Rick Scott, the Republican multi-millionaire businessman running for Florida governor has been saying that the federal stimulus has not created one private sector job. He keeps repeating this false claim and is using it to distinguish himself from the Democratic candidate, Alex Sink, whom he says supports the stimulus.
But Scott knows better. He is just a bold-faced liar who will say and do anything to become Florida’s next governor.
While the federal stimulus has been a disappointment, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been saved and created in Florida on account of these funds.
The money that Florida received from the federal government has saved the jobs of teachers, firemen, construction workers and more, without which hundreds of thousands more would be unemployed. Moreover, private sector jobs have been created too, says Agency for Workforce Innovation, although there have been job losses at the same time.
University of Central Florida economist, Sean Snaith, no lover of the stimulus, says to suggest that it has not created one private-sector job, is inaccurate, reports, tampabay.com.
But Scott may have a bit of amnesia because a telecommunications company, XFONE Inc., in which he as a 15 percent share, received $99 million in federal stimulus money, including $36 million for a subsidiary company, Pride Network Inc., which is expected to create 1,300 jobs.
Florida voters should not forget it is the same Scott who sat at the helm of a company, Columbia/HCA that paid $1.7 billion to settle charges for defrauding Medicaid and Medicare. And he has never had to answer or been called to account, as he was forced out as CEO.
Attorney General, Bill McCollum has charged that Scott was culpable on some level and should at least explain what he knew when he managed the company.
Meanwhile, it has also been recently revealed that Scott was warned that Columbia/HCA was engaging in unsavory practices while he sat as the CEO, that is, over-billing Medicare and Medicaid and providing doctors with kickbacks for referrals–all fraudulent activities.
So, why is Rick Scott lying to Florida voters in relation to federal stimulus monies and job creation?
Maybe because he can get away with it.
