Progressive states like Illinois often have huge debts. The national debt is skyrocketing under President Biden. By contrast, Florida has the lowest per capita state debt in the nation, and its state debt has fallen by 36% under Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
As Florida’s Voice reports:
Gov. Ron DeSantis boasted that Florida has the lowest per capita state debt in the nation as the state continues to pay down its debt.
“We have $500 million to continue our accelerated debt repayment program,” DeSantis said on social media. “We now have the lowest per capita state debt of any state in these United States.”
“We’ve retired 36% of the state’s taxpayer finance debt since I’ve became governor,” he continued. “You look at the federal government, $34+ trillion, your share as an American is over $100,000 [per person].”
“In Florida, the share that each Floridian would have for our state debt… it’s about $600. We’re happy to be leading on this, we’re glad that we’ve been able to get a lot done, but this $500 million to accelerate the repayment of debt will put us in even better fiscal shape as a result,” he added.
The governor also highlighted the states $1.5 billion in tax relief for Floridians in the upcoming fiscal year during a press conference on Thursday.
By contrast, the national debt has risen by more than $7 trillion under President Biden. Florida’s state debt of $600 per person is much lower than Illinois’ debt of nearly $54,000 per person. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) recently signed into law $750 million in tax increases to fund Illinois’ biggest state budget in history. He also signed into law a “measure increasing Illinois state’s debt by $8 billion while giving schools more taxing authority,” reports The Center Square. $10.1 billion of Illinois’ $53 billion budget is spent on state employee pensions. By contrast, less than $3 billion is spent on public safety — the core function of state and local government.
Florida has done a much better job than Illinois of limiting state spending, relative to the size of its economy. As Americans for Tax Reform explains:
Florida has been the most taxpayer friendly state in the nation, and the key to keeping that crown is controlling spending. With the newly-signed state budget keeping overall spending at the same level as last year, and state spending actually declining, Florida is taking spending restraint seriously.
Governor DeSantis made this success possible by trimming $1 billion in government spending through 86 spending item vetoes, signing off on the state’s FY25 budget on June 12…Very rarely, outside of economic crises, do states lower outlays. This is a significant victory and great example for other states to follow.
Additionally, the budget maintains Gov. DeSantis’s efforts to reduce the overall debt of Florida. Since taking office in 2019, Gov. DeSantis has reduced the state debt by $6.3 billion or 36% of the state’s tax supported debt.
Gov. DeSantis summarized the budget, saying, “We’re making big investments in our future while spending less of our taxpayer’s money to maintain our state’s strong financial standing and robust economy.” Republican policy makers and Gov. DeSantis deserve to be applauded for their sound fiscal policy.
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