OPEN LETTER  ·  POLITICAL ECONOMY

An Open Letter to Sean Hannity and Dan Bongino: Stop Selling Florida. Start Scoring It.

You have the two biggest microphones in the conservative ecosystem and you both call Florida home. Here are 21 questions that turn the Florida-versus-California argument from a personality fight into a balance sheet, and a challenge to put them on the air.

The 21-question checklist maps cleanly onto a Florida-vs-California policy comparison. I’ll pull a few missing metrics (crime, schools, energy, enforcement) so the answers stay specific.Here is the 21-question checklist applied to Florida vs California as operating policy systems (not personalities). Columns are the two state approaches and what the recent data actually shows.

1 Employment

Florida: Strong private-sector job growth, especially construction, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, and professional services tied to in-migration. Lower unemployment recently (~4.3%).
California: Larger absolute job base (tech, entertainment, ports, government, healthcare). Higher unemployment recently (~5.4%).
Evidence: California still has more high-wage professional jobs; Florida has added more net residents and private jobs per capita. Unemployment has favored Florida in the latest readings.

2. Wages

Florida: Lower nominal wages. No state income tax means more of a paycheck is take-home.
California: Higher median household income (~$90k–$96k vs ~$70k–$72k) and higher professional salaries, especially in tech.
Evidence: California wins on gross pay; Florida often wins on after-tax purchasing power once housing and energy are included. A $100k salary keeps several thousand more dollars in Florida.

3. Cost of living

Florida: Housing, electricity, and gasoline are cheaper. Overall COL index near U.S. average (~100–103).
California: Housing and energy drive a much higher index (~113–140). Typical home roughly 2× Florida.
Evidence: Mid-2026 typical home values ~$375k–$415k in Florida vs ~$760k–$785k in California. Residential electricity ~15–16¢/kWh vs ~28–33¢. Gas often $1.50+ higher in California. Florida’s offset is homeowners insurance on the coast.

4. Taxes

Florida: 0% state income tax; ~7% combined sales tax; property tax ~0.76–0.86% with homestead + Save Our Homes cap.
California: Top income tax 13.3%; sales tax ~8.8–9%; property tax lower effective rate under Prop 13 for long-term owners.
Evidence: At $100k–$150k, Florida’s income-tax savings are ~$5k–$12k/year. Prop 13 can make California cheaper for people who already own. New buyers and high earners usually pay more in California.

5. Small business

Florida: Frequently ranks near the top for starting a business (WalletHub #1 in 2026). No income tax, faster permitting in many counties, right-to-work.
California: Huge market and capital access, but NFIB surveys put regulation as the #1 small-business problem—far above the national average. High energy, labor, and compliance costs.
Evidence: Florida ranks well on fiscal policy and growth; California ranks near the bottom on regulatory burden and cost of doing business even while ranking high on entrepreneurship volume.

6. Economic growth

Florida: Population-driven demand, construction, tourism, finance, logistics. Recent real GDP growth has often outpaced California.
California: Still a massive GDP engine (tech, entertainment, agriculture, trade). Growth is more uneven and more sensitive to housing, energy, and out-migration of firms.
Evidence: California’s economy is larger; Florida’s recent growth rate and domestic in-migration have been stronger.

7. Government spending

Florida: Relatively leaner state budget, no income tax so more reliance on sales and property tax plus tourism.
California: Much larger state budget, higher social-service and climate/energy program spending, funded by progressive income tax that is volatile with capital gains.
Evidence: California raises and spends more per capita; Florida spends less and does not tax wages.

8. Debt and deficits

Both states have balanced-budget requirements. California’s revenue is more boom-bust because it depends on high-income and capital-gains taxpayers. Florida’s base is broader but more sensitive to tourism, insurance markets, and property values.

9. Public safety

Florida: State law requires cooperation with federal immigration detainers; emphasis on prosecution and school-safety statutes; no statewide sanctuary policy.
California: Sanctuary framework limits local/state participation in civil immigration enforcement, with exceptions for serious criminal convictions. Some cities emphasize diversion and reduced cash bail.
Evidence: Policy intent is opposite on cooperation vs non-cooperation with ICE. Crime outcomes are in Q10.

10. Crime

Florida (2024 FBI-style rates): violent ~267 per 100k; property ~1,420.
California: violent ~486 per 100k; property ~2,078. Homicide rates are closer (CA has reported further homicide declines into 2025).
Evidence: Florida’s statewide violent and property rates have been lower. City-level variation is huge in both states.

11. Immigration

Florida: Statewide ban on sanctuary policies; hundreds of 287(g) agreements; state agencies tasked to assist federal enforcement. Arrests in Florida rose sharply after 2025.
California: Statewide sanctuary limits on using state/local resources for civil immigration enforcement; still transfers people convicted of serious felonies to ICE.
Evidence: Florida is one of the most enforcement-aligned states; California is one of the most restriction-aligned. Labor-market effects differ by industry (agriculture, construction, hospitality).

12. Rule of law

Florida: Tighter state preemption of local sanctuary, education, and some public-health rules; stronger state direction of local law enforcement on immigration.
California: Stronger local discretion in many cities; more agency rulemaking on climate, housing, labor, and healthcare.
Evidence: Florida centralizes more enforcement choices at the state level; California delegates more to agencies and sanctuary-aligned localities.

