Policy
As the United States is a federal country, each state has its own judicial and fiscal system and enjoys a certain degree of autonomy. Two Senators and 28 House Representatives sit in Washington, D.C. to represent Florida, which is divided into 67 counties. The executive branch of government is held by elected officials: the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General are the principal members. Legislative power is held by the Senate and the House of Representatives. The current Republican governor is Ron DeSantis, who has been in office since January 2018, was re-elected by a wide margin in November 2022, and is running against Trump for the Republican nomination for president in 2024. The judiciary is based on the 1921 constitution and consists primarily of a state Supreme Court. Two parties are represented in Florida: Republican and Democratic. The state is one of the "swing states" for which it is difficult to predict the vote as the two parties are neck and neck. Overall, we can say that the southern cities (Miami, Palm Beach), the central cities (Orlando, Tampa) and Tallahassee are Democratic; and the northwestern and southeastern cities are Republican.
Schooling and education
The University of Florida, UF, based in Gainesville, came in at number 25 on the list of the 50 best American universities. It is also the fourth largest university in the country. It is known for its sports teams, the Florida Gators. The alligator has been the university's mascot since 1911. The oldest university in Florida, founded in 1851, is located in the capital city of Tallahassee. Florida State University (FSU) is one of the state's leading academic centers and is at the forefront of research. In the United States, college is extremely expensive. It costs a minimum of US$15,000 per year for a four-year program. This cost is partly explained by the massive expenses made by universities to remain competitive at the international level but also to provide their students with the best possible equipment and infrastructure. As a result, many young Americans are forced to take out college loans, even though there is state aid available.
Social protection
The medical infrastructure is excellent in Florida but the cost of care is very high, as it is everywhere in the United States (up to five times higher than in France). A consultation with a general practitioner varies between 80 and 100 US$. For a specialist, it costs a minimum of 150 US$. A visit to a hospital emergency room is also very expensive and varies according to the type of care. The cost of some surgeries can reach several hundred thousand dollars! In 2010, President Obama introduced the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare. This measure, which went into effect in 2014, requires all tax-paying Americans to purchase health insurance with minimum benefits. The goal: to reduce inequities in care. Trump attempted to repealObamacare without success. Current President Biden is working to make it available to as many people as possible. For travelers: most travel insurances cover these important medical expenses, but be sure to check the conditions of application before leaving.
Florida, a paradise for the elderly
You'll quickly notice that there are more seniors in Florida than anywhere else. Concentrated on the west coast of Florida, most of theseseniors are not native to the state, but come from Canada, New York or Chicago, and generally live half the year in Florida. Locals call them snowbirds, because they immigrate at the first snowfall. They have often saved all their lives to realize the dream of buying a small house or apartment in Florida. Others, who are wealthier, have always had a second home that they have transformed into a main residence for their old age. There are also entire neighborhoods reserved for seniors. But the Florida Eldorado is not the same for everyone: many retirees, sometimes 80 years old or more, work at the cash registers of supermarkets or fast-food restaurants. It should be noted that these elderly people simply lack the means and that the only jobs they are offered at this age are often the least qualified. This is the tragic flip side of the Florida baby boom.
A gay-friendly state but...
Florida is one of the most open states in the U.S. towards the LBGTQ+ community. Following the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 49 people dead in June 2016, there were many rainbow flags all over the state, in many public places and shopping malls, in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Key West is a paradise in itself, but even more so for the gay community, which represents the most important economic sector of the island, whether it is for merchants, hoteliers or tourists. Many guesthouses are reserved for gays and lesbians and many stores and restaurants display the rainbow flag as a sign of fraternity.
However, tensions are now crystallizing around the rights of LGBTQ+ people, notably via House Bill 1557, nicknamed Don't say Gay and signed by the Republican governor Ron DeSantis in 2022. It prohibits schools from addressing issues of sexual identity and gender orientation in front of students under the age of 9.
A state for the death penalty
The Sunshine State has a darker side... After California, Florida is the state with the most death row inmates in the U.S., with 341 in 2020. The death penalty there is for aggravated murder, lethal drug sales and rape of a child followed by injury. In 2016, the Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional. However, this did little to improve the plight of convicts as local authorities braced themselves following this decision and only allowed the death penalty to be reviewed in very limited cases. Decisions remain highly arbitrary and relentlessness on some cases reigns according to a 2018 Amnesty International report on the subject. Florida therefore still does not seem ready to join the 23 American states that have decided to abolish the death penalty. Since 1976, Florida is the4th state to have executed the most people in death sentences. It should be noted, however, that the number of executions is steadily declining in the United States. In 2021, it was at a 30-year low.
