Florida: “if you decide to stay, please leave your voting habits behind!”

When you visit states like Florida and Texas, people will ask you where you are from. If you say, “I’m visiting from California,” you commonly hear one response, “Well, if you decide to stay, please leave your voting habits behind!” I’m sure you’ve heard the sayings, “Don’t California my Texas,” “Don’t California my Idaho,” and “Don’t New York my Florida”! Funny enough, after taking a trip to Florida recently, I would like to see us in Florida our California!

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Florida vs. California: 2nd Amendment

On April 3, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Constitutional Carry into law. The Florida House of Representatives passed HB 543 with 79 yeas and 32 nays on March 24, 2023. Then, just one week later, on March 30, 2023, the Florida State Senate passed SB 150 with 24 years and 13 nays. This bill allows eligible citizens to carry a concealed firearm without a state-issued permit. Florida Republicans that support the bill call it a “public safety” measure. 

“This bill is a big step, a big step to help the average law-abiding citizen, to keep them from having to go through the hoops of getting a permit from the government to carry their weapon. It is also not going to change who can and who cannot carry a gun. People that are prohibited now are still going to be prohibited.”

State Rep. and bill sponsor Chuck Brannan, R-Macclenny

However, in California, there is an entirely different approach to handling our Second Amendment rights. California is adding more regulations all the time. Indeed, we have some of the strictest gun laws in the United States. Scoring A on the Giffords Gun Law Scorecard. The lawmakers in California say that the regulations were implemented to reduce gun violence, an ongoing issue in California. 

To even be able to purchase a firearm as a law-abiding California resident, one must obtain a Firearm Safety Certificate by taking a written test. This is a requirement for all firearms purchases, on top of the background check and the 10-day wait. In 2019 a law went into effect making it so anyone buying ammunition must pass a background check and provide valid proof of identity or residency. To top it off, there are bans on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines. Of course, those convicted of serious crimes or suffering from mental health issues are prohibited from owning firearms. 

Lawmakers in California claim that these laws will “establish additional safety measures for citizens.” However, Florida’s crime rate is much lower than California, and it’s decreasing annually.

Florida vs. California: Crime Rate

The Annual Uniform Crime Report for Florida shows that Crime is down to a 50-year low. Florida’s total crime volume dropped 8.3%. Equalling 38,524 fewer crimes compared to 2020.  Overall, violent crimes (including domestic violence) and property crimes all decreased in 2021. Unfortunately, for Californians, that was not at all the case.

California’s violent crime rate alone increased by 6.0%, from 440 per 100,000 residents in 2020 to 466 in 2021. Furthermore, while robberies fell somewhat (by 1.9%), aggravated assaults jumped up by 8.9%, homicides increased by 7.7%, and rape was 7.9%. Looking even more dire, in 2021, aggravated assaults were 67% of reported violent crimes, 24% were robberies, 8% were rape, and 1% were homicides. So, despite the desperate measures to control our firearm purchases, crime did not and is not going down. 

In 2020 California closed prisons. Before that, in 2016, they changed the definition of violent crime. Voters passed Proposition 57 in 2016, which reduced minimum sentencing for “nonviolent” felonies. The proposition allows felons that commit “supposedly” non-violent crimes to earn early parole. But, a loophole was found to benefit those who have committed violent crimes that were just not covered by the law … oops.

The passing of this proposition and the prison closures have caused violent offenders to have longer stays in our county jails and a 3% increase in property crimes, including vandalism and theft. The prison closures may have also contributed to the rise in homelessness in California. 

Florida vs. California: Homelessness

According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, in January 2020, Florida had an estimated 27,487 people experiencing homelessness. Continuums of Care supplied the report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Family households, 2,294; Veterans, 2,436; Young adults (ages 18-24), 1,331; individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, 5,182. 

California’s information is somehow unavailable using the same website as the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Of course, if you think you can trust the government when it comes to open data, with everything we’ve seen over the last few years, you don’t understand history. But we digress … 

Here’s what we did find … Homelessness continues to grow in California. Shocking, right? Nationally, California has had the largest homeless population for over a decade. In 2022, 30% of all people in the US experiencing homelessness lived in California, including 50% of all unsheltered people (115,491 documented in California; 233,832 documented in the US).  

Per Calmatters.Org 

“The federal government also awarded California first place in a number of other categories:

• It had the country’s highest homelessness rate, with 44 people out of every 10,000 experiencing homelessness.
• It had the largest increase in its homeless population of any other state from both 2020-22 (6.2%) and 2007-22 (23.4%), whereas Florida saw a 5.6% decrease from 2020-22 and notched the country’s biggest decrease from 2007-22 (46%).
• California had nine times more unsheltered people than Washington [Sate], the state with the next highest number (115,491 [documented] people compared to 12,668 [documented] people).

With all the crime, the staggering increases in homelessness, and the littering of our streets with needles, trash, and feces, it’s no wonder business owners are looking for a better place to thrive. 

Florida vs. California: Business Friendly 

Enterprise Florida says it well! Low taxes and warm weather. It must be Florida.

