Last week, Gov. Rick Scott presented his budget for the 2012 fiscal year, proclaiming, “This was the budget you asked for.” The proposed budget is $5 billion leaner than budgets of years past, as Scott promised. However, the governor cut from areas most critical to the state’s well-being.
Scott disproportionally slashed the education budget by about 10 percent, which comes out to a $700 cut in funding per student in primary and secondary education. He also proposed to cut $217 million intended for higher education. Most importantly, he killed the New Florida Initiative, which was geared toward research and development at the state’s universities. The program is meant to boost degree production and create high-tech jobs in the state. He also proposed not to slash the state’s education budget. Recently, the governor denied ever saying he would preserve the education budget amid the cuts. The statement earned a “false” rating on PolitiFact; the group said Scott flip-flopped on his statement.
The governor also proposed state employees contribute 5 percent of their pay toward their retirement. At face value, this would be a good move, given Florida is one of a handful of states that do not require state employees to contribute to their pensions. However, more than half of all state employees are teachers, and this proposal neglects that teachers haven’t had a pay raise since 2006. The governor also would eliminate the cost of living adjustments for new retirees. These reforms are in spite of the fact Florida has one of the soundest pension funds in the country.
As part of the governor’s “7-7-7” plan, Scott wants to eliminate more than 8,700 positions, with 1,700 coming from the Department of Corrections and another 1,850 coming from the Department of Children and Families. This definitely is not the most prudent course of action given the state’s anemic job market.
The most recent report shows the state’s unemployment rate ranks as the third highest in the country at 12 percent. To put this into perspective, over the course of the past twelve months, the state has added only 35,700 jobs, with the overwhelming majority in education and health services sectors now treated with hostility by the proposed budget.
Despite the sacrifices teachers and other public workers would have to make, the governor proposed to more than double his own department, adding $343 million to the Executive Office of the Governor as well as 91 new positions. Scott’s increase for his own department roughly is equal to the decreases for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and Department of Children and Families. The governor claims the added cash would spur economic development. He also wants to distribute the money without state legislature approval, which is currently required. It is obvious the governor wants to focus solely on enhancing his own political clout and has no real interest in protecting the most vulnerable citizens.
Although Florida has the 47th smallest tax burden in the country and is considered the fifth best state in which to conduct business, Gov. Scott plans to shrink taxes even further. To pay for all these cuts, the governor will eliminate 124 trust funds, used to pay for everything from road repairs to health care, and pool the money toward the general budget.
Even members of Scott’s own party in the state legislature are dissatisfied with his extensive cuts — they have called it everything from smoke and mirrors to outright devastating.
Chad Mohammed is a second-year chemical engineering major. His column appears on Thursdays.
