I’ve written lots of columns comparing Texas and California (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), and also several columns comparing Florida and New York (see here, here, here, here, and here).
We’ll break from that pattern today because we’re going to compare Florida and California, motivated by tonight’s Fox TV debate between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
We’ll start with this table put together by Peter Coy of the New York Times. If Florida won, I awarded a red star and if California won, I awarded a blue star (and no stars if there was a tie or the category was irrelevant).
Florida won the most categories, though California has higher income (but also a much-higher cost of living).
Here’s a table prepared by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. No need to add any stars since Florida wins every category.
I’ll close with a few excerpts from an editorial by the Wall Street Journal.
Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis are set to square off…in a Fox News debate… Besides offering voters a look of the alternatives to Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the showdown between the California and Florida governors could provide a revealing policy contrast. Sacramento has rushed to the left in recent decades while Tallahassee has moved to the right. Since winning election in 2018, Messrs. Newsom and DeSantis have advanced sharply different policies on Covid lockdowns, taxes, school choice and climate regulation, among other things. …here is a scorecard of policy results. …Since January 2019, employment has increased by 1,031,030 in Florida while declining by 85,438 in California. …California’s 4.8% jobless rate is the second highest in the country and nearly twice as high as Florida’s (2.8%). …State and local taxes in California add up to $10,167 per capita versus $5,406 in Florida. …Despite its higher taxes, California boasted a $31.5 billion budget shortfall in May while Florida ran a $17.7 billion surplus.
Based on the data, DeSantis has already won the debate.
Though messaging and style matter in politics, so we’ll see what happens in tonight’s debate.
P.S. We’ll make this column Part V of our series on red states vs blue states (previous editions available here, here, here, and here).