13. Individual liberty

Florida: Broader gun rights, fewer speech/compelled-speech rules in schools and workplaces, fewer COVID-era residual mandates, more occupational and school-choice latitude. Restrictions exist on some medical procedures and classroom content.
California: Stricter gun, ammunition, and magazine rules; stronger tenant, labor, and environmental limits on what you may build, sell, or emit; more speech and curriculum mandates in public institutions. Legal cannabis and stronger tenant protections.
Evidence: The two states restrict different bundles of conduct. Neither is “maximum liberty” across the board.

14. Property rights

Florida: Homestead protection is strong; Save Our Homes caps assessment growth; insurance availability is the practical constraint on coastal property.
California: Prop 13 protects existing owners; new construction faces CEQA, density, rent-control, and inclusionary rules. Tenants have stronger statewide protections.
Evidence: Old California homeowners are unusually protected. New Florida buyers face insurance shock; new California buyers face price and permit shock.

15. Education

Florida: #1 for five years running on Heritage’s Education Freedom scorecard (choice, transparency, parental authority). Large voucher/ESA sector. Lower average teacher pay. Mixed NAEP results (grade 8 math near the lower half).
California: Higher spending and teacher pay (~$104k vs ~$57k). Weaker school-choice ranking. NAEP scores similar-to-slightly-higher than Florida in some subjects, still below top states.
Evidence: Florida maximizes exit options; California maximizes public-system funding. Test-score differences are modest compared with the policy gap.

16. Healthcare

Florida: Large Medicare retiree population; Medicaid expansion was rejected; more market-rate insurance and hospital competition in some metros.
California: Medicaid expansion, Covered California exchange, stronger coverage mandates, higher provider and insurance costs.
Evidence: California covers more low-income residents. Florida’s uninsured rate is higher. Neither has solved price growth.

17. Energy

Florida: Natural-gas-heavy generation, growing solar, cheaper retail power (~16¢/kWh), cheaper gasoline. Hurricane grid risk.
California: Aggressive renewable/ZEV mandates, constrained refining and in-state oil, among the highest electricity and gasoline prices in the U.S. Wildfire/PSPS grid risk.
Evidence: California residential power has run ~2× Florida. Gasoline often $5.50–$6+ vs ~$4 in Florida. California leads in utility-scale solar share; Florida generates more total electricity.

18. National security

Mostly federal. State differences: Florida hosts major military and space infrastructure (Tampa, Jacksonville, Space Coast) and has leaned into immigration-enforcement partnerships. California hosts major ports, defense contractors, and tech/cyber talent but more friction with federal immigration and some energy-security policies.

19. Government power

Florida: Governor and legislature have used preemption to override local sanctuary, some school, and some business rules.
California: Legislature and agencies have broad climate, labor, housing, and public-health authority; cities retain more immigration and some criminal-justice discretion.
Evidence: Power is concentrated differently—Tallahassee vs Sacramento-plus-agencies-plus-cities.

20. Results versus promises

Where the models have actually run:

• No income tax + cheaper housing + in-migration (FL): population and private employment grew; insurance and hurricane costs rose; school-choice expanded; crime rates fell from earlier highs.
• High tax + climate/labor regulation + sanctuary + Prop 13 (CA): world-class tech cluster and high wages survived; housing shortage and energy prices worsened; net domestic out-migration persisted; residual insurance markets grew after wildfires.

21. Accountability (testable benchmarks)

A fair scorecard by a fixed date (e.g., 2028) would be:

Metric	Florida test	California test
After-tax income	Does a $100k household keep more cash than in CA after housing + insurance?	Do high earners stay and fund the budget without rate hikes?
Housing	Do insurance reforms cut coastal premiums without shrinking coverage?	Does housing production close the price-to-income gap?
Jobs	Does private employment keep growing as migration slows?	Does unemployment fall without losing firms to Texas/FL/NV?
Crime	Do violent and property rates stay below CA and the U.S. average?	Do homicide declines hold while property crime falls?
Energy	Do rates stay near 16¢ and the grid survive major storms?	Do rates stop rising while reliability holds in heat/fire season?
Schools	Do NAEP scores rise as choice expands, not just enrollment in private options?	Do higher spending and teacher pay show up in NAEP and graduation gaps?

Bottom line in one sentence: Florida’s platform is low tax, cheaper energy, school choice, and enforcement cooperation; California’s is high progressive tax, climate/labor regulation, tenant and coverage expansions, and sanctuary limits. The measurable tradeoff in 2026 data is Florida cheaper and faster-growing with insurance/hurricane risk; California richer in nominal pay and amenities with housing, tax, and energy costs that push people and some firms out.

21 Questions Every Voter Should Ask

Elections are often fought over personalities, parties, slogans, and promises. But government policy eventually becomes something much more personal: how you live.

It can affect whether businesses hire, what your paycheck buys, what you pay for groceries and electricity, whether housing is affordable, how safe your neighborhood feels, what your children are taught, what healthcare costs, how laws are enforced, how much you pay in taxes, and how much freedom you have to make decisions for yourself and your family.

That is why evaluating an election should involve more than asking, “Who do I like?”

Voters can also ask: “What will these policies actually do?”

What happens to employment? To wages? To prices? To crime and public safety? To taxes and government debt? To education, healthcare, immigration, property rights, energy, and individual liberty?

And perhaps most importantly: Where have these ideas been tried before, and what actually happened?

The following 21 Questions Every Voter Should Ask are designed to move the conversation beyond campaign rhetoric and toward measurable consequences.

Because ultimately, government policy isn’t an abstract political argument.

It affects how you work, what you earn, what you spend, how safe you are, what choices you have—and how you live.