5 ways the COVID-19 pandemic changed Florida
Five years ago, COVID-19 cast a shadow over the Sunshine State, and life hasn't been the same since.
The lives lost: Nearly 100,000 Floridians and counting have died from COVID-19 since 2020, per the Florida Department of Health.
The virus hit elderly people and those with preexisting conditions especially hard.
Politics: Gov. Ron DeSantis redefined himself as a conservative warrior prepared to take on the federal government, a reinvention propped up on long-held distrust of public health measures.
The pandemic is so essential to his "Florida blueprint" that it earned a chapter in his book, "The Courage to Be Free," in which he contrasted his leadership with former President Biden and President Trump's.
After briefly locking down the state, he positioned Florida as a mecca of personal freedom, and his decision to reopen the state and restrict efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus built up his national media profile.
And once the headlines arrived, DeSantis made sure they stayed. In his own words, a leader "shapes opinion through newsworthy actions," which is exactly what followed.
Education: The debate about who should have a say in a child's education took center stage in the months after schools shut down — and paved the way for Florida to become a test kitchen for conservative policies that favored parents' rights.
Conservative group Moms for Liberty, founded in Florida in 2021, garnered national attention and influence after launching a fight against masking in schools and what it claimed was critical race theory in classrooms.
The uproar over CRT set the stage for GOP lawmakers to pass policies including the Parental Rights in Education Law (dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by critics) and the Stop Woke Act — at the cost of teachers' and students' autonomy, detractors say.
In 2023, lawmakers passed one of the nation's most expansive school choice programs to, according to supporters, give parents more options for their children's education. It's resulted in declining enrollment and school closures in traditional public schools.
Population: Whether it was the politics or the allure of working remotely from paradise, the pandemic led to a Sunshine State population boom.
In 2022, the Census named Florida the fastest-growing state in the country for the first time since 1957. Our population grew 5% from April 2020 to July 2023, per Census data. Last year, it eclipsed 23 million people.
The growth has had all sorts of implications for politics (Florida has only gotten redder), development (it's seemingly never-ending) and traffic (dear God, someone help us).
And a few transplants found out just how metal it is to live in a swamp barely fit for human habitation.
Business: The pandemic led to the largest nationwide increase in new business applications in American history, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — and Florida was no exception.
Florida had about 61% more new business applications from January 2020 to 2021, per U.S. Census data. The state hit its peak in May 2021 with over 65,000 new applications.
COVID lockdowns gave budding entrepreneurs the time — and extra cash, via federal stimulus funds — to pursue new business ideas.
Meanwhile, existing businesses had to pivot from walk-in service to pickup or delivery operations, and many closed temporarily or permanently.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Biden aide agrees to testify to House committee about president's mental fitness while in office
A former senior adviser to President Joe Biden has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview as part of its investigation into claims of Biden's cognitive decline while in office. Neera Tanden, who served as a senior adviser, White House Staff Secretary, and Director of the Domestic Policy Council during the Biden administration, is set to testify before the committee on June 24, according to an Oversight Committee aide. Her closed-door testimony will be recorded and reviewed as part of Republican committee members' investigation into Biden's mental acuity and the alleged cover-up by his staff and allies. Republican Representative James Comer, the chairman of the committee, has accused Democrats, the media, and the Biden administration of 'propping up a man who was unfit to lead.' Comer believes the so-called 'cover up' allowed for the utilization of 'autopens' to issue 'blanket pardons' for members of the Biden family. President Donald Trump has made similar claims that the use of the autopen meant someone other than Biden was in charge of the White House during his term. Tanden has acknowledged that the autopen is used in 'a lot' of administrations but has not provided any public comment on Biden's use of it or his cognitive function. Comer had requested Tanden and other former staffers he's accused of engaging in a 'cover-up,' testify to the committee and threatened to subpoena those who do not voluntarily comply. Tanden, 54, is a prominent Democratic political consultant who has worked in the Clinton, Obama and Biden administrations. When Biden took office in 2020, he nominated Tanden to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. However, the nomination was considered controversial due to Tanden's history of name-calling in tweets. The White House eventually withdrew Tanden's nomination and appointed her senior adviser and staff secretary. The testimony will come after a renewed focus on Biden's mental fitness, which was the subject of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's book Original Sin. Comer has also requested testimony from Michael Donilon and Anita Dunn, former senior advisers; Bruce Reed, former deputy chief of staff; and Steve Ricchetti, the former counselor to the president. Others subpoenaed include Anthony Bernal, a former senior adviser to First Lady Jill Biden; Ashley Williams, the former deputy director of Oval Office operations; and Annie Tomasini, the former deputy chief of staff. Comer has also subpoenaed Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor. Biden has maintained that he drove the decision-making during his presidency. There has been no evidence that aides acted on his behalf or that anyone other than Biden used the autopen.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
