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Good morning, Roca Nation. Today’s four need-to-knows are: The Fed cuts interest rates; Kirk-related firings stack up; Kash Patel’s testimony details; and Google’s AI breakthrough (free).
By Max Towey
If you were to have placed bets on major US cities in 1980, Miami might’ve been your last pick. Like dead last.
For starters, the city had the highest big-city murder rate in the country, recording 62.2 homicides per 100k residents. That far surpassed second-place St. Louis at 49.9 and third-place Newark at 49.
Second, it was in the midst of a cartel war sparked by a shootout at the Dadeland Mall a year earlier, when two hitmen gunned down two cartel members in a liquor store in broad daylight. Swaths of Miami became a warzone; the number of murders soared from 349 in 1979 to 573 in 1980 and 621 in 1981. There were so many dead bodies that the city’s morgue had to rent out a refrigerated truck to keep the overflow. Journalist Roben Farzad called Miami a “failed state.”
“The morgue was overflowing. It was gruesome for a long time. It was a crucible,” he recalled.
This happened as the city was experiencing an unprecedented influx of migrants and refugees.
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans and Haitians had fled their countries in the 1960s and 1970s; however, the largest waves from both countries peaked in 1981. A year prior, Castro had decided to open a port to all of his countrymen who wanted to flee, sending 125,000 Cubans – dubbed Marielitos – to South Florida within just seven months. Simultaneously, a political crisis in Haiti plus policy changes drew a record number of Haitians to Florida.
Awash with drugs and refugees and closely connected to Latin America, Miami became the drug trafficking capital of the US. By 1981, it handled 70% of cocaine, 70% of marijuana, and 90% of counterfeit Quaaludes in the US. The cartels – and traffickers known as the “Cocaine Cowboys” – smuggled the cocaine via airdrops in the Everglades.
Take all that, a 16% poverty rate, and a reputation as a refuge to the “divorced, bankrupt and unemployed,” to quote the Financial Times, and you had Miami.
40 years later – despite continued migrations, riots in 1982, and a devastating hurricane in 1992 – Miami is thriving. It’s an undeniable boom town, known to many as the most enviable big city in America (and to the FT as the “most important city in America”).
So what caused the turnaround? And is it real?
We recently traveled to South Florida to find out. After interviews with dozens of longtime residents, Florida officials, and our own independent research below, we found our answer.
We can’t stress how much attitudes in Miami differed from what we’ve encountered in other big cities.
Whether in Rust Belt symbols like Detroit and Cleveland, violent metropolises like Chicago or Philadelphia, or our own often mischaracterized home of New York City, Americans tell us that things have gotten worse. We now take for granted that that’s what you hear when visiting an American city.
But not Miami.
Whether in its nicest parts or most dangerous neighborhood, Liberty City, we found a sense of optimism and gratitude that amazed us.
Before getting there, however, we wanted to get the perspective of two people who know Miami well. The first is Jeb Bush Jr. – a successful businessman, the founder of the Economic Club of Miami, and the son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (and a Roca reader!) – and the second is my dad, who once ran the Miami office for Florida’s Department of Health.
I asked Jeb Jr. how the Miami he lives in now differs from the one he was born into in 1983. He gave the following answer:
There’s been incredible growth since I grew up here – the economy has been booming. Miami has always welcomed people from across Latin America, but now we’re also seeing newcomers from Europe and increasingly from other states, all bringing their dreams and aspirations. Of course, with that growth comes some challenges: Traffic has gotten worse, and the cost of living has risen – perhaps the growing pains of a vibrant city. But we’ve also attracted some of the best healthcare professionals, financiers, educators, and even Lionel Messi!
He claims that Miami has cleaned up its crime problem through a “more traditional, conservative approach to leadership.” He says the city and county – the city of Miami is much smaller than the county of Miami-Dade – have empowered local sheriffs and community leaders to address the challenges in their own neighborhoods.
He continued, “We make sure our police and first responders are funded, and we keep government limited so there are fewer bureaucratic hurdles standing in the way of solving problems.”
My dad, Jim Towey, had a different perspective (and is probably insulted that it took me so long to consider him for an interview). He once ran the Miami office for Florida’s Department of Health before running the Department of Health for the whole state under Governor Lawton Chiles.
