If not for the federal government’s aggressive, rapid response to the coronavirus pandemic, Florida’s booming economy would not have managed to endure the COVID-19 pandemic and would not be quickly regaining the losses that occurred during the economic contraction.
Thanks to the Trump administration’s emergency economic relief initiatives, the devastating coronavirus pandemic did not mark the end of Florida’s economic renaissance.
Without the leadership of President Donald Trump, the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic would have been devastating to Florida. In fact, 3.2 million Florida jobs are being saved because of President Donald Trump’s bold and timely action. This historic move will set the pace that will have Florida breaking economic records once again.
Because of President Trump’s mobilization of the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), 393,028 businesses were provided with more than $32 billion worth of loans. These loans are forgivable and low-interest, and as long as they are properly used for payroll and operating expenses, business owners will not be required to repay them.
However, small businesses were not the only part of the president’s plan. Individuals and their families benefitted from the collaboration between the White House and Congress as well. Knowing that the federal government needed to act quickly, President Trump directed the U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service to provide than $17.5 billion in economic impact payments to 10,618,792 Floridians by May 22.
In order to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus, President Trump is using the same pro-growth strategies and policies that he first used in 2017 after the stagnant Obama-Biden years. President Trump’s economic impact started in January 2017. The job-killing regulations that were multiplied during Biden’s eight years in office were dismantled by President Trump who replaced these with major tax cuts for Floridians. The Trump administration’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is benefitting 7,517,550 Florida households because it doubles the standard deduction, providing tax relief and simplifying the tax filing process.
The sinking unemployment rate under President Trump’s leadership is simple to understand. The president slashed useless federal regulations and adopted common-sense policies. Over the next decade, President Trump’s tax cuts are estimated to create 71,504 new jobs in Florida.
Under a Biden-Harris administration, the big-government mindset will be brought back to the White House with more red-tape and bureaucracy than ever before. Joe Biden, a career politician who has spent almost a half a century in Washington, D.C., has no understanding of what life is like for the American working class. This lack of understanding is the reason he championed NAFTA, which cost Floridians 77,586 manufacturing jobs, 17.5 percent of manufacturing jobs in the Sunshine State. The Economic Policy Institute found that by 2013, 115,700 jobs had been lost or displaced in Florida – and more than 3.2 million in the United States – due to the rise in the trade deficit with China since it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
Trade with Canada and Mexico supports $12.2 billion in exports and more than 750,400 jobs in our state. In our state, agricultural exports, valued at $3.3 billion annually, support 27,100 jobs. Our state’s reliance on exporting goods means that we need a leader like President Trump to protect us and create fair, equitable trade deals like the USMCA.
This November, I encourage you to compare Biden’s 47 years in Washington, D.C. and President Trump’s four years. President Trump’s tax cuts, deregulation, and pro-growth policies helped build a stronger economy for Florida’s workers and businesses, while Joe Biden’s policies only benefit swamp creatures like himself.
State Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, was first elected to the Florida Senate in 2016 after eight years in the Florida House. She represents all of Indian River County and parts of Brevard County.
