Adrian Moore | Archive | Your Observer

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Adrian Moore is vice president of the Reason Foundation and a regular contributor to the Observer. He lives in Sarasota.

Recent Stories

By Zachary Christensen, Adrian Moore, Steven Vu
November 12, 2025

Florida lawmakers need to be aware of long-term pension strategy

The state pension fund is still in a deficit and policymakers should avoid financial risks.

By Adrian Moore
October 8, 2025

Sarasota County’s housing yields shortages and high prices

Despite the obstacles a potential local homeowner faces, there are solutions.

By Max Gulker, Adrian Moore, Marc Scribner
September 10, 2025

Ron DeSantis is dead wrong about AI

The governor seems to convey his fears of negative results over the benefits of AI usage.

By Adrian Moore, Leonard Gilroy
August 14, 2025

Some federal land in Florida should be sold

Florida should follow Texas' lead by focusing on legalizing accessory dwelling units, streamlining permitting and loosening restrictive zoning regulations.

By Adrian Moore, Ari Cohn
March 12, 2025

Florida’s lawsuit against Target: hypocrisy

In February Florida’s attorney general filed a federal lawsuit against the Target Corp. on behalf of the State Board of Administration.

By Adrian Moore, Jacob Rich
February 12, 2025

Deaths rose under Bondi

Fewer Americans are drug addicts, yet more people are dying from drug use. Law enforcement’s crackdown on opioids just caused users to shift to fentanyl.

By Adrian Moore
January 15, 2025

Florida shines fiscally

Measured against all states, Florida’s total liabilities per capita are among the lowest, thanks to Gov. DeSantis and the Legislature paying down debt. But local governments’ debt is another story.

By Adrian Moore, Jeff Brandes
October 30, 2024

Another storm for condos

New condo inspection and repair laws, compliance deadlines and the rising cost of insurance are on the verge of creating a catastrophe for many condo owners.

By Adrian Moore
May 15, 2024

Red tide and you is a great place to START

If you are not familiar with the local nonprofit Solutions to Avoid Red Tide, you should be.

By Adrian Moore
April 18, 2024

The city is not a developer

The city manager wants Sarasota to develop an $80M affordable housing project. Good intentions, but this approach always fails. A voucher program would be better.

By Adrian Moore
March 13, 2024

Sarasota’s own answer to crime reduction

The most intractable problem of crime is that of repeat offenders. Solving that is no easy task, but in Sarasota, an impressive nonprofit called Project 180 is showing it can be done.

By Adrian Moore
November 15, 2023

Biden botches again: On AI

The president’s executive order to regulate AI is the wrong path. It will create new bureaucracies and stifle positive innovation.

By Adrian Moore
October 18, 2023

‘Live Local’ will help affordability — a bit

The lack of affordably priced housing, especially rental housing near wage-earner jobs, remains one of Sarasota’s most vexing economic and social challenges.

By Adrian Moore
June 7, 2023

Florida highways among top 10

Don’t be shocked. When compared to other states, Florida’s DOT keeps the state’s urban and rural highways well-maintained. Fatalities are a weakness.

By Adrian Moore and Vittorio Nastasi
May 10, 2023

A law to aid prison reform

The Legislature unanimously approved legislation that will eliminate jail time for technical probation infractions.

By Adrian Moore, Geoffrey Lawrence
January 11, 2023

Nikki Fried is right to sue for medical marijuana patients’ gun rights

Although federal law prohibits marijuana use, it doesn’t give it grounds to discriminate against marijuana users.

By Adrian Moore
November 2, 2022

Public pensions: No to ESG

More and more governments are forgetting their fiduciary responsibilities and engaging in ESG investing. While activist investing is fine for private investors, it is not for governments.

By Adrian Moore
September 7, 2022

Do not hand your power to politicians

An initiative on the November ballot could abolish the Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years to consider changes to the state constitution.

By Jay Derr and Adrian Moore
August 17, 2022

Traffic and pedestrian safety require realism, not slogans

Although the Vision Zero program sounds like a good idea to make roads safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, governments should still measure its trade-offs.

By Adrian Moore and Richard Hiller | Contributors
June 15, 2022

Florida pension fixes in budget are great but only the first step

With the passage of House Bill 5007, the Florida Retirement System’s Investment Plan is much closer to being a model of effective public retirement plan design.

By Adrian Moore
May 11, 2022

Not learning from history on affordable housing

The labor market in Sarasota is adjusting all the time — and fairly quickly.

By Adrian Moore
April 13, 2022

Proposed state budget makes crucial fix to pensions

Legislature increases employer contributions to retirement plans to make them more sustainable for the retirement system and retirees.

By Adrian Moore and Spence Purnell
March 9, 2022

Proposed Florida digital privacy bill misses mark

House Bill 9 would likely reduce consumers’ access to platforms and drive companies to change business models or create a paid category of social media.

