Francis Suarez

The formula for success is simple. Keep taxes low, keep people safe, lean into innovation, right?

The formula for success is simple. Keep taxes low, keep people safe, lean into innovation, right?

My counterargument would be government is not a good purveyor of those services. It's not an efficient purveyor of those services. So just to double click, I lowered taxes to the lowest level in history. And I took the city in 2009 as a councilman out of bankruptcy. So I got it in bankruptcy. This is sort of the doge before doge. We decided not to raise taxes. We cut costs.

My counterargument would be government is not a good purveyor of those services. It's not an efficient purveyor of those services. So just to double click, I lowered taxes to the lowest level in history. And I took the city in 2009 as a councilman out of bankruptcy. So I got it in bankruptcy. This is sort of the doge before doge. We decided not to raise taxes. We cut costs.

We didn't let anyone go, but we had tiered salary cuts, pension reform, and we balanced our budget, and we had 10 years of prosperity. And that prosperity led to a tripling of the size of our government. So we went from a $500 million government to a billion and a half dollar government while lowering taxes. So we grew 200%.

We didn't let anyone go, but we had tiered salary cuts, pension reform, and we balanced our budget, and we had 10 years of prosperity. And that prosperity led to a tripling of the size of our government. So we went from a $500 million government to a billion and a half dollar government while lowering taxes. So we grew 200%.

So the resources that we had to dedicate to these actually went up, even though taxes went down. And then when you have a place where there's prosperity and where people are investing and where people are employed, there's not as many social problems. So they're not out there killing people. They're not out there hurting people. So in the 1980s, we had

So the resources that we had to dedicate to these actually went up, even though taxes went down. And then when you have a place where there's prosperity and where people are investing and where people are employed, there's not as many social problems. So they're not out there killing people. They're not out there hurting people. So in the 1980s, we had

You know, we're one of the murder capital of America, and we're not one of the safest big cities in America. And then I think, you know, the how can I help moment that you guys are all familiar with was this juxtaposition with what American cities were doing, right? Famously, New York competes for and wins the Amazon HQ2 prize. Right. And then rejects it. Rejects it, yeah.

You know, we're one of the murder capital of America, and we're not one of the safest big cities in America. And then I think, you know, the how can I help moment that you guys are all familiar with was this juxtaposition with what American cities were doing, right? Famously, New York competes for and wins the Amazon HQ2 prize. Right. And then rejects it. Rejects it, yeah.

And also famously in California, you had a, I guess it was a legislator that said F Elon Musk. Yeah, Elena Gonzalez. Exactly. And he replied, message received, and he left.

And also famously in California, you had a, I guess it was a legislator that said F Elon Musk. Yeah, Elena Gonzalez. Exactly. And he replied, message received, and he left.

Where she ended up?

Where she ended up?

But the issue is, what I tell people is, look, it's bad enough to kick out a trillion dollar company from your city, or the richest person arguably in the world from your city. But think about the signal. The signal to me is much, much greater. The signal is, if you want to bring another headquarters, or if you want to be another company. We just got FC Barcelona.

But the issue is, what I tell people is, look, it's bad enough to kick out a trillion dollar company from your city, or the richest person arguably in the world from your city. But think about the signal. The signal to me is much, much greater. The signal is, if you want to bring another headquarters, or if you want to be another company. We just got FC Barcelona.

Two days ago, we announced that FC Barcelona moved their headquarters from New York to Miami. Every single day, we announced $900 million of loans in two projects in the last two days in two buildings, our stadium, our inter-Miami stadium. We have the FIFA World Cup headquarters for 2026 in the world. So I mean, this formula for success would seem simple.

Two days ago, we announced that FC Barcelona moved their headquarters from New York to Miami. Every single day, we announced $900 million of loans in two projects in the last two days in two buildings, our stadium, our inter-Miami stadium. We have the FIFA World Cup headquarters for 2026 in the world. So I mean, this formula for success would seem simple.

Other cities are getting it wrong completely backwards, right? Their taxes are high. It's not safe. And they're not leaning into, they're rejecting innovation.

Other cities are getting it wrong completely backwards, right? Their taxes are high. It's not safe. And they're not leaning into, they're rejecting innovation.