In his latest word salad against all things Republican, Thomas Oatway (July 26), without any statistical evidence or supporting data, criticizes Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Facts matter. So let’s set the record straight:
Unlike states led by progressive Democrats, Gov. DeSantis, very early on in the COVID crisis, allowed retail stores and restaurants to open at 25% capacity. He also let Disney and other amusement venues reopen if they could keep their visitors safe. Those prescient and early actions by Gov. DeSantis helped to preserve jobs and to reduce the economic hardship that blue states, with harsher COVID restrictions and business shutdowns, experienced.
In addition, DeSantis was one of only a handful of governors, most of whom were Republicans, who did not bow down to powerful teachers’ unions, and allowed for the early reopening of Florida’s public schools. Those actions allowed unemployed parents to return to work and helped to mitigate the learning loss of our children. Florida also had the 10th lowest COVID rate in the country, 20% lower than Oatway’s socialist paradise of California.
Thanks to Ron DeSantis’ COVID and economic policies and actions, the economy of Florida boomed. During the COVID years of 2020-2022, Florida experienced a population growth of over 622,000 and an increase of employment of 7.4%. Over that same period of time California’s job growth was only 2.5%.
I’d gladly trade Gov. DeSantis for Gavin Newsom.
Max Morgan
Valencia