US Army to bring back names of 7 bases that once honored Confederate leaders
The US Army said Tuesday it will restore the names of seven Army bases that previously honored Confederate leaders. 'We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Robert E. Lee,' President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday at Fort Bragg, which was briefly known as Fort Liberty until the administration changed it back earlier this year. 'We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change.' The Army plans to give the bases new namesakes honoring 'heroic Soldiers who served in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Battle of Mogadishu,' according to a news release, as it rolls back the Biden-era name changes. Reverting the base names to the original Confederate namesakes would require congressional approval. The move comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and former longtime Fox News host, moved quickly to roll back name changes at other Army bases, such as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. Hegseth also ordered the secretary of the Navy to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk, which had honored the gay rights activist and Navy veteran who was made to resign from the force because of his sexual orientation. Removing Confederate monikers from US military bases became a contentious political issue in the final months of Trump's first term. While Trump vetoed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that included a naming commission to study and recommend new titles for bases named after Confederate leaders, Congress voted to override his veto with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Department of Defense began implementing the naming commission's recommendations in 2023. Here are the names that are being brought back. According to the Army's Tuesday announcement, Fort Barfoot, a Virginia base previously named after Confederate General George Pickett, will be named in honor of 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett, a soldier who received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism during World War II. While pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, Pickett crawled forward and destroyed two enemy positions with grenades, the Army said. He escaped from a transport train after being captured, rejoined his unit and was later killed in action. Fort Cavazos in Texas will be renamed Fort Hood in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient Col. Robert B. Hood, who fought in World War I. In 2023, it was named after Gen. Richard Cavazos, who served in both the Korean War and Vietnam War. He was the first Hispanic four-star general in US history. Georgia's Fort Eisenhower will revert back to Fort Gordon, this time honoring Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon, who during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, defended wounded crew members at a helicopter crash site. The base, which was previously named after Confederate General John Gordon, was renamed Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, who went on to serve as the nation's 34th president. A Virginia fort once named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will carry the namesake of Pvt. Fitz Lee, who received the Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish-American War. The fort was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col Charity Adams in 2023. Gregg helped desegregate the Army, including at Fort Lee, while Adams, in 1944, 'was selected to command the first unit of African-American women to serve overseas,' according to the congressional naming commission. Her service was chronicled in the 2024 film 'The Six Triple Eight.' Gen. James H. Polk, a Silver Star recipient and commanding officer of the 3rd Cavalry Group in operations across Europe during World War II, will become the new namesake for Louisiana's Fort Johnson, according to the release. The fort had been renamed in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black soldier who was considered one of the first heroes of World War I after he fought off about two dozen Germans alone, killing at least four. Fort Novosel will be redesignated as Fort Rucker, in honor of Capt. Edward W. Rucker, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient and aviator that flew behind enemy lines in World War I 'in a daring aerial battle over France, disrupting enemy movements and completing their mission against overwhelming odds,' according to the release. It was previously renamed after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel Sr., who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, where he flew 2,543 medical evacuation missions. The Army will bring back the Fort A.P. Hill name to Fort Walker, this time honoring Lt. Col. Edward Hill, 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Pvt. Bruce Anderson, three soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War. The Virginia fort previously was named in honor of Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill, a Confederate commander. It was renamed Fort Walker in 2023, after Dr. Mary Walker, the Army's first female surgeon who was ultimately awarded the Medal of Honor for her service during the Civil War. CNN's Samantha Waldenberg, Oren Liebermann, Devan Cole, Barbara Starr and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Michael Goodwin: Dems agree NYC is too expensive — and voters can't afford them being in charge
