While Governor Ron DeSantis is busy fueling his ambition to be president by holding donor retreats or jetting off to Utah for $25,000 per couple fundraisers, the people of Florida continue to be denied the freedom of an affordable place to call home due to Ron’s rising rents.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, rents in Florida have doubled compared to the national average and the situation continues to get worse. The state is now home to 10 out of the top 15 housing markets in the country in terms of year-over-year rent increases, with hardworking Floridians priced out of their homes every day as the Governor caters to the needs of his wealthy corporate donors instead of the hardworking people who power our economy. Adding insult to injury, the Governor continues to brag about the state’s record budget surplus after signing off on an almost $110 billion dollar budget that only dedicates .3% of its total funding to affordable housing programs in the state.
“In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, the only real freedom that exists is the freedom to be pawns in the Governor’s quest for power at the expense of serving the people he was actually elected to represent,” said DeSantis Watch Constituencies Director Natasha Sutherland. “Maybe instead of catering to the desires of billionaires and corporate interests last week in Fort Lauderdale, Governor DeSantis could have taken the time to hear from the people of South Florida suffering from an average 57% hike in their rent in the last year. While hardworking Floridians and seniors who have earned a stable retirement wonder how they’re going to keep a roof over their heads, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to learn the Governor is rubbing shoulders with his wealthy donors in order to advance his own political ambitions rather than addressing the housing crisis in our state.”