It’s a local Florida story and multi-faceted. However, for the bigger national audience the issue that should be considered is that Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republican party took $9+ million in campaign contributions from state energy providers, then approved the biggest electricity rate hikes in Florida history.
Additionally, and more obscure in the outcome, the Public Service Commission (Public Utility Commission, or PUC), after being filled with DeSantis appointees, informed the electricity providers they no longer needed to report the number of residents who were disconnected from utility service due to nonpayment.
One could make the intellectual and political argument, the scale of disconnection -which is quite alarming- would be averse to the interests of Governor DeSantis seeking a higher office.
Like much of the country, electricity rates in Florida have skyrocketed with the increase in natural gas prices. However, unlike much of the country, most Florida residents have only one option for electrical utility power. The rate of disconnection in Florida amid lower income and working families is far greater than almost any other state. Florida is quickly becoming a class-driven society with haves and have-nots.
FLORIDA – […] In November 2021, Florida’s Public Service Commission (PUC) issued a memorandum allowing electric utilities to stop disclosing their shutoff data. The memorandum, which reversed the commission’s September 2020 decision to collect the data to track the pandemic’s effects on utility customers, came after DeSantis stacked the board with his appointees. The move came less than a month after commission members approved the largest electric rate hike in Florida’s history, resulting in a 20 percent increase in costs to residential ratepayers.
Now it’s impossible to know how many customers have been disconnected from their electric utilities for being unable to pay their increasing power bills. NextEra — the parent company of Florida’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light — disconnected 738,000 Floridians in 2021 and 1.1 million Americans nationwide since 2020, according to a report from Bailout Watch last month. If that disconnection rate continued, noted the report, NextEra would have shut off 1.2 million customers in 2022. But we do not know the total, because the DeSantis-appointed Florida PUC allowed them to hide the data.
[…] In early December, the Bailout Watch report noted, Florida regulators approved a fuel rider, or a cost increase tied to the price of fuel, allowing utilities to pass the cost of higher fuel prices to consumers, without affecting their enormous profits. Company executives have been handsomely rewarded for such political wins. Top executives at NextEra gave themselves a 59 percent raise between 2020 to 2021. (read more)
One of the reasons I became confident last year that Ron DeSantis was planning a 2024 presidential bid, was the one-and-done nature of his focus.
Florida working class residents are under extreme economic duress as a result of unavoidable increases in energy costs (home cooling), massive increases in insurance costs (tripling of homeowners, doubling of auto), skyrocketing housing costs (largest in nation) and these financial struggles are atop general inflation costs driven by national economic policy.
Throughout 2022 Governor DeSantis focused almost exclusively on social issue constructs, and the economic policies of Florida -while more challenging to address- have been exclusively unattended. From the 30,000 ft level, the disconnect in executive priority becomes more explainable when you consider the management team was assembling a policy strategy for media and public consumption.
Throughout my research and review on the managers and background of DeSantis team, it just became obvious (mid-summer ’22) there was a longer-term plan in the background, created in the latter part of 2021 and everything thereafter -a severe emphasis on social issues- was a political management and national branding approach. If you overlay the hindsight timelines, including the PUC story, one can see the proactive political construct to control any negative issues.
Regardless of where his national political intentions land, moving forward Florida residents -especially the working poor and working class- are going to be faced with severe and worsening financial hardship, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will likely not be around to see or address most of it as it surfaces publicly. That is an unfortunate and depressing realization.
I don’t dislike the guy, I’m just heartbroken at what I see happening in my state.
Thanks Sundance for all your hard work on pointing out the shifty nature behind Desanctimonious. Because of you, whenever I look at Meatball Ron, all I see is an empty suit, vacuous in nature with the inability to think on his own more than his arms can reach.
A suit full of hot air and ginormous political ambitions.
When he was first voted in (by the skin of his teeth), I thought to myself, “Self, now here’s a man who will work for the betterment of those who elected him, and he will not use his governorship as a launch pad for higher office. He’ll work for Florida.”
Yep…wrong again…
One day I’ll learn.
I think we all want to hope and still believe there are men who will do the right thing; and hold those beliefs close until we are deceived by those who do nothing but wish us ill will. Sin has so permeated everything around us nothing is as it seems I’m afraid
Hope is the right word, tommiboi. Utter shame on those who present themselves as something they are not. False faces abound.
But I will hold tightly onto mine. The death of hope is the worst death….and I will not let anyone kill it. It will remain, as always, as the hope of the Father. All else is chaff.
Thanks Betsy
Once again you give us words we so need to hear!
From my heart, Truth.
I agree with you and that’s what I though about george w on his first go-around. Boy o boy was I ever mistaken!
Sherry…I have a photo from long ago of my then university attending older daughter who managed to get a snap with George when he was first elected prez. I framed it and had it displayed.
It was one of the best pictures of her I’ve ever seen. But in spite of that I have now removed it. It will never again see the light of day.