If there is a single point of agreement among all the Democrats running for mayor, it's that New York is too damn expensive. They uniformly call it an 'affordability crisis' and pledge to do something about it if elected. They are largely correct — the cost of living in New York has become absurdly high. Advertisement Although part of the trend grew out of the inflation sparked by massive spending by federal, state and local governments during the COVID era, there is also a long history of Gotham being one of most expensive places in the nation to live. A study shows that, in comparison to the national average, food prices in the five boroughs are about 22% higher, while housing is 278% more expensive. Making ends meet The United Way finds that basic costs for city households have risen twice as fast as the median income and estimates that about half of them need help from the government, friends or family just to make ends meet. Advertisement As Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani recently told The New York Times, 'There are far too many New Yorkers who do not know if they will be able to call themselves that next year, who do not know if they will be able to afford their rent, or their child care, their groceries, or even their MetroCard.' True to his socialist affiliations, Mamdani is promising the longest list of freebies, but his rivals have all joined the spree. Even Andrew Cuomo, often regarded as the most centrist of the bunch and the leader according to polls, is no shrinking violet in the giveaway games. The candidates' promises to address the problem sound very nice — until you realize that nearly everything they are offering would ultimately drive the sky-high cost of living even higher. Advertisement Already that burden is one of the top reasons why New York City and state lead America in losing residents to lower-cost jurisdictions. Congestion pricing is the latest example of how and why the cost of living here keeps rising. If the candidates all want to raise prices even higher, they should support a joint slogan: 'Dear Voters, If you're not broke yet, just wait.' The problem is that government compassion doesn't come cheap. Advertisement In fact, it's outrageously expensive. That's certainly true in the case at hand. The candidates' 'solutions' are just promises to give away more stuff to more people, such as free bus service, free child care, free this and free that. It's all wrapped in the language of compassion for the poor and working class. But what the lefty Dems leave out of the conversation is an honest explanation about where the money would come from to pay for all their added goodies, and what the impact would be of an expanded redistribution scheme to deliver them. Don't be fooled by the lack of details. That's intentional because the numbers would be frightening. Take away to give away But hiding the truth doesn't change the fact that because City Hall can't print money, it will first have to take more from residents and businesses if it is going to give away more. Advertisement Consider the obvious impact on businesses. If they are taxed more, most will make up for it by raising prices on their customers, cut the pay of their workers or reduce the number of workers. When a business goes broke, the city gets no taxes and the workers have no income. Because higher taxes always impose a trickle-down cost on some people, a similar outcome is true if the government raises income taxes on individuals, sales taxes or property taxes. Advertisement Somebody somewhere along the line is going to feel the pinch of every added dollar the city takes to give away to someone it declares more deserving. For those forced to pay more, the 'solution' to the problem means their cost of living is going to get even higher. That's why the candidates' plans need to be seen in light of the current budget. As it stands, City Hall will raise and spend a whopping $112.4 billion this year — nearly as much as the entire state of Florida. Advertisement New York state, meanwhile, will raise and spend $255 billion, with much of that money coming to the city. Additional agencies, such as the MTA, have their own budgets, which spend tens of billions more. Clearly the problem isn't a shortage of money to spend. Advertisement The problem is a shortage of responsible spending. Thus raising spending for 'new needs,' as the politicians call their freebies, by hiking taxes and fees at this point is almost certain to create as many problems as it solves. There is still time for the Dems to lay out a plan to actually reduce government costs. The first debate was little more than a bidding game to see who could promise more new giveaways and most vehemently denounce Donald Trump while pledging to 'resist' his presidency. The second and final mayoral debate, required by the NYC Campaign Finance Board, will take place Thursday, with primary day falling on June 24. It's incumbent on the moderators to demand that Mamdani and all the others explain, with specifics, where they would get added funds and who would pay them. Glib lines like taxing the 'top 1%' mean nothing because those families already pay inordinate amounts of the city's personal income tax. According to a city comptroller report, in 2021 the top 1% — about 6,000 families who reported incomes of $1 million or more — paid a whopping 48% of the city's total income tax haul. It's neither fair nor sensible to demand they pay more, when packing up and leaving altogether is proving to be so popular. Leftward lurch Unfortunately, we haven't heard much of a different message from other candidates in the race, including Mayor Adams, who is running as an independent. With GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa widely considered not viable, there is so far no check and balance on the Dems' leftward lurch. The vast majority of their spendthrift City Council candidates and those seeking other offices on the ballot are proving to be automatic supporters of larger and more expensive programs. National conversations about cutting taxes and reducing government waste, fraud and abuse have yet to find meaningful support in New York. That must start to change this week. Libs' stupidity taking a toll There they go again: Another major media outlet is confusing victimhood with the consequences of wrongdoing. The bleeding heart Boston Globe writes, 'Unpaid fees jeopardize thousands of Mass. driver's licenses,' saying, 'Thousands of Massachusetts drivers each year face the possibility of losing their legal authority to drive unless debts unrelated to road safety are paid in full.' Among the debts it cites are tolls the drivers evaded. Here's a crazy idea: The drivers could pay the tolls and keep their licenses. Why is that so hard?