My dad’s work had him spend significant time in Miami’s roughest neighborhoods. Like father, like son, I guess – although instead of helping them, I film them. He gives credit to a network of strong leaders, from those at churches to district attorneys, strong governors, and a fearless newspaper publisher, Dave Lawrence of the Miami Herald.
While now a faint cry of what it once was, the Herald fearlessly exposed corruption in the city and published investigations that helped undo the cartels that ruled the city. Lawrence, in Towey’s words, “Went after anyone no matter who.”
He also credits Florida’s welfare programs, which processed refugees from Cuba and Haiti and – instead of just giving them benefits – prepared them for success. They were intensely capitalistic, especially the Cubans, and became entrepreneurs who turned Miami into a business hub. Between that and “very stable state attorney leadership,” including Janet Reno, who was state attorney for Miami-Dade County from 1978 to 1993 and later US attorney general, the city started to work.
Towey recounted the following success story: “Hurricane Andrew came through in 1992 and decimated over half the county. Homestead and Florida City got demolished. Little Haiti and Little Havana were more inland and fared better, but everything was whacked. [Miami’s] ‘We Will Rebuild’ community effort and rallying cry allowed it to recover remarkably well. New Orleans didn’t have nearly such a coordinated effort for Katrina and reeled from that storm for years.”
One could argue that Miami fared better in a subsequent “natural” disaster – Covid. With relatively low taxes and the laxest big-city lockdown policies in the country, it attracted hundreds of financial firms from places like New York and Connecticut, including Ken Griffin’s Citadel, an industry giant.
From July 2020 to July 2021, over 220,000 Americans moved to Florida – more than any other state by far. In that time, Miami’s real estate market boomed. International and domestic wealth poured in alike. Fisher Island in Miami-Dade became the richest zip code in the US, per Bloomberg.
But how did its most disadvantaged neighborhoods fare?
Our initial plan was to interview the residents of Little Haiti and Little Havana. Although we found some sad stories and trodden-down streets, we mostly found neighborhoods that were gentrifying and becoming less Haitian and Cuban. So we decided to turn it up a notch and head to Liberty City.
The neighborhood where the Oscar-winning Moonlight was filmed, Liberty City is notorious. But even here, it’s nothing like it used to be. Even its infamous “Pork ‘n Beans” projects are in the process of getting demolished. Opened in 1937, Pork ‘n Beans was the first governmental housing project in the southern US for African-Americans. We met a woman who grew up there (picture below).
“I’m glad they’re tearing it down,” she told us. She recalled being a kid and being unable to leave her house. “It used to be so dangerous. Now they’ll have newer and nicer buildings.”
Continuing through the neighborhood, we eventually met the guy whom everyone seemed to know, Everett or “Big E” (pictured below). Everett has lived in Liberty City his whole life and is now investing in previously-abandoned properties. We asked him how it’s changed.
“Massively. It was real rough up in here at one time. There was one time you couldn’t leave your house after 5 o’clock cause there would be a shooting at 6. Lotta robbin, lotta bad things.”
Why did it change?
“Keon Hardemon,” he replied. Hardemon is the district commissioner of Liberty City and grew up there. “When he won, he changed all of that. He cleaned it up here. He knew our problems.” Big E, nearly 80 years old and a shooting victim himself, is trying to improve it even more, buying up one building at a time with his own money. People on the neighboring streets all told us they loved Big E.
Big E
As we continued walking, we heard one tale after another about how much better Miami’s worst neighborhood had become. Our last conversation was with a man (pictured below) who was cleaning his beautiful red vintage car. He told us he grew up on a farm with eight siblings.
“Change has been tremendous, man,” he said. “It’s gotten better all over. This area used to be pretty tough, but right now it’s very nice. Different races in the area – lot of Spanish here, which is good. We all get along.”
He proceeded to tell us a remarkable story of how he rose through the ranks in the garbage industry and eventually earned enough money to buy his red car and yellow house. He says he couldn’t be happier than he is right there in Liberty City. He had to leave our conversation early so he could go to music rehearsal at church. He drove away in another car, a big Ford F-150.