Me too, Betsy! Fool me once, shame on you, Ron. Fool me twice, shame on me. He won’t get a third chance!
Two shames is all that is allowed. No more.
Once again, $$$ talks. DeSantis will not het my bite if he runs against President Trump in the primary. He should take the message sent from the Brian Kilmeade fail at a Florida Metro Diner trying to find a DeSantis supporter. Florida Republicans want President Donald J Trump in 2024. DeSantis is showing himself to be a snake.
Sundance, it is ok to dislike DeSantis while still being heartbroken.
DeSantis is a snake. His betrayal of President Trump is the reason I dislike him. Trump did so much for him, so there is no excuse for his current behavior
For all the Florida residents who love Ron, this is understandable as almost all other state governors are terrible and/or tyrants.
However, Ron has a Republican stranglehold in his legislature and judicial branches. FL is becoming much like California, NY, and Illinois. When one party has such a dominating control, the average citizens likely feels out of balance in their government representation….
Is there a relationship between this article and the previous article?
“moving forward Florida residents -especially the working poor and working class- are going to be faced with severe and worsening financial hardship”
“the raw truth behind the statement is the central banks are trying to reduce the western economies in order to meet the diminished energy production created by policy”
To me, the goal of the GOPe, right down to Powell himself (who is a Republican, mind you; but kept his job because commercial banks are the most powerful lobbying interest in the US), seem to be pushing towards a DeSantis run/Presidency.
The problem with that is that Trump has already laid the framework for a potential debate/fight between the two. ‘He who sets the rules wins.’ When DeSantis loses, Florida is kinda screwed unless he goes back to good governance after losing.
Yeah there is, the MSM is lying things are great the economy is stunning running on all cylinders, what you didn’t notice, for shame on you. S
BBBBUUUTTTT Trump!!!!
Has anyone seen an interview with DeSantis that he didn’t say “at the end of the day” more than once? someone should tell him that phrase is sooo yesterday
That’s his “filler phrase” as Tucker would say; buying himself time to come up with more BS to babble on about
that phrase should join
game changer
paradigm shift
sea change
lean in
leading from behind
circle back
Next Steps..
Kick the can down the road.!
Even though it is very yesterday, I’ve always liked “Up yours”. It’s always so final.
Ron De Santis, starring in the roll of Two-Face, a GOPe Production.
Truth be told, a politician can only campaign for public office in an open way. The “stealth” campaign practice always ends up backfiring in a way that many times cannot be reversed.
Just like being a “little bit pregnant”; either you are or you are not.
So, either way, DeSanctus is in trouble politically because a governor cannot run and hide from his record, good or bad. The fact that he is obviously hiding the high cost of living in Florida is NOT a good sign in a presidential run and worse as an incumbent governor.
Lose-Lose.
…unless you stay in your basement during your entire campaign and just kick back and rely on electoral cheating and vote rigging to be elected as did Joe Biden.
You don’t have to care about the public if your campaign people cheat their asses off.
Biden learned that from Hillary.
This might be why DeSwampis never got rid of the Dominion machines!
That maneuver gets old after a fashion, though.
High cost of living in FL? Based on what data? Relative to what?
Helpful to read the comprehensive reporting here. All questions answered and then some……………….
Here in Central IL cost of a KWT/Hr. went from 9 cents to 18 cents. What is the cost in FL? You say rates “skyrocketed” by 20%. Ours went up 100%.
14.4 here in Texas, down from an eye watering high of 17.7 a couple of months ago.
I’m in Duke Energy territory; about 20 cents for first 1000.
AEP in VA went from 13 to 20 cents. 53.8% increase. Ostensibly to fund wind/solar projects.
I guess I’m fortunate I calculate 10.3 cents, however when I add in all the taxes and fees it goes to 13.3 cents. I’m with Middle TN Electric Utility.
So?
You are a bigger person than I am, Sundance, because I strongly dislike the guy. He is disingenuous, false, deceitful, arrogant, and corrupt.
Another Harvard lawyer we don’t need as we are speeding into oblivion. RDS has never run a business. Case closed. End of discussion.
I’ll say it……… I DISLIKE THE GUY, I DISLIKE CHEATS, LIARS, DECEIVERS AND ALL AROUND SWAMP SWIMMERS.
Ron DeSantimonious 100% embodies the above. Ron DeSantis is a made for TV candidate and his policies are also Made For Tv. He speaks in “tag lines” that were written for Tv and ads.
If he didn’t have a writer, and a cable news outlet scripting everything for him, everyone would be like ” DeSantis who?”
I’m puzzled that ‘evidence‘ to impugn the Gov of Florida comes from such a leftist website like, The Lever, that is owned and operated by, David Sirota (D), whom has a history of working on hardcore democrat campaigns, including Bernie Sanders, and now his own wife Emily in Colorado.
Is there something wrong with turning off someone’s service for non payment? Should we revisit Elizabeth Warren’s infamous Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for advise on that practice?
