Will Gov. Rick Scott ever come across as anything more than a lying sack of shit? Case in point: Scott’s dealings with Florida’s teachers. First the guv cuts a billion dollars from the education budget and strong-arms the teachers into contributing to their formerly fully state-funded pension fund. Then he tries to make amends by adding the billion back the following year and touting it as a funding increase. Scott followed up that meddling with a proposal to give every teacher in the state a $2,500 raise. It was a transparent attempt at a bribe, one that Scott couldn’t deliver on after his Republican pals in the legislature got ahold of the proposal. Most teachers are looking at a raise far below the touted $2,500 figure, and it’s doubtful that Scott bought many votes with his shameless pandering. And do we even have to mention the botched debit cards? Break out the dunce cap …
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2013.