Currency-Using Governor Seeks Financial Aid from the Currency-Issuer

Last week, after Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida, The New York Times ran this story by Matt Flegenheimer. The article opens with the following passages:

As a freshman congressman in 2013, Ron DeSantis was unambiguous: A federal bailout for the New York region after Hurricane Sandy was an irresponsible boondoggle, a symbol of the “put it on the credit card mentality” he had come to Washington to oppose.

“I sympathize with the victims,” he said. But his answer was no.

Nearly a decade later, as his state confronts the devastation and costly destruction wrought by Hurricane Ian, Mr. DeSantis is appealing to the nation’s better angels — and betting on its short memory.

A day later, The Washington Post ran a similar story, noting:

Some of [DeSantis’] first votes as a member of Congress in 2013 were against bills to help the Northeast recover from Hurricane Sandy. But then he voted for a 2017 bill that included relief funds for his home state amid Hurricane Irma. Now he’s in a position of…asking the federal government for help.

When it comes to hypocrisy and hurricane relief, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is hardly the only lawmaker with a checkered voting record. And while a meme like this might give us a chuckle, there’s a deeply relevant lesson in all of this.

As MMT reminds us, the people and businesses whose properties were ravaged by the storm, the insurance companies bracing for multi-billion-dollar losses, city mayors, and the governor of Florida aren’t like the federal government. Understanding the difference is a central tenet of MMT.

Here’s how I described the difference in my book:

Only the federal government can issue our currency. Everyone else is merely a currency user. It’s a special power that must be exercised with great care.

And I included an image to drive home the point.

I won’t repeat the arguments here, but much of the book is aimed at disabusing readers of the fallacy of thinking about government finance the way we think of our own personal finances. If more Americans understood the difference, then it would be harder for politicians like Ron DeSantis or Mike Pence to vote against hurricane relief on the grounds that it maxes out “the credit card” or becomes a “catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren.”

Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona have impacted millions of people who desperately need help. There is only so much that families can do for themselves and for one another—and donations are pouring in. There is only so much that city mayors can do. And there is only so much that Governor DeSantis can do.

As David Jolly, a former Republican congressman from Florida put it, “there’s nobody in America that Ron DeSantis needs more than Joe Biden.”

The people of Florida and Puerto Rico need the currency issuer to step up. Of course, us mortal currency users can help out too. There are many ways to give. For those in need of assistance, this website is a good place to start.