Needless to say, Miami isn’t perfect. Housing has become extremely expensive, and the high cost of living led Miami to lose more residents than any other big city in Florida in 2024. But in a country that is often characterized as falling apart, Miami is coming together.
Editor’s Note
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Thanks for reading. We’d love to hear your takes on this Miami miracle and would especially love to hear from our Florida readers. Send in your thoughts here.
Tons of replies to yesterday’s story on the Oxford Union and its president-elect’s controversial statements following Kirk’s death. Below are a handful of those emails.
Brian wrote:
Interesting article. I recently saw an interview with Kirk where he said that the Oxford visit was his toughest ever. He was shown an email that went out to the students to gear up to get him. When he entered there was no cheers. No one on “his” side. He could feel the coldness in the room toward him. I watched the debate also and saw what he was talking about. The Oxford debate told me one of two things. Either Oxford is not allowing a conservative in or the conservatives are being pressured to stay in the shadows. Either way Oxford, like many of our Universities, may espouse diversity but not diversity of thought.
Those that celebrate the murder of a public political figure certainly have a right to their view. But the organizations that they represent certainly have the same right to not want them to be part of their organization since it goes against the ethos of that organization Actions have repercussions
While Will wrote:
Removing its president of a historic, free-speech society for voicing his opinion absolutely fits the mold of cancel culture. The Union has a long history of hosting controversial debates and defending free speech, so ousting its leader for sharing an opinion (no matter however unpopular) feels hypocritical. I don’t know how the Union typically handles controversy from its members, but a fair path could be a debate where he defends his stance, followed by a member vote.
As for conservatives reporting people who joked about Kirk’s assassination: that’s cancel culture too, and it’s also hypocritical. Sharing an opinion or making a tasteless joke isn’t illegal. If it’s clearly personal and not endorsed by an employer, then an employer sets a dangerous standard for how they handle online speech because the pendulum will always swing back the other way.
Ultimately, don’t throw stones from a glass house. If the manner in which people joke about Kirk’s death are deeply offensive to you, then keep that energy when tragedy strikes the other side. If you are comfortable making jokes, then own it and keep your mouth shut when something you care about is mocked online.
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to engage in this debate
Oscar said:
I see a lot of people being fired, or removed from positions at their jobs/schools over their remarks about Charlie Kirk’s death. In response to this I see (via instagram) that many of the same people, predominantly leftist and POC, upset that their free speech is being violated.
I don’t think anyone’s right to free speech is being impeded on unless they are arrested. I see these people exercising their free speech, albeit in a disgusting way, and then facing consequences from their employers or schools. I agree with these consequences wholeheartedly. I understand that if I were to use foul language or slurs and evidence of that were shown to my employer I am likely to be fired. I’m honestly dumbfounded at the lack of understanding regarding this and the fact that people are claiming their free speech is being violated honestly makes me laugh. It seems to be an EXTREME lack of accountability by the people that decide to spew hate and then wonder why they are being suspended or fired. No respectable institution wants their company or school to be represented by unintelligent humans. Simple as that.
Dennis wrote:
I don’t know his general views and I think that is the important context. What is the ‘sum of his objective/debate’ life? Presumably he was elected for ‘some reason?’
If he was duly elected based on his overall views, a ‘free open debate’ society should, by principle accept his views, despite this particular position.
And, lastly, Felicity said:
Honestly- this is a tricky one for me. I see both sides and if it was strictly his personal texts, I don't think that would be fair to ask for his resignation because we all deserve a safe space to express our thoughts and feelings. However, he publicly posted about it as well which I think opens the door for repercussions when you're in a leadership role. But it does still bring about the argument of how far does free speech go, then?
I can't say I'm a fan of "cancel culture" mostly because I think all it's done is scare people out of expressing any viewpoints vs actually challenging thoughts and encouraging change of views. However- should people not be held accountable for unsavory comments or ideals if it goes against their community's general consensus of right vs wrong?
All that to say... idk 😅
Keep up the great work, you are genuinely the only news org I trust. Anytime someone in my family shares a clearly biased news article- I love being able to clap back with yours!
And if you’re not caught up on our latest, find our most recent stories below:
See you tomorrow,
Max and Max
