Could some of the sting be lost in one of Rick Scott's talking points?

GOP contender and Naples businessman Rick Scott has used Florida's budget woes as a consistent talking point on the campaign trail.

He has repeatedly said that Florida has a $6 billion budget "deficit" and has touted his jobs and economic plan as way to deal with it. That plan calls for deep budget cuts including laying off state employees, increasing pension contributions by state workers, teachers and police officers and reducing the salaries of corrections officers. Scott's jobs plan even warns that Florida is going the way of "California" and "Greece." Scott has also been critical of the decision by GOP legislators to accept federal stimulus dollars the last two years.

But Florida’s projected budget gap for the coming year has shrunk by nearly $3 billion, a new forecast released on Friday shows. (One can argue later the use of the word "gap" versus "deficit," since Florida has to have a balanced budget unlike the federal government.)

This new forecast means that state legislators will have a much smaller potential shortfall to deal with next spring when they work on a new budget for 2011. Depending on what items lawmakers decide to fund, the shortfall could be anywhere from $2.5 billion to as small as $828 million. The previous predicted budget gap was nearly $5.5 billion.

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Comments

[NO! to the Corporate Criminal Rick Scott!]

First of all, I'd like to thank President Obama and the Democrats (and a few Republicans) who supported the Stimulus, which we used to plug some of the State budget gap. We should also thank Governor Crist for breaking ranks with the GOP obstructionists and accepting the package on behalf of our suffering citizens.

Second, Rick Scott is a lying corporate crook. He wants to balance the budget by laying off rank and file state workers, while rich folks like himself continue to make 400 times as much as they do, in their vastly overcompensated private sector "jobs" as corporate officers, developers, and other economic parasites. These are the people that enjoy so many tax loopholes and tax breaks that they often pay nothing on their ridiculous salaries and benefits. They made out like bandits under Bush. Let's face it, their tax breaks are the cause of the bulk of the deficit, and they are the only ones that benefited from the trillions we taxpayers paid for the bogus War in Iraq. Now the Republicans want to plug the deficit on the backs of the middle class by eliminating government jobs (business regulations and environmental protection positions will be the first to go) and by cutting the Social Security benefits of seniors!

Rick Scott can blather his talking points all he wants, but the truth is, the entire conservative agenda is vastly unfair. The very first place we need to look for money to reduce the deficit is by ending the tax cuts for the rich. Then let's plug those tax loopholes, and go after the corporations that have been using the labor of illegals to line their pockets, without paying a lick of taxes. THAT would be just and fair.

Alex Sink will do right by the people of Florida. Rick Scott will turn our state over to the corporate crooks.

[True Blue]

RICK STOLE THE MONEY FAIR AND SQUARE FROM THE TAXPAYERS AND HE SPENT IT FAIR AND SQUARE TO STEAL THE NOMINATION FROM THE PUPPET.

AND HE SHOULD BE OUR GOV.????????????????