As Florida continues to serve as the shining example of how to balance the safety of citizens with economic liberty, the Sunshine State is happy to let Andrew Cuomo serve as our No. 1 real estate agent and job recruiter.
There was the absurdly blatant and intentionally false hit job on Gov. Ron DeSantis from 60 Minutes. Meanwhile, the Governor of the Empire State continues to flail from scandal to scandal while Florida is all too happy to pick up the entrepreneurial refugees fleeing New York’s big government failures.
You’ve heard the famous quote, “Live free or die”? Americans are choosing to “Live free or move.” More than 800 people move to Florida every day. More than $1 million in income moves here every hour.
The pandemic and 2020 taught us many things — one is that you can live and work just about wherever you want. The appeals of needing to live in Silicon Valley or the Big Apple no longer exist. Capital (both financial and human) are now more mobile than ever.
And the appeal of Florida is obvious: In addition to the beaches and climate, we boast responsible fiscal policies, great infrastructure, a reasonable regulatory load nd no state income tax.
So the next challenges for Floridians? How can we strive to make it even better — cementing economic liberty and opportunity for future generations. Our governor and legislature recognize that prosperity comes from more business activity and less heavy-handed government — not the other way around. And the next few years will illustrate this comparison — the future lies right here in Florida.
Conservative leadership in our state continues to not only reinforce our school choice programs — but expand them, ensuring that no parent is bound by their zip code into a failing school for their children.
We are removing onerous licensing barriers to give those re-entering society from the correctional system a better chance at becoming productive citizens. We are expanding the supply of healthcare delivery and offering our residents something that other states won’t — choice — refusing to put government in between medical professionals and patients.
We are becoming the next hub for technology and innovation, attracting entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley to South America who see Florida for what it is — where the future takes hold.
I grew up here, so I see the Florida that was — languishing in education delivery, struggling with crime, incapable of generating economic vitality. And I see what it has now become — from Jeb Bush to Ron DeSantis waging generational battles against bureaucracy that have made the Sunshine State the 17th largest economy on the planet.
As more and more escape the tyranny of big governments in New York, New England, and elsewhere, I hope that I speak for my fellow Floridians in articulating one small request of all you newly minted Florida men and women pouring in: Please don’t forget why you moved here in the first place.
Don’t forget the burdensome regulations that made it difficult to run a business in good times and almost impossible to stay afloat during COVID times.
Don’t forget the nanny state interventions that nagged you in best-case scenarios and lowered your quality of life in the worst.
Don’t forget the basket-case fiscal policies that have made your old state government dependent on federal bailouts to stay afloat.
It’s easy to remember all this in the short term. But time has a funny way of making people forget. Let’s commit it to memory: Florida is great in large part because it is free.
Keep it that way.
Florida has been able to maintain a reasonable level of government given its large size, something other states can’t seem to grasp. This gives us reason for optimism: we’ve been able to keep the forces of the radical Left at bay despite a consistently growing population.
There is no reason new Floridians can’t share in the appreciation for what has made this state great. After all, they fled their former states because of big government run amok. They of all people should not want to recreate such an ill-fated experiment in their new home.
Ronald Reagan famously said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same …”
Together, we can not only enjoy the things that have made Florida such a fantastic place to live and work, but we can also make it even better for generations to come.