I understand, and agree, with keeping a watchful eye on DeSantis’ national ambitions and the unsavory company he keeps in that arena, however, as governor he’s one of the best in the country and doing yeoman’s work trying to stamp out the leftist cancer here in the Sunshine State.
The truth has no agenda. Perhaps you do.
Did you vote for DeSantis for Gov in ’18 and ’22? I did and don’t regret that one bit. I also voted for Trump for Pres in ’16 & ’20 and will again in ’24. Do I regret that one bit? NO
The truth is that using Electric Bills as a cudgel to make a point against a Republican Governor is exactly what Sirota, Warren, or Sanders would do.
It’s not a crime to require people pay their bills. That is my agenda
You obviously didn’t read what Sundance wrote 100% but rather cherry picked and stopped.
talk about acting like a liberal…. oy vey!
He’s doing the classic FOX News, GOPe, Hannity type talking points. Is it paid talking points or just regurgitating what one hears either way not addressing the point of the post at all.
You gotta admit something looks off about a 9 million contribution for Ron and then a 20% increase in utility cost for the plebes.
lobbying and campaign contributing have the highest ROI of any activities one might do
What bothers me about DeSantis is where his money is coming from for his campaign and who he is being backed by.
DeSantis has done a lot for his state but when he gets backing from people like the Bushes, Karl Roves and Paul Ryan’s. Even the Republican Senators want DeSantis to run. That tells me a lot.
And I can’t stand none of them and I’ll not vote for anyone who is backed by these people.
I’ve had a belly full of their lies and deceit.
I hope you have a good day.
I agree. I love what he did for Florida fighting against woke. And thought he was a conservative republican.
What exposed him as a RINO with no good intenet was his silence on the criminal deep state Mar-a-Lago raid.
I. Am. Livid.
It’s not one of those ‘difference of opinion’ items on a listing of minor importance when sorting out who to vote for.
His silence on the matter for days and never using Trumps name is ALL I’ll ever need to despise his character and judge every action thereafter as typical sellout RINO. Ron flashed his Big Club card.
God works in mysterious ways… I hope Ron continues to represent and protect FL. When Sundance points out his discrepancies and mistakes I’m not assuming it’s for undermining his Governership, but rather pointing out the marionette strings attached at the local level and how those strings march him out into a Presidential campaign. It’s a process. Ron is just the designated puppet
It’s a tutorial on the big club that HATES our guts.
Doing the bidding of your donors instead of your constituents isn’t a crime either.
Its just sleazy.
And in a sane world would be called “bribery”
.
The point is that he allowed egregious price increases.
.
No Gov ‘allows’ rate increases on a highly regulated Utility.
The market dictates energy costs that the energy provider reacts to, who then submits rate increase requests to the regulators for approval.
The rate increases go before the Public Service Commission (PUS). And here we are back again in DesSantis’ territory.
” the Public Service Commission (Public Utility Commission, or PUC), after being filled with DeSantis appointees”
Good grief.
You don’t live here do you?
Your assertion is not even close:
Chairman
Andy Fay (Rick Scott)
Chief Advisors
Gary Clark (Rick Scott)
Art Graham (Charlie Crist)
Mike La Rosa (DeSantis)
Gabriella Passidomo (DeSantis)
The issue might be, why is Governor DeSantis a party to enabling the electric company in hiding information that was available before? Cutting off deadbeats is one thing but if an astronomical percentage of people are being disconnected, isn’t that news that should be front and center? If electric company executives are giving themselves a 60% raise, shouldn’t it be reasonable to find out why it wasn’t something more in line with the cost of living increases … say 20%?
I would guess that by hiding the numbers of people being disconnected that you are running cover on those who have artificially inflated the cost of energy.
Who cares what the rate of disconnects are? Surely you’re not blaming a governor for how many people can’t pay their utility bills, are you?
“Throughout 2022 Governor DeSantis focused almost exclusively on social issue constructs, and the economic policies of Florida -while more challenging to address- have been exclusively unattended. ”
If your great gov. focused more on FL’s economy, maybe those folks would be able to pay their bill, not that you seem to care that they can’t.
Florida’s trillion $ economy smokes the nation
Simp harder.
he brags about what he has done for the people…not the snowbirds, not the tourists…some have better circumstances and some don’t. Most states regulate, to some degree, the power companies to prevent them from raising rates that are not sustainable…
English comprehension is not your strong suit. Read my first 2 sentences and try again.
It is an economic indicator like home foreclosures, credit card defaults, auto repossessions, etc. It seems pretty obvious why it is important.
Yes, I’m blaming the governor for people not being able to pay their bills when he has approved a rate hike that is high after campaign donations from energy companies and then allows those companies to hide the numbers of disconnects.
Not the issue. That collective data helps assess issues and needs and public awareness, formulation of future policy, etc.
Similar issue in US is how few autopsies were performed on covid deaths. It was purposeful action to discourage them. If you purposefully do not collect data, it prevents accountability and discovery.
