Florida’s tourism industry is collapsing, with hotels reporting massive losses and declining bookings as a result of Republican governor and wheedling Trump sycophant Ron DeSantis’s failed Covid19 response. A recent report by the American Hotel and Lodging Association shows that the state of Florida suffered a $2.5 billion decline in hotel revenues between 2019 and 2020, and is projected to suffer even greater losses in 2021.
Recent changes in how Covid deaths are reported in Florida suggests that changes to public data made by the Trump and DeSantis administrations resulted in a vast under-reporting of deaths in the state. A recent Community Profile report released by the CDC shows that many of the states most populous counties are still seeing a substantial increase in Covid19 mortality (see page 7).
There are numerous anecdotal reports of Northerners who normally go to Florida to visit elderly family members for the holidays asking their relatives to come North instead, or deciding that they’ll simply forgo any Holiday family gathering this year. There are also reports of “Snow Birds” (Northern retirees who have winter homes in Florida) pushing travel dates back further and further, and even considering not going to Florida at all this year, due to the states grim Covid19 infection and mortality rates.
For a state whose economy is heavily based on service and retail, and is dependent upon revenues from tourism and retiree spending, the economic consequences of DeSantis’s failure of leadership are devastating. DeSantis’s failed response to the Covid19 virus was a direct result of his attempts to show fealty to the ideology of former President Donald Trump, and to try to gain attention so he could run as a “MAGA” candidate for President in 2024. When you add in the rumors that Ron DeSantis was also a participant in drug-fueled teen sex orgies coordinated by Florida 1st District House Rep Matt Gaetz, it may be time for the people of Florida to tell the Governor he’s just got to go. The state of Florida has serious social, economic and environmental issues that need to be addressed. The last thing Floridians need to do is re-elect a failed governor who has a track record of making poor decisions because his primary goal is trying to appeal to the MAGA base, and who is also a depraved sex-pervert.