When we’re making a list of titles that remind us of our state’s elected leader, “cruel” is not a word we want to see. But take a look at the latest headlines starring Gov. Ron DeSantis — the stories about rejected funding that would have kept hungry kids fed while school’s out, or the continuing coverage of Florida’s failure to care about the workers sweltering in brutal heat — and one song title comes to mind: “Cruel Summer.”
It fits all too well. It doesn’t even matter which “Cruel Summer” we’re talking about — Taylor Swift’s hit, which is still getting airplay, or the 1983 Bananarama song. Either works.
Florida’s workers, its children, don’t deserve this. And while DeSantis may not be on the ballot this fall, his actions should be. None of this could have happened without the eager compliance of the GOP- and DeSantis-dominated Legislature.
Heat with no heart
You don’t have to be an expert in climate science, Florida politics or even air-conditioning to know this: We’re living through one of the most miserably hot summers on record, with “feels-like” heat indexes in the 105-110 range and communities scrambling to find ways to protect vulnerable populations. Yet the workers who form the backbone of Florida’s economy — farm laborers, theme-park employees, construction team members — have almost no official protection from the blazing sun, though they’ve begged the Legislature for years to provide modest protections, including training to spot signs of life-threatening heat stress, access to clean drinking water and breaks when the temperature is most brutal.
Just a few years ago, legislators heard a bill that would answer some of those pleas. This year they veered viciously in the other direction. Last year, the Miami-Dade County Commission began to consider a local heat-protection ordinance that would have provided similar, minimal safeguards. That finally sparked lawmakers into action: On its last day, the Legislature passed HB 433, which blocked any local heat-protection ordinances.
Stop and think about that for a minute. Not only did lawmakers refuse to do anything to help workers, they made sure cities and counties were helpless to require protections as well. As the blog Seeking Rents and others have documented, lawmakers were acting at the behest of some of the state’s biggest business interests, sheltering them from the mandate to save their own workers’ lives. DeSantis signed it quickly.
We don’t have good numbers detailing how many people have died from heat-related illnesses in recent years. But there is ample testimony supporting a dramatic increase in heat-related emergency room visits and fatalities. Does DeSantis care? Apparently not.
There’s one glimmer of hope: The Biden administration is considering increased protection for all American workers, which would give the Occupational Safety and Health Administration specific power to adopt heat-safety rules. That relief cannot come quickly enough.
School’s out, children suffer
A year ago — the same month Miami-Dade officials were considering their heat-protection ordinance — someone on the campaign trail asked DeSantis what he thought about school lunches. His answer was rambling and nonsensical, starting with the screed “What I don’t want to do, though, is have the federal government come and try to force you to make choices.”
Later, Floridians came to realize that the “choice” he was talking about was this: Should kids get to eat? Or not? And he was pretty firmly on the side of “not.” The most recent figures show that at least 30% of families with children struggle at times (and most often in summer) to provide enough nutritious food for everyone in a household.
Yet Florida made the bizarre decision to reject $248 million in federal aid — funding that would have provided food for hungry children missing the school breakfasts and lunches that provided their best source of nutrition. It’s too late to help this year, but Florida has until mid-August to accept or reject funding for 2025.
How is this even in question? Yet it is.
From God’s ears to your vote
If you’re a praying person, now’s a good time to get down on your knees and ask that the hearts of DeSantis and others be moved to relent. Pray that the governor examine the emergency powers he’s so often abused, looking for leeway to protect workers striving, sickening and dying in blistering heat. Pray that the governor and other state leaders ask what they would do if their families couldn’t afford the food to let their own children grow healthy and strong.
And then stand up. The governor may not listen to Taylor Swift or Bananarama, but he and the politicians who so slavishly follow his lead should listen to you. Among the candidates on this year’s ballot, several local lawmakers — including Sen. Jason Brodeur and state representatives Carolina Amesty, Doug Bankson, Webster Barnaby, Randy Fine, Tom Leek, Stan McClain, Rachel Plakon, Susan Plasencia, Paula Stark, Keith Truenow and Taylor Yarkosky — all voted in favor of HB 433.
You should ask them why. Let it be known that your votes won’t go to people who look the other way while children hunger or workers suffer. Because cruelty is on the ballot this year, and Florida voters should reject it every chance they get.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at [email protected]