Certainly deadbeats should pay their bills and no one has stated an issue about the action of utility shut off. It’s about the elimination of data collection. I thought that was obvious in the article but maybe it’s just me?
Florida has become expensive. A few years ago I was told families occasionally double up in housing to share expenses.
Running cover equates with, IMHO dishonesty.
It’s become more expensive because 10,000,000 people showed up here in just the last 25yrs
Nobody, not even Sundance says it is wrong or a crime to require people to pay their bills.
What IS being said is that the numbers, which reflect the State is not the great economic success DeSantis is credited, are being withheld from the public.
Withholding or attempting to hide these numbers is the premise of the post, not whether or not people must pay their bills.
Hiding the numbers of a traditional meter of economic state is an attempt to present the big lie so Ron! can maintain a false image to gain politically for his handlers.
I’ve been in the Receivables Management Industry for 40 years with customers in nearly all states and NO state hides the credit worthiness and bill paying habits of its citizens from the credit bureaus, trade associations, lenders, and municipal bond holders, and that includes utilities.
I second your comments. I’ve lived in Central Florida since 1968 and I think Ron is the best governor we’ve ever had. That said I’m Trump all the way, and have no problem with keeping an eye on DeSantis. The electricity issue Sundance brings up is certainly concerning. But housing and insurance are market, tort law, and natural disaster driven. Ron can’t do much about that. However right now there is tort reform happening in the legislature which could help. We’ll see how that goes.
Not a crime but 9 million dollars in donations resulted in a double digit increase for electricity and key watch group reporting turned off. Higher utility bills make it harder on everyone and everything. Turning off metrics after a huge increase is part of hiding the results.
How much has your electric bill gone up the last year or two?
It isn’t a crime to require people to pay their bills. But it should be a crime for a leader to follow policies that causes the price of necessities to rise while rising taxes and falling wages is the rule of the day. Many should look at their increase in wealth during these times and question if that gain is from luck, cleverness, or is really taking advantage of those not in the tribe. There is a difference and the creator knows the difference.
“NOT IN THE TRIBE”?
If you were Focusing attention on what Sundance said you would see that he was not suggesting that people be allowed to receive owner without payment.
His point was the way DeSantis handlers are using political power and questionable political contributions combined with packing public utility boards with insider players does not bode well for the character and transparency being displayed by his RINO HANDLERS.
To be lead by the nose by a gaggle of RINO HANDLERS you by definition a RINO PUPPET.
The fact that Sundance is deeply saddened by this speakers very well of his character as apposed to the puppet back stabber.
DeSantis is Pence 2.0
it’s not about “turning off services”
IT’S ABOUT HIDING THE DATA
Why does Ron DeSantis not want to be “Transparent” with you?
Exactamundo!
And the “DATA” show that people cannot afford to pay for the high rates.
The bottom line is the bottom line. Red or Black.
You don’t know what the DATA says…… Ron Hid it.
We are paying almost 3x home insurance rates. It was very difficult to find a company to insure us this year in the gulf coast south of Tampa.
3x pre-vid rates
Agreed. One of those who moved from “up north” and have to tell you, although my property taxes are lower (fingers crossed) then in the communist state of NJ nearly EVERYTHING ELSE is outrageous from auto insurance to homeowners and going up every day. Whenever I hear Rhonda talking about “woke” crap for his running-but-not-really-running campaign my blood pressure skyrockets…..LOATHE that man and his little ambitious wife too!!
Our main problem (Pasco County) recently is sinkhole insurance. I guess by law, basic fire/homeowner policy insures against total loss due to sinkhole, but partial loss is not, so you have to buy a rider for it. Last I heard my insurer (USAA) wasn’t writing any new policies but was allowing renewals of existing policies.
my daughter in Marco (not a mansion) is paying $50,000 annually.
😱
See my comments above. Insurance rates are driven by the market, tort law, and claims (disaster or otherwise). I’m in the insurance business and homeowner companies were going bankrupt and leaving BEFORE hurricane Ian. Florida is just a very risky place to insure homes, especially on the coast. There’s nothing Ron can do about it. In fact the last time a governor tried it was Crist in 2009, and it destroyed the market.
And if you vote for a politician who says they’re going to lower insurance premiums, watch out! You’re probably a democrat, and an idiot. Everybody hates insurance companies until they need one. But if companies are pulling out and going bankrupt before there’s even a hurricane that should give any reasonable person pause. They wouldn’t be leaving if they could make a reasonable profit.
The only exception to this is if a politician can get some reasonable modifications to tort law, which is driving a lot of the costs insurance companies must deal with. Coincidentally, there are some tort reform bills right now moving through the Florida legislature. If they happen it would help. But the Trial Bar usually succeeds in defeating them. We’ll see this time…
They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democrat Party.
I’m of the opinion that gov’ts should attempt to insure those things that are inherently uninsurable … Like waterfront property in FL, or living on the MS Delta, or on the San Andreas Faultline.
