Florida might be “the best state in the country”… but what happens when the families who built it can’t afford to stay? On this episode of Futures Edge, Jim Iuorio and Bob Iaccino sit down with James Fishback (Founder & CEO, Azoria Partners | 2026 Florida Gubernatorial Candidate (R)) for a wide-ranging, no-teleprompter conversation about what he calls the real crisis in Florida: affordability — and what he’d do about it.
Fishback digs into property taxes, insurance costs, housing supply, and why he thinks Floridians are getting squeezed while institutions and political incentives win. The guys also go deep on free speech, a Florida hate speech law debate, the state’s investment choices (including Israeli bonds), and whether Florida should build massive AI data centers — or protect what made the state great in the first place.
In this episode:
- Why Fishback says Florida is the best state — but “that means nothing if you can’t afford to live here”
- The case for eliminating property taxes for primary residences
- Housing affordability: Blackstone, institutional ownership, and market incentives
- Immigration & housing availability — and how it impacts supply
- Florida investing in Israeli government bonds — and Fishback’s argument for divestment
- AI data centers: grid strain, electricity prices, environmental impact, and job realities
- The “30-year-old man” metric: marriage + homeownership as an economic scorecard
- Bitcoin reserve (HB 1039) and pension oversight from a macro-trader’s lens
- Education + work pathways: bringing career training into high school
📌 Learn more: fishback2026.com
👍 Like, subscribe, and drop your take in the comments: Should Florida prioritize AI infrastructure — or affordability and homeownership?
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Campaign Overview
03:01 Challenges Facing Floridians
05:46 Local Elections Matter More
08:38 Free Speech and Hate Speech Laws
11:28 Investment Decisions and Foreign Relations
14:30 Housing Affordability and Market Dynamics
17:34 AI Data Centers and Local Economy
20:19 Corporate Influence on Housing Market
25:26 Confronting Market Manipulation
28:14 The State of Young Men in America
31:54 Creating Job Opportunities for Graduates
34:16 Affordability as a Political Promise
36:24 Addressing the Crisis of Young Men
37:53 Empowering Teenagers Beyond College
40:36 Reforming Property Taxes in Florida
44:16 Exploring Bitcoin as a State Asset
Follow along on social media:
Twitter: https://x.com/bob_iaccino
Twitter: https://x.com/jimiuorio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-iaccino/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-iuorio/
Newsletter: http://theunfilteredinvestor.com/
This episode is sponsored by:
Independence Ark: https://www.independenceark.com/
Code: F U
AmerGold https://www.amergold.com/
Code; F U
#FuturesEdge #Florida #JamesFishback #PropertyTaxes #HousingMarket #FreeSpeech #Bitcoin #Macro #RealEstate #Politics
