Trump Tanked Florida’s Economy and Left Us Out to Dry
By Rachel Reh
At his first debate against Joe Biden, President Trump promised Americans that “our country is coming back incredibly.” But that same night, central Florida was dealt a crushing blow: Walt Disney Co. announced it would lay off 28,000 employees, with a staggering 15,300 jobs cut in Florida alone. Despite months of promises about the coronavirus “disappearing like magic,” cases in Florida are beginning to spike again. Trump’s promises are hollow: there is no magic bullet to save jobs at the “Happiest Place on Earth” or in the rest of the state — not without getting a handle on the pandemic first.
Elsewhere in this region and state, it’s worse. “While the rest of the economy is in a recession, the travel industry is in a depression,” said Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA. Tourism in Florida would take years to recover, despite President Trump’s promises of a speedy recovery. Thanks to Trump’s failed leadership and Governor DeSantis’ hasty reopening, tourists just don’t feel safe coming to the Sunshine State during peak season. The Florida hotel industry has lost nearly 40%, or 76,746, of its pre-shutdown jobs, and hundreds of thousands more are at risk. And still, Trump continues to boast of a “beautiful economy” and promises a “V-shaped recovery.” But residents of this state are seeing no such thing.
Third Way recently collected testimonials of Floridians struggling under Trump’s COVID recession. Their stories paint a damning picture of presidential ineptitude.
When Trump failed to deliver on a desperately needed stimulus package, Florida workers were left out to dry. Now, employees are fumbling with a broken unemployment system, trying to stretch the one-time check from the CARES Act. And new data show unemployment claims are spiking faster in Florida than other states as large companies announce mass layoffs.
“I was hoping for another stimulus check so I could pay my bills,” Latonya Carter told the press. “I’m worried about us being in the dark or being without water.”
Worse, with the federal boost of $600 per week for unemployment gone, many laid-off workers in Florida were forced under the poverty line. Latonya Carter lost her job in Pensacola six months ago, when the state’s hospitality industry nosedived. This is leading to true desperation. “I was hoping for another stimulus check so I could pay my bills,” Carter told the press. “I’m worried about us being in the dark or being without water.”
Hispanic and Latinx populations, many of who work in the hospitality and tourism industry, have been especially hard hit. In mid-July, during Florida’s big summer spike of the coronavirus, Hispanics made up 44% of cases, despite being 25% of the population. Both DeSantis and Trump have shown little regard for these communities, and DeSantis went so far as to blame the rise in Florida’s cases on “overwhelming Hispanic farmworkers and laborers.” Flavia, one of those undocumented workers in Allapattah, lost her job at the start of the pandemic. “Between the health crisis and this economic crisis,” she said, “you don’t even know what’s going to happen to you.”
“I’m potentially sitting here with polyps right now, and no way to get a colonoscopy because I can’t afford it,” said Marsha Miller, who was laid off in March.
In America, being sick and out of work can be a deadly combination. Donald Trump promised for years that under his leadership, “everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.” But his “beautiful” health plan never materialized. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians, out of work and uninsured, were left to fall through the state’s threadbare safety net during the worst of the pandemic. Even before COVID-19 struck, more than 240,000 Floridians, including 55,000 children, had lost health insurance during the Trump years. And if Trump’s lawsuit before the US Supreme Court succeeds in overturning the Affordable Care Act, millions more could lose coverage. “I’m potentially sitting here with polyps right now, and no way to get a colonoscopy because I can’t afford it,” said Marsha Miller, who was laid off in March.
Trump praised Florida’s quick return to “a normal life” at a maskless rally just one week before he himself contracted COVID-19. But there’s nothing normal about it. Trump’s public health recklessness imperils lives and has greatly delayed any economic recovery. With massive revenue losses, budget shortfalls, and 1.4 million that have been out of work, the state’s economy is on the brink. Floridians cannot afford another four years of Trump’s broken promises.
Rachel Reh is a Communications Advisor at Third Way. She is a Florida native and a graduate of Santa Fe College and the University of Florida.
