Rick Scott. Lord Voldemort of Florida. Governor Skeletor. Whatever you call him, he has won neither hearts nor minds in the Sunshine State. With an approval rating as low as 29%, he has won the title of "Least Popular Governor in Country," according to CBS (which rated Scott even lower, at 26%). As a tribute to our beloved governor, let's review some of Scott's most memorable screw-ups.
Rejecting the High Speed Rail
In what can only be assumed to be an anti-Obama tantrum, Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal funding for the high speed rail, which would have created thousands of jobs and helped Florida's staggering economy. Even when private investors stepped up to protect taxpayers from a supposed $1 billion loss, Scott dug his heels in, ignoring prolific outcry from jobless Floridians who would have benefitted from the project. However, he later approved the SunRail, which in reality will be more costly to Floridians. Republicans praised this as a "smart business move." Since this project creates fewer jobs and costs more money, it can only be assumed that Scott is in the business to oppose Obama at any given opportunity.
Passing the Teacher Merit Pay Bill
Scott's predecessor, Charlie Crist, rejected a nearly identical bill just months before, after weeks of careful deliberation and listening to the concerns of constituents. Scott completely ignored protestations from parents, teachers, and students, and the Republican-dominated House and Senate ramrodded a nearly identical bill through the process, which Scott signed without a moment's hesitation. The bill requires teachers to be paid and evaluated based on student's FCAT scores, despite decades of solid scientific research demonstrating that standardized tests are often flawed and inaccurate when it comes to student assessment.
Failing Basic Geography
Floridians across the state were rolling their eyes and snickering when Scott, a Florida resident for seven years, asked where the Tampa Bay area is.
Revoking Promise to Create Jobs
Rick Scott's entire campaign was built around his slogan, "Let's get Florida back to work." Even Republicans were squirming with embarrassment when Scott, on a Conservative radio show, told listeners, "I could argue that I don't have to create any jobs." Scott had promised voters that he had a plan (the cutesy "7-7-7" plan) to create 700,000 jobs in seven years, in addition to the one million jobs projected by economists.
Alienating College Students and Professionals, Especially Anthropologists
Rick Scott proposed cutting funding to college programs that, according to him, "don't offer a good return on investment." Among these programs are the liberal arts, psychology, philosophy, history, and English (have we mentioned that Florida's illiteracy rate is 20%, and that Florida has the third highest illiteracy rate in the nation?). The program that he chose to single out, however, was anthropology. "Is it vital to the state to have more anthropologists? I don't think so," he said. By the way, Scott's daughter majored in anthropology. Ouch.
Cutting Financial Assistance to Homeless
Rick Scott made headlines when he handed out turkeys to the homeless and said he "cared completely" about them, right after he cut all funding to programs designed to help them. The state of Florida wins the silver medal for its homeless veteran population -- an estimated 17,000. "60 Minutes" also highlighted Florida, showing heart-wrenching footage of homeless children living in vehicles. 50,000 children in the state have no place to lay their heads. But Scott assures us he cares completely about them.
Helping the Unemployed... by Cutting Back their Benefits
The same people who helped tank the economy -- Scott being one of them -- are sitting pretty on their piles of cash and slashing jobs, all the while blaming the unemployed for not working. The solution, clearly, is to motivate these lazy individuals to look for work by cutting back their benefits. At the same time, the largest corporations are enjoying hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax breaks. For the sake of comparison, a person who receives maximum unemployment benefits for six months would cost the state $5,928 after taxes. Apparently, Scott failed both geography and math.
Forcing Drug Tests on Welfare Recipients
Under the guise of protecting Florida taxpayers from having to support drug addicts, Scott instituted mandatory drug tests. This, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that he stood to benefit financially from these tests. 2% of those tested yielded positive results, most for marijuana. Simple math shows us that 98% passed these tests and are entitled to reimbursement of the cost of the test. Taxpayers are on the hook to foot the bill, which is estimated at well over $100 million over the span of one year.
Calling His First Year a Successful Start
Scott made some Floridians laugh and some cry when he declared his first year in office a "successful start." He is also under the delusion that he will be re-elected in 2014. Barely one year into his term, Floridians are counting down the days until the next election and demanding resignation.
If actions speak louder than words, Scott's actions toward the homeless, the poor, the unemployed, the children, the elderly, and public employees can be summed up in one vulgar action involving his middle finger.
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