Florida

Florida is America's third-most-populous state and a perennial electoral swing state whose 30 electoral votes make it decisive in presidential elections. The state's economic model runs on zero state income tax, funded instead by sales tax and tourism revenue — a fiscal structure that attracts high-income migrants from tax-heavy states (New York, California, New Jersey) while creating revenue volatility tied to consumer spending cycles. Florida's population has grown by roughly 300,000 annually, driven by domestic migration, international immigration, and retiree relocation, making it one of the fastest-growing state economies. The governance model under recent leadership has emphasised executive authority, using state power over education curricula, corporate regulation (the Disney Reedy Creek dispute), and immigration enforcement as political instruments. Florida's structural vulnerability is environmental: rising sea levels, hurricane exposure, and insurance market instability create long-term costs that the current growth model doesn't price in — a biological parallel to an organism expanding into an increasingly hostile habitat.