Unity Amid Division & Florida’s Economic Impact – Top 3 Takeaways – September 7th, 2023
- What unites us? When we look around this country, or at times even just within our communities, it’s often easy to see what divides us. A lot. Gallup keeps historical data on key issues measuring partisan differences over time. The fact of the matter is that Americans have never been further apart on the issues as we are today. Out of 24 of the biggest issues of the last twenty years how many do you think a majority of Democrats and Republicans agree on? The answer is only nine, or only about a third of the time do we find commonality with one another. Issues where majorities of both political persuasions agree: About whether immigration is good for the country, marijuana legalization, same sex marriage, having a baby outside of marriage, divorce, the role of doctors in end-of-life decisions, the state of race relations (most Americans regardless of political leanings think they stink), our view of Cuba, and sex out of wedlock. Issues where we don’t see eye to eye include...the government’s role in healthcare, environmental/energy policy, gun laws, global warming, abortion, the federal government’s power, immigration policy, the death penalty, Israeli and Palestinian policies, police, taxes, foreign trade and education. In reality, these days, it does appear as though there’s more that divides us than unities us. What’s more is that the trends appear to show the divides only growing wider with time. For that reason, if you feel as though this country is as divided as it’s been, that’s because on the issues, it is, within your lifetime. I’m always quick to point out that no matter how big our divides may seem, that this country has literally fought a war against itself, it has been much worse...so there’s that. But this side of The Civil War and all of those other issues of the past twenty years...
- There is an apparent consensus on the most important issue of this decade. The days of a collective belief that Uncle Sam will do the right things by us are by far a thing of the past. And frankly having a healthy degree of skepticism when considering the policies of those in power in government is not only a smart thing to do, but also about the most American thing you can do. After all, the founders of the country were as skeptical of those in power as anyone. And on that note for the second day in a row we’re seeing just how united Americans now appear to be against any government efforts to attempt to reimpose COVID-related polices on us. Earlier this week there was a national poll asking: Will you comply with new mask mandates if they’re implemented? 73% of Americans said no. Yesterday there was a follow up question with an even more resounding result. On the question: Do you trust the federal government to handle a new COVID spike? 87% said no. Seldom has such dissention made me happier. The Fauchists and maskuerader's are increasingly few and far between and importantly the political will to attempt to impose any pandemic-era policies is nearly non-existent. A healthy skepticism of the federal government is always a good thing. Washington would approve. The federal government is no different than any other organization. It’s only as good as the people that are in it and running it. I know, that’s not an especially encouraging thought at present. That’s why it’s encouraging to know that at least on the most basic level of our God given rights as Americans, almost everyone seems to be starting to get it. And as for Uncle Sam, he was never looking out for you. He was always just spending your money. Speaking of money...
- Florida’s economic boom continues. Believe it or not we’re only a little more than four months away from the start of the state’s next legislative session (January 9th). In advance of that session key planning and key budgeting is taking place right now. A key cog in that puzzle, given Florida’s balanced budget amendment, is to know how much honey is in the honey pot. The state’s just released Long-Range Financial Outlook report shows that it’s a lot. Month after month and year after year, for many years, Florida’s economy continues to produce far more revenue than has been expected. This year is no exception. Despite a record setting budget which increased spending by nearly $7 billion over last year, the initial estimates show that Florida’s economy is on track to produce an additional $7 billion in revenue surplus beyond that spending. In the name of politics many have attempted to write our state off, some have called for boycotts, none of them appear to be working. Florida has had the top performing economy in the country since the peak of the pandemic and there’s still no end to our economic growth in sight. That’s great news for jobs, it’s great news for wages, it’s not so great news for inflation (which continues to be the highest in the country). But there was a specific nugget in the report that’s encouraging for two reasons. The two biggest threats to Florida’s economy were listed as a national recession and natural disasters. And specific to the natural disaster consideration is the state’s obligation to back Citizen’s property insurance. With Florida’s property insurance crisis and the related costs being the top issue, which needs to be resolved for many Floridians, what’s good for the state will also in turn be what’s good for us. Earlier this year estimates called for as many as 1.8 million policies to be held by Citizens amid the crumbling property insurance market. Based on the most recent reporting the peak now appears to have happened below 1.4 million. That means the state’s reserves for Citizens should prove to be plenty for whatever this hurricane season could bring, avoiding a potential “hurricane tax” on all other property insurance policies, and importantly, will save the state money on insurance in the future which in turn will save us money as well. Citizen’s shedding policies is an important second step in the recovery process for Florida’s property insurance market in general (the first was the introduction of new property insurance companies into Florida’s market). So, Florida’s economic boom continues, and what’s good for the state is good for us too in multiple ways.