The Great Debate Is Settled & EVs Go Bust - Top 3 Takeaways – December 1st, 2023
- No contest. The Great Blue State Vs. Red State debate has come and gone. And the debate about who “won” the debate (which is always subjective but much more so when you have two politicians debating who aren’t actually running against each other for anything) is on. But in terms of which state is greater – at least in terms of what it delivers for its residents is crystal clear. Gallup’s running survey of the top issues identified by Americans found them to be in this order 1) The economy 2) Government Leadership 3) Illegal Immigration 4) Government Debt 5) Crime. There are a lot of ways to attempt to settle a debate but in the case of these two states let’s go straight to the scorecards. According to US News & World Report's rankings Florida’s economy is the 7th best this year in the country, and #1 among large states, when measured across growth, business environment and employment opportunities. Where’s Cali? Well, it’s not as bad as it was in prior years, however at 29th overall California’s economy is still below average. On the most important issue of all to Americans, by a wide margin, Florida is the slam dunk winner, and it isn’t even close. But how about the other issues? The question of government leadership, as raised as the second leading issue in Gallup, is largely a federal issue – however clearly competent leadership at the state level matters. In US News & World Report's rankings that’s reflected through the overall performance of a state across all categories. Where does Florida rank this year? #10, which once again is the highest ranking of any large state in the country. How low do you have to go to find California? To 33rd place this year. The gap between the two states is even wider than it is economically. So, what about illegal immigration? Well, this one is about as obvious as it gets. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Florida has the strongest laws and best enforcement against illegal immigration in the country this year – even besting Texas. As for California, they rank 45th for laws combating illegal immigration and enforcement. If you love illegal immigration, you’ll love California. If you love legal immigration, Florida’s #1. And that takes us to government debt which is just about as much of a slam dunk as the illegal immigration issue is. Florida has the 5th lowest debt per capita of any state in the country with only $1,340 worth of debt per citizen. How about California? It’s 32nd in debt per capita with $3,867 worth of debt per citizen for a rate of debt that’s close to three times the rate of Florida. And last but not least, especially if you’re a victim of it, which is common in California, is crime. Florida’s current crime rate, which is most recently at a 50-year low, ranks 20th in the country as for California, it once again ranks well below average at #32. You are 20% more likely to be a victim of a crime in California as compared to Florida. So, let’s go to the final scorecard, shall we? Not only does Florida win every category representing the top five concerns of Americans today, but Florida is better than average in every one of them and the average ranking for Florida across all of them is 9th, which is the best of any large state in country. As for California, the state is below average in every one of them and their average ranking across all of them is 34th.
- That’s not just a win for Florida, that’s a good ‘ole fashioned butt whipping. The bottom line is that if you want a good economy, competent leadership, legal immigration, a fiscally responsible government and below average crime you want Florida. If you want a below average economy, with below average leadership, rampant illegal immigration, a fiscally irresponsible government and lots of crime you’ll love California. The Great Red State Vs. Blue State Debate was decided well before Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom took the stage. There is one facet of the debate in which California wins without a contest. Hair. There’s no doubt that California has the governor with the most prolific hair. However, it was deeply disappointing to me that Newsom’s hair gel didn’t make an appearance on the debate stage. That’s a promise broken. Last September (2022), when the debate concept first came up Newsom tweeted to DeSantis: Hey, clearly you’re struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives. Since you have only one overriding need — attention — let’s take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. That's a lost opportunity. As for the charge of DeSantis playing politics with people’s lives. Call it what you will but the state of Florida is far better off since he started doing it. And as for California, they’ve got so many self-created problems, that the state is more flammable than Gavin Newsom’s hair which is really saying something. The debate is over but in reality, there was no contest. Which by the way is why 22,000 more Californians moved to Florida last year than Floridians who left for California. And there’s a good chance that most of the folks who made a trek to California from Florida took their EVs with them...speaking of which...the EV boom is being accompanied by...
- An EV bust. No, this isn’t about the thousands of car dealerships across the country that pinned a letter to the Biden Administration telling them how ridiculous federally mandated EV sales are (because the Biden administration may want you to buy an EV, but based on sales numbers you probably don’t want to buy an EV), but it is about how much more frequently EVs are busting up. According to Consumer Reports, from 2021 through 2023 EVs proved to be 79% less reliable than gas powered vehicles. 79%! The only type of vehicle less reliable than the typical EV was the plug-in hybrid variety. They suffered 146% more problems than the ‘ole internal combustion engine variety. But if you value reliability and efficiency too there is a good option. Hybrids proved to be the most reliable vehicle type of all with 26% fewer problems than those of the gas-powered variety. But think about the absurdity of EV mandates for a moment. The Biden Administration's EPA has stated a goal of half of all vehicles being EVs by 2030 and they’ve been crafting rules to attempt to force it to happen. So we have an administration looking to force people into buying something that requires mined materials to run, with which China controls 69% of the market share of, and that breaks down 79% more frequently than what the administration seeks to eliminate. Sounds about right for the Biden Administration.