We can all choose where we live, and some places just become unaffordable…
And there’s a HUGE amount of insurance and auto theft in FL.
This has me so damned depressed that I just consumed and entire bag of frozen miniture Reeses’ peanut butter cups!
Thanks for the laugh! I completely understand, too.
Oh my, the only way to do an entire bag of frozen Reeses’ peanut butter cups, it to chase it down with a bag of Lays Potato Chips!
And yet last night Faux Newz was cutting to commercial after each and every Tucker J6 segment with the teaser, “Why are more people moving to Florida?” I knew immediately it was another political “ad” for Hi, I’m Ronnie D! #PleaseClap.
I couldn’t make out if it was Hannity or Kennedy’s show they were promoting, but this morning I found out from Steve Bannon it was Hannity. And of course it contained a softball interview with Hi, I’m RonnieD! #PleaseClap.
Yeah, that might make a farce out of the moving to Florida piece. Kill that adverse data quick.
But they fail to tell you that regular earning joe’s can’t afford to move to florida….. only the Elite are moving to florida
BTW, this might explain their push to silence bloggers.
Yup.
Govern as a anti woke warrior to generate a narrative, while playing dead on economic issues, is gonna leave a lot of destruction one will want to hide.
I was thinking about moving to Fla in the fall, it doesn’t sound like a place to go anymore.
I lived there 12 years and almost everyone I met thought Florida was THEE place. I sorely missed the change of seasons and a real winter. When my kids became adults I moved for good back up north. 2 out of 4 moved to PA and love it, #3 is packing up to move to NM and #4 is probably stuck in Florida for good. Her husband is from Morocco and freezes at anything below 80 F.
To zeach their zone.
“Know your E-Whores”
https://voxday.net/2023/03/07/know-your-e-whores/
“The Republican establishment is working with the DeSantis campaign to create a fake groundswell of popular support for the Florida governor by putting together what is described as “a network of conservative social media influencers”:
—-
Daily Beast:
“Jack Murphy, a podcast host and self-described “alpha-male giga chad” involved in a quasi-professional cuckolding porn scandal. John Cardillo, a former Newsmax TV host and unregistered arms dealer who allegedly stiffed the Ukrainian government for $200,000 worth of body armor plates. Christian Walker, Herschel Walker’s right-wing influencer son who helped tank his father’s Senate campaign. David Reaboi, a Hungary-loving and Qatar-hating bodybuilder with longstanding ties to John Bolton. And Caleb Hull, an ex-Trump digital strategist who has said some very, very racist things.”
This is the DeSantis A-team, and they’re fighting a battle for a presidential campaign that hasn’t even started yet—with plenty of DeSantis face time, dinners, and photo ops.”
—-
Vox Day: “Of course, this “secret Twitter army” is about as far right as Mitt Romney. But keep these names, and the names of the usual suspects, in mind when you start hearing them talk up the establishment’s choice as “the real deal” and the only choice to defeat Biden in 2024. Because all of it – and them – are fake and gay.”
Beware! Benny Johnson is still a part of army described!
“heartbroken at what I see happening in my state.”
That was the sentiment of everyone at the range Saturday morning. Cubans, Crackers, Transplants, Snowbirds, etc.
That generally gives rise to Borderline or Overtheline pissed.
He’s gonna loose down here unless they pull off a Rubio(TM).
What’s “pull off a Rubio”?
Just to be clear, most people in the US have only a single electrical utility available. That’s why they are regulated monopolies.
Im in electrical system design for commercial construction projects all over the US and i cant think of a single project where there was an option as to having a choice of electrical utility to serve a building. Almost the same with natural gas, which is only a bit different for large customers who are able to buy bulk transportation gas and pay a fee to the local utility for pipeline delivery. There may some kind of similar arrangement for very large industrial electrical customers but i have never seen anything of the sort for standard residential or commercial construction.
Well, I suppose residential solar is an alternative. But even out here where current rate is around 45 cents I think it is hard to make the numbers work. The grid isn’t funded/designed to have large amount of distributed residential generation feed back into it, so you have to install your own battery storage adding to costs.
Yes, my tentacles went up on that one too. I’ve never lived or worked anywhere where there was a choice. I didn’t know there was such a thing.
Sundance,
Come up I75 for a few hundred miles, and Valdosta, GA is waiting.
Yeah, our governor sucks too. And you can start paying income taxes. And you get to deal with Hollyweird making movies. And yeah, you don’t have the mountains or the Ocean.
But, it is waiting.
What is that large body of water to the east of Savannah? What about those big protrusions sticking out of the ground in northwest Georgia?
Duh.
I would call them both at least 3 hours away from Valdosta.
”And the hits just keep on coming.”
Is DeSantis just hyper ambitious or easily manipulated? Rhetorical question, because it has to be a combination of both.
Why get in Trump’s line of deadly fire at this critical moment in history mere months after being given a new governor’s mandate? Even the most naive person would know that Trump would attack him relentlessly.
