. Typically, someone makes the move if they’ve lost an election or were out of office due to term limits. Seldom do you have someone who just won an election by 30% considering the move. The only similar circumstance I can recall was when former Congressman and Oklahoma Sooner, JC Watts did something similar. Why? At the time J.C. left, in a conversation I had with the late Herman Cain and him, he said Congress is like this. You have 10% of the members who really believe in what they ran on and genuinely want to serve their constituents. You have 10% of the members who are just happy to have won their elections and to be there. And you have 80% who only care about their next election. If you’re part of the 10% who cares, it’s really frustrating to fight the rest of it day after day. And with that J.C. road off into the private sector. It’s sad, and that was nearly twenty years ago now, but it’s still probably true. I suspect that reality along with the current composition of Congress, has Matt wondering if he’s spinning his wheels and couldn’t be more effectual elsewhere. This concerns me because regardless on one’s political persuasion, we need more people who are there for the right reasons – not fewer. If there’s truth to this rumor it likely confirms your most cynical thoughts about Congress right now.
- We’re on the move. If traffic seems like it’s as bad as ever once again...that’s because it is. For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, analytics firm Inrix is reporting prepandemic levels of traffic on Florida’s roads. This coincides with Spring Break and the recent rise in cases in our state as well – so it’s all probably somewhat related. Other than the potential spread of the virus and actually having to navigate the traffic...this is good news. It’s likely a leading indicator that in real-time, Florida’s economy is still on the upswing.
- Wake up call. Intellectually we know that with the Moderna vaccine being 94% effective at preventing infection and the Pfizer vaccine being 95% effective, there are five to six people per hundred who’ll still get the virus who’ve been fully vaccinated against it. But is that how we tend to think of it? It’s natural to think you’ll almost certainly be protected rather than the vast minority...and it’s easy at that point to let you guard down...until you find out you are one of those five or six. Related... The Florida Department of Health is currently investigating numerous so-called “breakthrough” cases of COVID infections post the vaccination process. These are Floridians who’ve been fully vaccinated for more than 14 days but have become infected with COVID. It’s a reminder that there’s no free lunch with the virus and there’s no way of knowing if we’re one of the exceptions until it’s too late. It’s a wakeup call that we’ve got to be careful even after the vaccine. Btw, chalk this up as reason number one million and one why I feel so fortunate to be happily married. I really can’t imagine having to date in this environment. If that’s you – you have my sympathy.
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