Seriously Florida, WTF: Great Scott Edition

My disdain for Rick Scott is well-documented, and I knew Floridians would suffer a serious case of voters’ remorse once their newly-elected Governor started governing. Scott’s been in office about a month now, and already the frustration seems to be building.

See, Scott’s always been a “pro-rich; scam the the public sector; screw the poor, sick, and elderly; rules don’t apply to me” kind of guy, and now he’s bringing his destructive behavior and callous business model to Tallahassee. There’s been a Scott headline in The Miami Herald every day since I’ve been down here, and as expected, not one casts the Governor in a flattering light. Today’s gem (headlines slightly harsher in the print edition than online):

Scott budget eliminates homeless aid

Right underneath it:

Senator: Prison cuts won’t fly

Scott wants to get rid of Florida’s Office of Homelessness and privatize its prison system – firing 1,700 workers and shifting 1,500 prisoners to facilities that get paid per inmate. The Economist explains why a for-profit prison system is problematic:

Some experts contend that firms in the prison business reap profits by billing government for rather more than their initial lowball estimates while scrimping in ways that may make prisons less secure.

Sounds a lot like Rick Scott’s style when he ran Columbia/HCA.

Florida elected a liar and a cheat, and now that he’s attempting to run the state like he runs his businesses – money first no matter what – no one who bothered to do any homework on the man should be the least bit surprised. Sadly, not enough people did.

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