Top Three Takeaways – March 3rd, 2021
- The news just keeps getting better. For Florida that is. Fresh off of Florida’s lowest day for reported COVID-19 cases since last June, and our best trend in over three months, came governor DeSantis’s state of the state speech opening the 2021 legislative session. The governor touched on many themes we’ve recently discussed on the show including Florida having fewer cases of COVID per capita, fewer deaths per capita, fewer restrictions than most states leading to a lower unemployment rate, better than average economy and yes – even our education system suddenly becoming a top performer. All great news but all news we already knew. But that’s where DeSantis added some breaking news and it’s huge heading into this year’s session. He said the state’s unemployment rate, already well lower than the national average – has been overstated and will be revised down. Related, he said revenue produced to the state of Florida has been $800 million ahead of what was most recently projected over just the past three months and as a result, Florida hasn’t touched a penny of its “rainy day” or emergency fund. So, what does it mean to you?
- More of everything. To borrow a line from a Seinfeld episode in which Jerry flew first class while Eliane was had a miserable coach experience. When the flight attendant asked Jerry what he wanted, he said “more of everything”. Because Florida’s fiscally sound it means everything the state prioritized prior to the pandemic, the state can prioritize during the pandemic. According to Governor DeSantis The bottom line is that we saved Florida’s economy and as a result our budget outlook is positive. The priorities we’ve championed – from water resources to education to infrastructure – can be honored. In context he called for continuing to raise teacher pay, above even last year’s record increase, increased school vouchers to expand Florida’s school choice program, funding the next phase of Lake O’s southern reservoir, the continuation of the Everglades Restoration Project and the creation of the Resilient Florida program to combat sea level rise. In other words, because of Florida’s outstanding performance during the pandemic and despite still being in a pandemic there’s room for “more of everything”.
- Let Freedom Ring. Freedom never gets old but taking it for granted is never acceptable. As I’ll frequently remind you, over 80% of the world’s population isn’t truly free. What we have is rare and must be protected. That’s why it’s encouraging to hear the governor say this: Florida has always been a state that strongly supports free speech, and we cannot allow the contours of acceptable speech to be adjudicated by the whims of oligarchs in Silicon Valley. Nor we can allow Floridians to be “de-platformed” or silenced with no means of recourse, and this is especially true of those who rely on these technology platforms for their livelihoods. And to that I say, Amen. Look, I’m a realist. I understand that because Amazon made it easier to buy whatever and quickly have it delivered wherever, most people won’t look past the convenience of it all to care that Amazon is systematically involved in the erosion of your 1st Amendment rights. That’s come in the form of banishing books it’s censors deem not appropriate and the de-platforming of free speech platforms like Parler. Which incidentally how many problems have we had in our society due to Parler in the 3+ weeks it’s been back online? But just because most people do take their freedom for granted doesn’t mean the state of Florida should. And it's clear we won’t. And to all of that I say thank God we live in Florida and let freedom ring because freedom’s not happening everywhere in this country anymore - let alone around the world.
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