Republican-led Florida Legislature Could Tackle Corporate Welfare

In the era of COVID, Americans from all walks of life have endured extraordinary economic woes because of the U.S. economy practically shutting down with the spread of the pandemic, and now the Florida legislature may play a role in ending 'Corporate welfare.'

The U.S. economy is still struggling to get back on track, mainly due to the bad economic policies President Joe Biden has put in place since taking office, as well as the government trillions of dollars in handouts that every single American, able-bodied or not, received,

Now, as policies put in place by the Trump administration have led to a steady economic recovery in 2021-2022, there are special interests groups that believe that a government bailout of their interests or industries is warranted.

In Florida, groups like the film industry, state-run Visit Florida, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, believe that if the Republican-led state legislature cuts them a subsidy to help them become solvent, their individual efforts will trigger an economic boom.

The economic boom appears to already be underway as a result of Gov. Ron DeSantis's governance and refusal to shut down the state.

Florida is flush with cash, so what Gov. DeSantis has done is doled out monies to help the state’s infrastructure and environmental conservation projects.

Having clean water is paramount for Florida having a healthy revenue stream.

The state’s top two industries—Tourism and Agriculture—rely on clean water.

Getting back to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars are a subpar football team, but regardless of how much they stink on the field, the team and its owner have a lot of cash. They don’t need a taxpayer handout to build a new stadium.

“Those seeking incentives should try explaining to the Floridians who are hurting and the small-business owners who have lost their life’s work why they have to bear the added expense of subsidizing private-sector businesses,” stated Skylar Zandar, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Florida.

According to Zandar, “A film subsidy program that was allowed to sunset in 2016 yielded a paltry 43 cents in returned revenue for every dollar the state spent,” adding that a report by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research showed the Florida Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive Program generated a return on investment of only 18 cents for every dollar spent in 2018.”

State-funded Visit Florida is on the chopping block, but if Rep. Linda Chaney’s HB 489 passes, Visit Florida would get a new lease on its taxpayer-funded life.

Rep. Chaney’s measure would extend Visit Florida’s life another five years. Speaker Chris Sprowls (pictured) can ultimately scrap the measure and allow Visit Florida to wither away.