At the very least it’s a shirking of focus on his state, where there enough short and long term issues to deal with. And every problem will put him more in the spotlight. Florida is far from being a safe red state.
Does he think the GOP party apparatus would do the messy blocking for him when he tries to run downfield? As if they could move Trump out of the way!
Bad judgment and timing. All he had to do was stay neutral and not make enemies on the MAGA side. Now the polarization is obvious already.
He could have earned his way into being a top contender for 2028 by doing a good job in Florida, not alienating a huge portion of the national voting base and at least align with some of Trump’s policies without challenging him.
To answer my rhetorical question, it seems obvious that the temptation of power and uniparty /backers rewards accelerated his ambitions.
Now his flaws are being exposed and he will likely be damaged goods going forward. Both in 2024 and 2028.
So glad we’re finding this out now. Thanks, Sundance!
Desperate ambition, IMHO.
Lives in a bubble … They all do.
We have only had one high bill then it fell back the next month. Guess we will see down the road. Sounds like that may hurt DeSantis.
The closer you look at Ron DeSwampis, the swampier he gets!
It will be a major task to prevent all the people moving to FL from blue states from ruining the good life that attracted them in the first place. Add to that the Uniparty carpetbaggers looking to capitalize on the moment. 😟
I think the moniker MeatBall Ron is the one DJT should be focusing on. It’s short and a great jab. Little Marco, Lyin’ Ted come to mind as equally short and sweet.
I prefer “head cheese” cause I happen to love meatballs.
A whole 9 million? wow. Such corruption, so not according to Hoyle.
The 2020 Trump campaign accepted 10 million from Timothy Mellon, Pan Am Systems; 10 million from Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfers; 6 million from Geoffrey Palmer (real estate magnate); 3 million from Stephen Schwarzman, The Blackstone Group, &., &c.
But the Florida Republican Party accepted $9 million from “state energy providers” and someone somewhere on some staff lessoned the reporting requirements of energy outages, and THAT’s corruption. Complete with a blacked-out illustration of a frowning DeSantis.
Got it.
Trump was not governor of a state experiencing utility rate increases and decreasing transparency.
Totally false equivalence.
did their pricing go up after the donations?
Unknown. Everyone’s energy costs have gone up due to Biden’s failed policies. They’ve gone up in every state.
“Someone voted themselves a raise somewhere.”
“Someone stopped reporting something.”
You’re conveniently downplaying the NON REPORTING of electrical disconnects aren’t you?
Don’t you love the sudden influx of new names to defend a single subject?
Well … if it’s a Democrat super PAC specializing in opposition research than their word is gold. I say we trust it! It’s not like Hillary or Kamela said it.
For a while in late 2020 and early 2021, I considered moving to Florida. I lived in Florida through high school and still have many friends there. House costs were exorbitant but the insurance and other recurring costs of living were prohibitive.
I dislike the guy, more and more and more each day. He whines when criticized. He is “not-campaigning” while campaigning and looking for donors. And during the train derailment and Doral fire, he wasn’t bothered to address those. He also has not addressed the January 6 defendants when Florida has the largest number of any state. And the fact that he has the hubris to run against President Trump is disgusting.
Don’t forget that NextEra is also part of the corporate NWO machine gorging itself at the government subsidy trough by putting up wind mills and solar farms outside of Florida.
Ooooh boy, he just gave ALL the candidates cannon fodder to throw at him – if he decides to run for the Presidency.
Can you imagine if one of his opponents got a small group of FL residents to talk on TV about their suffering and pain from having No electricity in their state?! Maybe some who have to be on oxygen??
Wow, just Wow!
Ron DeSantis is a bigger threat to the integrity of the 2024 presidential election than the Traitor Mike Pence was to the integrity of the 2020 election.
The sooner everyone realizes that the more likely we will be a able to save this great country.
Every single Person advocating for him to even be considered for the Republican nomination is the mortal” enemy of our country.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
Damnit. I knew something wasn’t right about the electric bill and insurance in general down here in FL.
I was already against this guy for bucking MAGA.
Now, I’m pissed. FU, DeSantis!
AND, I’m gonna spread this info to every FL Republican I know!
And I know a lot, right here in his backyard of JAX!
Geeeze, if DeSantis will do this to help himself, can you imagine him as the President? His advisers are not reading the room.
Well no doubt Ronde’s national energy policy that he’ll implement as President will make America energy independent again just like in 2019 and solve this problem for all Floridians.
What, you say he doesn’t have a goal of re-gaing American energy independence in his policy positions?
Huh.
Rhonda has already peaked. If he were smart, he would recognize that. His brand is getting defined. And his nickname is going to stick.
How bright/dim do you need to be to actually mimic Trumps hand jesters while speaking.
There are no coincidences in the world of intelligent people.
That being said this clown DeSantis actually spent time in front of a mirror practicing to imitate Trump.
That fact ,which it is ,a fact, doesn’t bode well for DeSantis being willing to actually spend time practicing the ability to project phony persona.
