Hispanic women in Florida have every reason to be optimistic about our future, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. All we have to do is replicate the success we achieved before this unexpected crisis interrupted our progress.
This crisis has been hard on working people, but President Donald Trump has already begun to plan for reviving the economy — something he’s successfully accomplished once before.
A new era of female empowerment began shortly after President Trump took office in 2017. Thanks to pro-growth economic policies, including middle class tax cuts, deregulation, and opportunity zones, women throughout America began reaching new milestones that were previously thought to be unattainable. Those same policies remain in place, just waiting for the day when our economic rebound can begin in earnest and we can return to the prosperity we were enjoying at the beginning of this year.
The national female unemployment rate, for instance, was hovering close to its lowest level in 70 years before the coronavirus came along. More than 4.2 million women across the country found new jobs in our roaring economy, lifting countless women out of poverty and strengthening working families.
The record-breaking economic renaissance also had an outsized impact on minorities — since the 2016 election, more than three million new jobs went to Hispanic Americans, driving the Latino unemployment rate to record lows. As a proud American of Cuban heritage, I know exactly how much this meant to millions of hard-working Latino families throughout our country, and how eager those three million workers are to get back to their new jobs.
Hispanic entrepreneurs and business owners are also understandably eager to return to the strong and growing economy that powered their success over the past three years — something that I personally witnessed with the recent growth of my own real estate business in Florida. But Hispanic businesses were growing rapidly all over the country before the COVID-19 crisis: on average, annual revenue of Latino-owned businesses in the U.S. increased by an impressive 26.5 percent between 2017 and 2018. Moreover, credit applications for Hispanic-owned businesses also grew by a stunning 22 percent during the same time period.
Fortunately, the rapid economic progress we made prior to the pandemic should make it easier to cope with and recover from coronavirus-related shutdowns. Recent studies estimate that new business formation in the Sunshine State increased 14.9 percent between 2016 and the beginning of this year, contributing to the creation of more than 550,000 new nonfarm jobs over the first 36 months of Donald Trump’s presidency and bringing our unemployment rate down to a record low of 2.8 percent. Common-sense economic policies also helped lift more than 132,000 Floridians out of poverty, while state taxpayers saved an average of $1,355 on their federal income taxes in 2018 thanks to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.
Latinas have thrived under the Trump administration because the president knows that freedom empowers people to enrich themselves. Unfortunately, socialism is gaining in popularity, especially among younger generations. But like many Latinos, I know all too well what life under socialism is truly like.
My mother arrived in this country at age 10 with her mother, her sisters, her grandmother, and her great aunt. They fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba in search of freedom and safety. Once they made it to America, obstacles were conquered, and trials and tribulations were overcome because they were free. Blessed with great values, integrity, pride and a work ethic — as well as the unshakable faith of the strongest lady in the world — they made it! President Trump is ensuring that other families can achieve the same success, and truly experience the American dream for themselves.
Make no mistake, the remarkable economic rebound that Latina workers and entrepreneurs have witnessed for the past three years is merely on pause. Once we defeat the coronavirus outbreak, we must do everything in our power to protect the foundation of our newfound prosperity by re-electing President Trump.
Katrina Campins sits on the board of Latinos for Trump and is a co-chair of Women for Trump. She is the founder of the Campins Company, Miami’s premiere real estate company and has sold over $1 billion throughout her career.
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