From Tallahassee to Washington D.C. One Day, Two Key Addresses – Top 3 Takeaways – March 4th, 2025
- Hysteria is running high. For you this is probably a typical Tuesday. For President Trump everyday has been a remarkable day of late. It’s been 43 days...there have been 81 executive orders, 1 new law (the Laken Riley Act), 61,000+ deportations and over 200,000 terminations of federal employees across 17 federal government agencies. The southern border is closed and February produced the fewest attempted border crossings in any month in recorded American history with attempted crossings down 94% (btw, the way the previous record low total came during President Trump’s first term in April of 2017). DOGE has done its thing to cut wasteful spending to the tune of $105 billion, or a total that’s now averaging nearly $2.5 billion per day across 22 federal agencies. A total that’s already saved you, and every federal taxpayer $652 per year in future federal income taxes. Trump has hosted seven world leaders and also a guy named Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The bottom line is the guy has been busy and there’s no sign of slowing down now. Hysteria is running high on the left as they’ve come to realize that 1) Donald Trump now knows exactly what he’s doing and how to get the job done 2) The mainstream media apparatus no longer has the juice or influence to manipulate the American people the way they always used to 3)
- Trump is clearly determined to get the job he laid out in his Agenda 47 plan done, or in other words, to make American great again. Just how high is the hysteria running on the left? Consider these recent headlines... CBS News: Trudeau meets with King Charles after Trump's threat to annex Canada. American Prospect: Millions May Die Thanks to Elon Musk. Bill Maher for CNN: ‘I’m not sure we will ever see another election’. Well, if Maher is talking about in Ukraine, he’s got a point because the president he supports already canceled them last year. There’s irony for you. So yes, hysteria is running high on this Tuesday as President Trump is set to make his first presidential address to a joint session of Congress in over five years. And it’s an address one might imagine that will be as focused on the agenda he specifically needs congress to deliver on if he’s to continue his current pace of success. There's no doubt that Trump will be advocating for the House of Representatives' approach to a one bill solution to, what he refers to as one Big Beautiful Bill to deliver on the MAGA agenda. But while there’s a historically important address taking place by President Trump tonight in Washington D.C... There’s also another important address that takes place in Florida this morning.
- The state of our state. Florida’s been the fastest growing state, we’re number four for net migration, we’re number one for new business formations, we’re number one in economic growth among large states. Florida has record high employment. We have the best managed budget in the country. And while a handful of other states don’t impose personal income tax, we’re number one for having the lowest per capita state tax and lowest per capita debt in the country. We’re number one nationally for tourism, number one for law enforcement recruitment, while Florida’s crime rate is at a 50+ year low and likewise, the lowest of any large state. We’re number one for school choice options in K-12 education and speaking of which Florida has been #1 in pre-K through college education for two straight years. The quality of our state’s infrastructure is the best, we have the top three cruise ports in the world. We’re number one for space manufacturing and flights. I’m not tired of winning. At the same time, we have our challenges. In large part due to Florida’s desirability, affordability has become a challenge for many. Florida now ranks 38th in cost of living and 40th in housing affordability specifically. Living in a great state that wins in so many ways only works if you can afford to continue to live in it. So, about that. Expect it to be a key focus of Governor DeSantis’s State of the State speech to open the state legislative session today. DeSantis has already made it clear what his priorities are for the next 60 days, and they include these: Debt reduction, living within our means, and tax cuts aimed at helping affordability. The governor is calling for paying down 50% of the state’s existing debt by 2028 and suring up the state’s pension system. DeSantis wants to expand law enforcement agencies across the state while DOGEing their way to fewer total state employees and eliminating wasteful committees that are paid for and operated by the state. DeSantis is calling for expanding the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program and State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program to expand affordable housing programs across the state. Governor DeSantis wants reforms to provide condo association relief following the reforms passed in the wake of the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, that created massive affordability challenges for associations of older condo buildings. DeSantis wants to eliminate multiple business taxes altogether, end a mortgage tax that Floridians are forced to pay, and bring back five major sales tax holidays and an expansion of Florida’s VPK program. Speaking of education, DeSantis’s budget calls for record spending on per pupil with increases of $222 per student baked into his budget. Much like with Trump in Washington, D.C. the question is whether the legislature will do his bidding. Two speeches. Two agendas. Two Republican controlled legislatures. One that takes place in Tallahassee and the other in the only swamp that’s bigger than what we’ve got in Florida. Florida’s already been made great again (though now we’re trying to make it affordable again), it’s time to Make America Great Again.