I am an average guy. If one of my paid consultant suggested such a phony low brow technique to me he would be fired on the spot.
Anyone who knows you Sundance, knows you are not telling these things because you dislike DeSantis. In fact it clearly pains you to see the truth.
But I must say – the more I know about DeSantis – I DON’T like the guy.
And something I just heard on Lou Dobbs, an interview with Kurt Olson: Kurt said some words of wisdom: it’s not what is “happening” to us (America, Florida) –
It’s what is BEING DONE TO US.
It’s actually quite personal
I’ve been watching the unified messaging push on “social issues” for the past few months like a mongoose watching a cobra.
It’s not that I don’t care about social issues. It’s that they are buried beneath layers of crushing issues like election integrity, inflation, food security, energy policy, border control, functioning law enforcement, and the looming threat of world war. A candidate running a campaign focused primarily on social issues should be laughed out of the race.
They think their voters are stupid. They think their voters are the caricature the Democrats claim e.g., “Look Martha, Ron D is owning the libtards, hahhahha…”
What it’s all going to come down to is whether or not a candidate loves their country more than money. It really is that simple. It has never been more obvious that the two concepts can no longer (if they ever did) mutually coexist. As such, the current government/multinational sh*tshow has been deliberately tailored for decades to elevate and empower the wealthy over everyone else. Unfortunately for leftists/globalists everywhere, this includes a minority of rich conservatives who aren’t necessarily beholden to this structure of selling out to the corrupt big club system. What makes Trump dangerous is not just his America First economic/foreign policies, it’s that he’s not for sale. The days where anyone but a Trump-style candidate can run for federal office and make a difference are long gone—the corruption runs too deep and is too well-entrenched. Elon Musk is starting to see the truth of the big club. But how far is he willing to go?
Ron is probably a decent, well-intentioned man for the most part, but he either fails to understand he’s been purchased or he knows full well that’s what’s taken place. Regardless, he has definitely drank the anti-Trump RINO kool-aid, so it’s a hard pass. Loyalty is the most important element in politics, with anything else a distance second. Just ask a leftist.
When all is said and done, the people of Florida might have been better off electing crack head Gillum as opposed to DeSantis. I say this because with Gillum as governor and a Republican legislative branch, nothing would get accomplished. What does government do in general except raise taxes or take away your rights? Most of the time a government that does nothing is a good thing. How many more laws do we need?
You’re probably right. Gillum would have never done the same thing and he’d probably be giving Disney a hard time over their “Woke” behavior just like DeSantis.
You don’t seem bothered at all by the things the Governor of Florida can do without legislative approval like appointing people to different commissions and offices?
If you can’t see a difference between DeSantis and Trump or DeSantis and Gollum, you are hopeless. I pray to God that you don’t vote!
Stew, did you read the article or just skip to the comments? Florida was already in good shape before they elected DeSantis. How exactly would Florida be worse off if they accomplished nothing legislatively over the past 5+ years? The American voting public will usually choose a divided government in order so that they get nothing done.
In Washington DC there isn’t a divided government because it’s all just one big uniparty, so divided government doesn’t work there. Trump hopefully will be able to straighten a few things out when he is elected a third time.
If Newsome gets a hold of this the questions will start – Hey DeSantis, tell us about the sky rocketing cost of living in Florida.
Would Newsome have any room to talk?
Would that stop him?
No !
Could be interesting in a Cage Match meets Bum Fights kind of way.
Newsom would murder DeSantis in a presidential race. Trust me, I know of such things.
Expose!!
Like Florida, Southern California has no competition but 1000 kWh now costs $411 vs $130 in Florida. So don’t complain!
Has DeSantis weighed in on Tucker’s J6 tape “revelation”?
Good point!
Still waiting for DeSantis policies:
patient bill of rights
pharmacy bill of rights
digital privacy bill of rights
I think the CPAC poll also has made him a bit apprehensive.
If natural gas is the driver of Florida’s electricity rates then Florida Power and Light should be lowering their rates. The commodity price of natural gas, as of today is, $2.69 per MCF. That’s in the ballpark of what the price was before Biden took office. Energy costs always go up quickly, but never down at the same rate.
I don’t live in Florida. I just received my homeowners insurance premium. 17% increase! Auto insurance 13%. No claims.
Wouldn’t the claims over damaged real estate, homes and cars due to the big hurricane impact your rates?
No Energy ReD.
My experience in Florida, food is more expensive at Publix, than Jewel in IL even with sales. Walmart is only pennies cheaper on stuff as compared to IL.
One person, one load of wash per week occasionally two in cold water…minimal cooking, mostly cold cuts, take out and canned stuff…vigilant about the AC and unused lights or long hot showers.
My bill was close to $90 before the Bribem Bru HaHa.
I don’t have kids standing there with the fridge door open or leaving lights on…or letting AC out the front door while they stand in the doorway talking to friends…
I don’t understand how families do it.
