By Brian Mudd
Top Three Takeaways – February 3rd, 2021
Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes. No this isn’t about Jimmy Buffet, however yes, he was onto something when he sang about the virtues of living in South Florida. While we’re on a second day of iguana watch, pretty much everyone north of us are simply left to look at their watch, as snowstorms have left most of the east coast locked down again. This time due to weather. I’ve said since the onset of the pandemic I’d rather ride it out here than any other place. That’s as true today as ever. And it’s not just about perception. Generally, whether it’s me or you, we’re all in a better frame of mind for living here – especially this time of year. According to the American Psychiatric Association, winter is the peak season for depression. Already 18.1% of Americans suffer from depression. An additional 5% suffer from seasonal depression. Now imagine being 11 months into the pandemic, susceptible to dep
By Brian Mudd
Top Three Takeaways – February 2nd, 2021
Who do you do most care about? It’s likely your family, right? Your wife, your kids, eventually their kids. Now, look at the leadership in Washington and tell me what you think is happening right now. We re living in a reality in which overt-Socialist Bernie Sanders chairs the Senate budget committee for the Democrat party while President Joe Biden is signing executive actions to stop construction of the border wall which helped aid in a 50% reduction in illegal crossings at the southern border last year, while he’s already signed executive actions ordering the “immediate” realize of illegal immigrants detained for deportation (the courts stopped that one) and is signing a new executive order to dramatically increase the number of refugees the US allows during a pandemic which costs us an average of $64,370 each to bring them here so they can then compete for employment opportunities with the 20+ million Americans c
By Brian Mudd
Top Three Takeaways – January 29th, 2021
58%. A year ago, that was Governor DeSantis’s approval rating as he rolled out his budget which called for 2020 to be “The Year of Teacher”. Broadly popular at the time, the governor boldly laid out his plan for the largest increase in teacher salaries in Florida’s history with a pay structure which would take Florida’s teachers from being below average in compensation to among the top in the country. This as he outlined the continuation of record spending for environmental projects and pushed reform for the contamination of Florida’s waterways. In many respects it feels like much longer than a year ago because as DeSantis laid out his plans for the year, he nor we, knew what was about to hit us. In the end, the pandemic took its toll on numerous agenda items. He vetoed over a billion dollars in projects approved by the state legislature. Quoting DeSantis at the time of the budget vetoes “we are dealing with
By Brian Mudd
Top Three Takeaways – January 27th, 2021
You can exhale. That is if you’ve been wondering if the United States would still be recognizable by the next election cycle after Democrats swept both Georgia Senate seats in the January runoff elections to assume complete control of the federal government. Your concern was understandable after, now Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer warned - “everything was on the table” prior to Election Day. That everything included the end of the legislative filibuster – which if enacted would result in no checks and balances in the federal government for the next two years, the addition of Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico as states and the packing of the federal court system – including the Supreme Court – with progressive judges. The reason you can exhale is due to not one but two Democrats in the United States Senate, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, who’ve said they’ll not support t
By Brian Mudd
Top Three Takeaways – January 26th, 2021
The trend is our friend. Lord knows we’ve had enough negative news in recent months that we should get a reprieve for at least a few years. But could the tide be turning? Whether we’re talking about the pandemic, our local economy or even the weather – the outlook is improving. Starting with the economy. Florida’s economy continues to defy expert predictions and the national trends. Not only was Florida’s economy not one of the hardest hit during the pandemic as was predicted, in large part due to Governor DeSantis’s pragmatic approach to lockdowns and reopening s, we ve had a better than average economy throughout. That was especially on display to end the year as we learned Florida added 18,000 jobs while jobs were lost nationally. Long gone are the days when Florida’s economy was only as good as travel and tourism which has been especially important during the pandemic. Another important and positive trend