Important headlines for January 5th:
Bottom Line: These are stories you don't want to miss and my hot takes on them...
Excerpt: Rick Scott rewrote the playbook of Florida politics, not once but twice, as a candidate and governor, in ways that will endure long after he leaves Tallahassee.
Hot Take: That statement is one of the most accurate characterizations in the story and frankly his legacy could arguably include providing the road map for President Trump to follow on a larger scale. How many people gave a highly successful but controversial businessman who'd never held political office a chance to become Florida's governor when Rick first announced? The hyper-focused and crystal-clear campaign message of jobs, jobs, jobs? The parallels between the two are extremely strong.
This story from an editorial perspective is mostly a hit piece (for example the summation of five issues that they suggest will define his legacy don't include job creation in Florida! Are you freaking kidding me? And they list not spending billions for high-speed rail as a negative along with not expanding Medicaid as part of the ACA which would have left Floridians on the hook for billions once the federal money ran out and doubtless would have led to significant tax increases or dramatic program cuts for existing programs in our state), however if you can read beyond the nonsense it's the most comprehensive review of the past seven years of our state and Governor Scott's role in leading it that I've come across.
But here's the thing. No media outlet will define the legacy of Rick Scott. Actions and facts speak louder than words. And here are the facts... At the time he was elected Florida's unemployment rate was second highest nationally at over 10%. Florida's unemployment rate is now 18th nationally at 3.6% (below the national average of 4.1%). Florida's added the 2nd highest total number of jobs nationally since he became Governor. Maintained a balanced budget despite inheriting the second worst economy in the country from the peak of the Great Recession. Florida's overall economy ranked 49th when he became Governor is currently is 7th.
Florida's education system (top state expense) was ranked 40th when he became Governor and currently ranks 29th. Florida's fiscal condition currently ranks second best nationally and our state pension system is the only fully solvent system of any large state in the country. Florida's transportation infrastructure ranks #1 nationally. There's more but you get the idea. And all of this with Florida maintaining the third lowest total tax burden in the country.
None of those facts were mentioned in the story but I'm sure they were just slight oversights. Anyway, there are two sides to every story and one side to facts. The bottom line is that Rick Scott has demonstrably been no worse than the third most effective Governor in the country over the past seven years and based on what categories you favor - he's been the best.
Federal Government takes tougher stance on pot - Florida effect unclear – Palm Beach Post
Excerpt: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday that the federal government will take a more aggressive approach to marijuana laws, although it’s not clear how any shift in enforcement might affect Florida’s fast-growing cannabis industry.
Hot Take: At the expense of sounding like a potentially broken record how about I just go with - I told you so...? But that's not really the message I'm looking to communicate. I love Florida and just about everything it has to offer this side of mosquitoes and traffic. However...I've never been more disappointed with our collective decision making than I was with the medical marijuana amendment vote last fall. No, not because I'm militant about medical marijuana but because we passed a constitutional amendment that's literally unconstitutional and illegal. Yikes. The intellectualizing on this topic pretty much began and ended with do you want it? Most people said yeah. Ok, back to you. But this has nothing to do with whether we want it. It doesn't matter that we passed a freaking constitutional amendment supporting it. It's illegal because Florida hasn't ceded from the union, at least yet.
There's a right and a wrong way of creating legal change and our system of government is setup to accommodate our voices and interests. Instead we acted like uneducated fools and voted for something that's literally turned everyone in Florida currently operating in the medical marijuana space into a federal drug trafficker, money launderer, accessory to these crimes or all of the above. That by the way is the reason why the only bank which was originally accepting related money is ended the practice. They realized somewhere along the way they ran the risk of sharing the rest of their lives sharing stories with Bernie Madoff about the good ole' days. The only question is if the federal government will take Floridians down for this activity - which of course is what this story is about. I'll say it again. For the sake of God and our system of government...if you want legal marijuana in any form will you please take your argument to the federal government and stop this state and local nonsense? If it's legalized at the federal level it'll be legal in all states and without these BS games.