The Florida GOP thought it had the magic formula. Lots of sun, great beaches, low taxes, and “freedom” from annoying regulations caused the state to boom. It was the recipe for permanent prosperity, not to mention electoral success.
But there was a dark cloud hanging over the success story–climate change. Monster storms and catastrophic losses were on the horizon. As a result, even before Ian, the Florida property insurance market was on its last legs. The Florida Legislature was doing its best to bail it out, with limited success. Now what?
Ian is going to be the end of private hurricane insurance in Florida. As a result, the GOP will have two choices. One of them is to accept the logic of their “freedom” agenda, keep taxes and regulations low, and acknowledge that coastal property is about to become valueless. Millions of people will flee the state, and the economy will crash. The other option is to pour huge amounts of public money into the state’s insurer of last resort (which will now be the only one), raise taxes, and impose lots of new regulations in order to keep future costs down. Either way, it’s the end of the “freedom” project.
Then, the question will become, will Texas be next?