You’d think it would be important to get the numbers right when you’re making a presentation about a budget of any kind. But when that argument is taking place in front of the Florida Supreme Court, and the money amounts you’re throwing around are in the millions and billions, any “minor” mistake becomes a huge one.
Welcome to the ridiculous world of Gov. Rick Scott’s general counsel, Charles Trippe, who just owned up to a $79-million mistake he made in an oral argument about high-speed rail in March. Instead of showing the state’s budget for the project at its actual $100 million, Trippe misspoke and said we had $21 million to pay with. His discrepancy was at the root of Supreme Court justices’ decision to pass on the petition for high-speed rail in the state, but it has been discovered only after the federal money that could have been used for the project has been doled out to other states.
Bravo. If this was a legitimate mistake and not an outright misrepresentation of facts, we’re wondering why the numbers weren’t double-checked. And if this was an effort to mislead the justices, well, we wouldn’t be surprised.
No matter the reason for the wrong number, we have to agree with Sen. Bill Nelson’s assessment of the problem: “It’s not possible at this point for Florida to get back the $2.4 billion or 24,000 jobs high-speed rail would have brought. It’s a shocking disappointment to learn all of that investment may have been lost because of a mistake or misrepresentation by the governor’s lawyer.”