“Florida consistently ranks among the best states for business, thanks to its pro-business state tax policies, competitive cost of doing business and streamlined regulatory environment. Government and economic development leaders work together to ensure that the state’s business climate remains favorable to companies of all sizes, including some of the nation’s leading corporations.

Beyond that, Florida offers a cost-efficient alternative to high-tech states with more affordable land, labor and capital than its competitors. The state’s regulatory agencies and local governments provide quicker, less costly and more predictable permitting processes for significant economic development projects without reducing environmental standards. Florida’s zero percent personal income tax also makes it easier for you to build the business of your dreams. More money in your pocket today means more flexibility to spend on your business, your family and your future.”

Back in October of 2022, we published an article titled; Government is the Enemy of Small Business in California. In this article, we took you through the daunting task of opening a restaurant in the City of Eureka. The truth is California business owners, farmers, and workers deserve to live in a state that rewards them for their hard work and contributions to society.

It shouldn’t be challenging to open a business and create jobs in our state. The government has become greedy and bloated. Honestly, if we didn’t have so many pensions, social programs, special interest projects, and other liabilities to cover, we’d actually be able to keep more of the money we earn. What a noble concept! 

Morgan Rynor from CBS8 in Sacramento published an article at the end of 2022 called Survey: businesses leaving California Due to high operating costs. Claremont Mckenna College completed the study referenced. This study divulged authentic and disheartening information – something that many of us living in California already understand.

“The cost of doing business in California is too high, and businesses are leaving, according to a survey from Claremont Mckenna College, which has been tracking the migration of business for decades. “California continues to be an expensive place to do business, things like the minimum wage is more than twice as high in California than in a competitive state like Texas,” Director of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont Mckenna College Ken Miller said.

“Taxes are higher in California, regulations and utility costs, and license fees, all those kinds of things tend to be high in California.” And there’s the cost of housing. “That’s the main reason why employers are choosing to move out of state because their employees, many of them, can’t find an affordable house close to where they’re working,” Miller said.”

Elected officials who support a society that produces results economically fund and support quality public education. And Florida, by far, outranks California when it comes to our children’s education within the public school system.

Florida vs. California: Public Schools

California ranks 35th for quality and 51st for safety. While Florida, on the other hand, ranks 14th for quality and 20th for safety, according to World Population Review. 

The Florida Education Department website lists the different divisions on its homepage. This puts on full display the true priorities of providing a quality education for the children and young adults that live in this thriving state. 

Under Public Schools, we discovered the Division of Educator Quality.

“The Division of Educator Quality (EQ) includes programs that perform fundamental roles in assuring that every Florida student receives an education that makes him or her college- and career-ready. Our work in EQ includes leaders with responsibility for statewide oversight and support of:

Educator Preparation for Teachers and Leaders

Educator Recognition

Educator Recruitment

Certification to ensure that all educators are professionally qualified

School District Professional Development Systems

Performance Evaluation Systems for Teachers and Leaders

Educator Professionalism consistent with the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida

Certification processes, including ensuring all requirements of law are met, for new and renewing educators

Information and resources for educators via the Just for Teachers Community

Our work, as a team, is summarized best by our Four Core Values which include:

Being responsive

Doing good work and expanding the capacity of others to do the same

Serving as critical friends

Demonstrating honesty, respect and integrity

We use these values to guide our work so that students in Florida, every day, in every school, have a teacher that is as good as the best we ever had.

Our ultimate goal is for all Florida teachers and leaders to be professionally prepared, developed, supported and supervised by educators who are making teaching better.”

Some Schools in California are great. Locally, the Cutten and Freshwater elementary schools are some of the top-rated public schools in the Eureka area based on a few different measures, including academic performance and equity. However, California as a whole, is not delivering for our students.

Go to the California Department of Education website and your stomach might do flips. The first thing you’ll see is a rainbow graphic that contains the top priority for educators in this failing state. 

“Transforming Schools: The initiatives and priorities of State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) integrate new programs and strategies into our K-12 public schools that address the inequities, learning loss, and the social-emotional needs of our students while supporting families, educators, and local educational agencies.”

“Big changes are underway for California K–12 education, and we need all the resources possible to help students heal, recover, and thrive.

This is a pivotal moment—an opportunity to fuse our investments in education, the urgency of the COVID-19 response, and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to break the cycle of educational inequity.

The 2022–23 California budget will almost triple the amount of per-pupil investment from a decade ago and will allow the state to address historic inequities, learning loss, and the social–emotional needs of our students.”

Yes! They just told us that their top priority is to spend more of our money to socially develop our children and shove leftist agenda down their throats. Not one time was academics mentioned. Unacceptable. We can blame the California Teachers Union for the downgrade of our public education system in California. 

Again stated on the California Teachers Association website, more “progressive” nonsense without a mention of academics or prioritizing a quality education. 

“We believe our public schools are worth fighting for. That belief has guided our union since 1863. Today, we’re still just as dedicated in the fight for equal access, justice, and resources for all of California’s students, teachers, and classrooms.”

Come on Californian’s – haven’t we had enough?

Come together: Let’s FLORIDA our California

It’s time to step up and restore California. We could be a great state that protects our freedoms, keeps our streets safe, encourages economic growth, and educates our children. Please start voting like you’re a Floridian to save our state from its demise.