The mythology of Rick Scott grows

Well, it turns out that the mythology of Rick Scott is getting larger.

Last month I pointed out that the Scott's press office was distributing a document among themselves that had "Five Myths about Florida Governor Rick Scott Dispelled."

Guess what? It's even longer now. There are now 7 myths. The two newcomers? Rick Scott doesn't care about state workers and Rick Scott is blindly cutting the state budget.

Here's the newly revised document:

 

Seven Myths About Florida Governor Rick Scott Dispelled

 

Myth: Rick Scott has always been wealthy.

Truth:

• Governor Scott started school in public housing in Urbane, Illinois.
• Governor Scott began working at a young age because his family struggled financially.
• He did every job from delivering newspapers and cleaning phone booths, to selling groceries and working on a ship in the United States Navy.
• These jobs taught him the value of working hard and the impact of every penny.
• His background is what inspires him every day to turn the state around.
• ·

Myth: Rick Scott hasn’t done anything to create jobs.

Truth:

• We are on the way to reaching 700,000 jobs in seven years.
• This is because of Governor Scott’s tax cuts, actions to streamline state government and initial steps to return state government to its core functions and grow private-sector jobs.
• Fla’s unemployment rate went from 12 to10.6 percent since Governor Scott took office.
• Fla. has gained 110,300 private sector jobs since January.
• 17,900 public sector jobs have been eliminated since January.
• That’s a net total of 92,400 jobs added since January.

 

Myth: Rick Scott is receiving a salary, special health care benefits and operating his plane all at the taxpayer’s expense.

Truth:

• Governor Scott receives 1 cent per month simply for administrative purposes and pays for parking even though he does not own a car.
• He is enrolled in the same healthcare plan as all state employees.
• Sold the state airplanes and covers the costs of his personal aircraft at no cost to taxpayers.
• No salary and no state plane results in taxpayer savings of more than $2.5 million per year.

 

Myth: Rick Scott doesn’t talk to the media or read newspapers

Truth:

• Governor Scott talks to media daily and at least one hour is reserved for interviews.
• Governor Scott has done several hundred radio interviews since he came into office and has participated in 10 editorial board meetings.
• The Governor reads statewide, national and international news daily.  He also looks at the front pages of Florida’s 21 largest daily newspapers each morning.

 

Myth: Rick Scott doesn’t believe in open government and doesn’t even have an email.

Truth:

• Governor Scott believes the public has a right to know what state government is doing with their hard-earned tax dollars.
• In the first nine months of the Scott administration the Governor’s Office had 1075 public records requests, of which 1024 (95%) have been fulfilled.
• During the entire four years of the previous administration, only 899 public records requests were fulfilled by the Governor’s Office of Open Government.
• Governor Scott has put up significant information on the website Floridahasarighttoknow.com about pension, salaries, etc.
• To date, the Governor has received more than 250,000 emails compared to approximately 160,000 Governor Crist received in his first year.

 

Myth: Rick Scott doesn’t care about state workers.

Truth:

• Governor Scott is impressed with the work ethic and dedication of state employees.
• He wants all state employees to have a reliable retirement plan.
• This is why one of his top priorities is making sure the pension is fully funded.
• Currently the pension is 87 percent funded and dropping.
• Governor Scott believes 100 percent is what the retirees should be able to count on.
• That’s why Governor Scott had state employees begin paying into their retirement plan.

 

Myth: Rick Scott is blindly cutting the budget.

Truth:

• Governor Scott is constitutionally required to balance the state budget every year.
• He has reduced the size, scope and cost of government while preserving critical safety nets. 
• He campaigned on reducing government spending and using accountability budgeting.
• He kept his promise by balancing the budget without tax increases.
• Also used outcome-based budgeting to create efficiency throughout government.
• Although the choices were tough, he did what was necessary to create private-sector jobs and balance the budget without increasing taxes.