DeSantis: Florida Prepared If U.S. Heads into Recession
May 9, 2022 | Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis, when suggesting President Joe Biden’s economic policies will “plunge the United States into a recession,” says Florida will be prepared.
At a news conference this week announcing funding for flood control and water management projects in Lee County, he said that while inflation continues to worsen, Florida’s economy is strong, with revenue exceeding expectations.
“For the month of April, it’s our current estimate that the state of Florida brought in about $760 million above estimate,” he said. “We consistently have been over-performing that. That means that the fiscal surplus for fiscal 21-22 is going to be by far the biggest surplus in the state. By the time the fiscal year ends June 30th, we’ll have well over $20 billion in surplus between the unallocated general revenue fund balances and our budget stabilization fund.”
“That’s what you call being a good steward of people’s money,” he added. “We’re built for the long haul. We have no income tax, very low tax burden. There’s nothing in the foreseeable future that would change that trajectory. It’s important that we govern that way because I think it’s very likely that Biden is going to plunge this country into a recession.”
He pointed to several indicators like inflation, the Fed raising interest rates and market fluctuations, saying, “there’s a lot of concern about the overall economy.”
“Florida’s been doing well, and we’re happy about that, but when you have the inflation headwinds, when you have the Fed raising interest rates, when you have some of the other things happening in the markets, there is a possibility of a downturn and unfortunately that downturn will have been precipitated by a lot of really bad policies coming out of Washington, D.C.,” DeSantis said…. (Excerpt from Florida Capital Star)