In a sales pitch perhaps not unlike the cold calls that he says he makes in an effort to lure businesses to Florida, Gov. Rick Scott urged lawmakers to support his smaller government agenda, which he claims will create jobs for the more than 1 million unemployed Floridians.
Scott, who delivered his first State of the State on Tuesday, asked lawmakers to join him in “making job recruitment a daily task”, while imploring them not to “lose focus.”
“Business people in Florida and around the world are watching what we do in the weeks ahead,” Scott said. “…On behalf of the millions of Floridians who are desperate for new jobs, I ask you to pass our “jobs” budget promptly.”
Scott, who last month unveiled his budget proposals, highlighted most of same policies today, including corporate and property tax cuts, reforms to state workers pension plans, Medicaid reform, changes in unemployment compensation, spending cuts to education and a reduced state government.
While noting that his “jobs” budget has plenty of critics, Scott boldly proclaimed that his critics are wrong.
“I did not fight to become the 45th Governor of the greatest state in the nation to settle for a status quo that does not promote the enormous potential of our people,” Scott said. “I am completely committed to this mission. It is achievable.”
Although it is unclear what in Scott’s mind is achievable, the brunt of his budgetary proposals—corporate and property cuts to the tune of $2.5 billion, teacher pay cuts of $2,335 per year, tax breaks of a mere $45 annually to property owners, public school funding cuts of 10 percent and the elimination of 8,000 jobs, and more–if passed by the Florida Legislature, will most certainly be borne by moderate income-earning and poorer Floridians.
“I ask everyone to look beyond the short-term and imagine with me what Florida will be like….over the next eight years,” Scott said.
Floridians should be fearful of imagining what the state would look like by the end of the year.