By Adrian Moore and Grayce Burns
February 9, 2022

Innovation can help save Sarasota Bay and the Everglades

New robot weeders could save farmers from using harmful herbicides that contribute to runoff and poor water quality.

By Adrian Moore and Steven Polzin
January 12, 2022

Myths about improving roads

Some might think building more roads only leads to more road usage. Logic points to the contrary.

By Adrian Moore
October 7, 2021

Will the Sarasota City Commission defend voters’ choices?

When 75% of city voters make a decision, the job of the City Commission is to respect and defend that vote.

By Adrian Moore
August 11, 2021

Don’t close the door on Siesta Key

Let’s be generous, welcoming and consistent.

By Adrian Moore
July 6, 2021

Attempt to silence social media clearly unconstitutional

Legislation to control social media flies in the face of Gov. Desantis' and the GOP's free-market values.

By Adrian Moore
June 3, 2021

The replacement for gas taxes

Mileage-based user fees offer multiple benefits to consumers and governments compared to gas taxes, but a big concern is making them replace gas taxes, not become just another new tax.

By Adrian Moore and Guy Bentley
May 5, 2021

Florida setting the example on vaping regulations

Misinformation around vaping continues to plague much of the media, state legislatures and the general public.

By Vittorio Nastasi and Adrian Moore
April 1, 2021

Telehealth reform will expand health care access after COVID-19

Although the arrival of a vaccine promises to bring an end to the pandemic, increased use of telehealth is likely here to stay.

By Marc Joffe, Adrian Moore and Vittorio Nastasi
February 10, 2021

Improving and speeding up COVID-19 vaccinations

Government officials should focus on delivering vaccines as quickly as possible to those who want them.

By Adrian Moore and Vittorio Nastasi
January 20, 2021

Nursing home reform is needed in response to COVID-19

The evidence indicates that CON laws are counterproductive to the goals of reducing costs and improving quality.

By Adrian Moore and Vittorio Natasi
January 13, 2021

Florida’s response to COVID-19 could help address the looming physician shortage

Hospital staffing shortages and burnout are cause for concern.

By Vittorio Nastasti and Adrian Moore
November 18, 2020

Florida ballot measure results are a mixed bag

Florida passed three of the six amendments on the general election ballot.

By Adrian Moore
September 3, 2020

How do the city and county of Sarasota stack up?

No municipality is in an entirely different world than the others. Things that work in one of them can work in others.

By Adrian Moore
September 2, 2020

How Longboat compares

The Florida House’s transparency project lets Floridians see how their local governments compare to their peers.

By Corey DeAngelis and Adrian Moore
August 12, 2020

Lockdown highlights why we should fund students instead of school systems

Funding students directly allows less advantaged families to afford various schooling options.

By Adrian Moore
July 8, 2020

Common sense solutions for police reform

Local police departments need to make changes to more easily help citizens.

By Adrian Moore
June 3, 2020

Better information needed to manage COVID-19 risks

Improved testing data would help help people resume activities while continuing to take appropriate action to manage risks.

By Adrian Moore
May 13, 2020

Will it be a V, U or ✓?

The optimistic and pessimistic economists both have legitimate arguments on whether the recovery will be quick or protracted. One factor influencing the recovery will be government spending policies.

By Adrian Moore
April 22, 2020

We did it again: spent, spent, spent

We wasted a 10-year economic boom and didn’t save. Now we are really going to pay.

By Adrian Moore
March 4, 2020

If charter schools are 'not as good as advertised,' why are families flocking to them?

Charter schools provide greater benefits than a report appears to show.

By Adrian Moore
February 6, 2020

Vacation-rental regulations come down to local control versus state preemption

With so many cities going too far with regulations, state control makes sense. If you don’t like vacation rentals, form an HOA.

By Adrian Moore
January 16, 2020

Bending the numbers for Benderson Park

How trustworthy are indirect economic benefits?

By Adrian Moore
December 5, 2019

What is the best way for diners to know if a restaurant is clean?

Posted letter grades provide a simple way to show diners if a restaurant is safe, but they are just a snapshot.

By Adrian Moore
November 13, 2019

How to make budgets useful for taxpayers

State and local government budget reporting should shift away from inputs and focus on performance.

By Adrian Moore
October 3, 2019

Should we stop worrying and learn to love the roundabouts?

Florida has more roundabouts than any other state, but that doesn't mean locals and snowbirds are more comfortable with them.

By Adrian Moore
September 12, 2019

Stopping sewage spills should be top priority

Sarasota County has had sewage spills almost every week since March. You would think commissioners would be alarmed.

By Adrian Moore
August 8, 2019

The power and limits of home rule

In recent years the Florida Legislature has gone after home rule polices restricting guns, vacation rentals, plastic bags and tree ordinances, just to name a few. When is overriding home rule merited?

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