Florida has become the blueprint for bold conservative policies under Ron DeSantis.
Now, he is taking on one of his biggest challenges yet.
And Ron DeSantis has Democrats worried sick over one plan to dismantle the welfare state.
The private sector is replacing government handouts in Florida
The modern welfare state exploded during the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s.
His war on poverty as part of the Great Society massively expanded the government’s role and the number of programs attempting to reduce poverty.
More than 50 years and over $20 trillion later, the reduction in poverty has been minimal.
What remains is an expensive and failed system.
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis pushed a novel initiative called Hope Florida to use the private sector to help Floridians in need.
Private charities, faith-based institutions, nonprofits, and businesses were organized in a network under the Hope Florida initiative to connect Floridians with the resources they need to get on their feet.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently traveled to Miami to give out grants to local churches as part of the Hope Florida initiative.
Thirteen churches in the South Florida area were given grants that ranged from $25,000 to $50,000.
“We’re enabling churches to compete to meet the needs of Floridians through CarePortal,” DeSantis said. “The government should incentivize charity and philanthropy, not supplant it. Hope Florida brings together private, nonprofit, and faith actors to serve others, and enables government to get out of the way for the good of our citizens.”
DeSantis said that more than 5,000 churches and nonprofits are part of the Hope Florida initiative.
Hope Navigators use the CarePortal to see the resources that are available to Floridians with their needs like a hot meal, a place to stay, or job training.
The initiative is entirely privately funded.
“Through Hope Florida’s CarePortal, churches in every one of Florida’s 67 counties are meeting needs in real time,” Casey DeSantis said. “Hope Florida has a simple premise—we assist Floridians in need by connecting them with help in their community. We sincerely thank the churches that have stepped up to utilize the Hope Florida CarePortal and answer the call to serve.”
Hope Florida is getting people off government welfare
A consequence of Hope Florida has been that 30,000 Floridians have reduced or eliminated their use of government assistance since the program launched in 2022.
Ron DeSantis estimates that it could save the state nearly $100 million every year.
Hope Florida is centered in the communities where people need help and is more efficient than a faceless bureaucrat working at a government agency.
The Florida Governor said that the initiative breaks the cycle of dependency with welfare.
“What Hope Florida basically is premised on is, government is not the solution to society’s problems,” DeSantis said. “Particularly when you talk about people that need means-tested welfare.”
“To just simply get checks from the government, that does not lift people up, that does not open the horizons,” DeSantis continued. “What that typically does is that creates incentives that develop a culture of dependency on those systems.”
Ron DeSantis has an innovative solution to one of the biggest failures of Big Government.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