“….. the parent company of Florida’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light — disconnected 738,000 Floridians in 2021 and 1.1 million Americans nationwide since 2020, according to a report from Bailout Watch last month. If that disconnection rate continued, noted the report, NextEra would have shut off 1.2 million customers in 2022. But we do not know the total, because the DeSantis-appointed Florida PUC allowed them to hide the data.”
With a population of approximately 22.25 million, outrage should be the order of the day in Florida.
But that’s just me.
Texas also had most of the same issues. Property taxes went up drastically, homeowners insurance doubled, car insurance doubled and electric rates have increased from 9 to 13 cents a kwh. I also have no choice in my service provider as i am in a coop area in county. Anyone else have this in their state?
The county tried to raise my property taxes by 44% here in Johnson County, one year after I moved here. The increase wasn’t due to the rate, but the estimated increase in property value due to sales of homes across the street. We disputed it and they reduced it to the value that we paid for the property. The problem is that the county appraisers will jack up the property value to increase the taxes, which doesn’t require a bond approval in the next election. Here in Texas we need to get the law changed to take that power away from the county appraisers and hold the value at what was paid for the property when it was purchased. No one benefits from taxes based on property value except the county, especially when a year later the property value may NOT be what the appraisers said it is. Property values fluctuate, and the only real assessment of what its worth depends on what it actually sells for.
Welcome to the state with the Save our Homes tax exemption. The local governments are limited in their ability to increase real property taxes so long as the property is homestead. Once a longtime homeowner sells, the county raises the real property tax up to the rate it believes it would have been had the property not been homestead. Huge tax increase for properties previously owned for decades.
You’re just a milk cow for them.
I think the concept of property taxes as a whole needs to be thrown out. It effectively turns every property owner into a renter in perpetuity. For funding of public education, I’d much rather see local sales taxes which more evenly spreads the cost to everyone in an area which more closely ties the benefits of the education to its funding.
Precisely !
Yes ! It’s like this: Even if your property is paid in full, it will be taken from you if you do not pay the tax. So- you really own nothing!
I’m also in Texas and been told many times that the state is not responsible for the rates and the appraisals.
While this is technically true, it is also a DAMN LIE.
While fighting an appraisal, I was told directly by the lady in charge who actually agreed with the data I had put together to support my claim that she could only lower the appraisal by a certain amount because the State Comptroller watches all the appraisals and has the power to deny school funds to the county if they are deemed to have undervalued the property.
I have willingly paid property tax most of my adult life but I have come to believe it is as big a scam as anything going.
Agreed, on all points, Georgetown resident here. I don’t know how lower income folks can make their ends meet anymore, in our area. We are older, and fairly well off—with the prices of food, and now everything else skyrocketing…we have to think twice, about what goes into the cart, the amount of a donation, the services we subscribe too.
Donation, hahahaha……I think you’ll be alright.
Rude. Ask yourself who relies on donations? The Conservative Treehouse! And many great organizations.
Rude!
Curious situation where I live; electric rates haven’t gone up, for 10 years.
I found out the Utility company doesn’t actually generate ANY electricity.
Apperently companies that DO, can not generate just enough to meet demand, they have to generate “some extra” in order to meet sudden spikes.
But, its “use it or lose it” as they can’t STORE this “extra”.
So, this company buys up the “extra” and THATS where the electricity they supply us with, comes from!
Presumably, such “surplus” electricity, hasn’t increased in price, as it is already “factored in” to the costs of companies that DO generate electricity?
Anyone ever hear of this?
It is a fact that the energy in the grid can not be stored, it must be used. Your story sounds plausible. Lucky you.
I can assure you that the explanation you have given is as real as everything else we see going on in this country. There is no extra generated. Ask the companies in Texas that had to furnish power during a shortage about that “extra”. They either put their customers in the dark or went bankrupt. The shortage is created based on dollars.
People do not understand that Utilities get paid for producing energy and transporting it.
When fuel goes up, like natural gas, utilities pass on those costs. But, they don’t make additional money. Like when gasoline goes up, your local service station is not making more money.
That being said, NETZERO as currently envisioned by Utility companies is going to be a VERY expensive disaster. Wind and solar don’t reliably produce power during peak early evening hours or during cold winter days. They just produce extra power during times when you already have enough.
BTW, 25% of Utility customers are now reporting they are having trouble paying their bills. That doesn’t mean they are not paying. They are just saying it is more difficult to make the payment.
Which areas of the country?
They’re also heavily regulated.
There are charge differences, by county and supplier in FL, depending upon whether the customer elects to go solar source only or not. Solar only has been priced cheaper – at least where I live in St Johns County. How this is managed/measured in the grid is another matter.
I have a relative, a grid engineer, who works for a major energy supplier in a different Southern state and he passes that, by far, solar sources are the hardest to manage in the grid.
I personally would never have solar- MADE IN CHINA!!
Clay county here ✋
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/03/16/trump-desantis-florida-insurance-premiums-bailout/
I have. But I can’t remember the exact situation.