"Floridians have been encouraged to believe that government could take care of us. But government always takes more than it gives back.” —Rick Scott, in his 2011 State of the State address.
The feigned disdain of government of so many conservatives is quite baffling. Like their debonair white savior, Ronald Reagan, those on the right “hate” the government they simultaneously control and profit from so well. It’s an interesting combo of childlike delusion and pandering to the ignorant masses, whose sustained fear and prejudice are crucial to the existence of the right.
Obviously, I don’t buy the line about wanting smaller government. They love government, a living vestige of the absolute control exerted by the moneyed class, which is always one and the same as the ruling class.
Furthermore, Scott knows full well how government has taken care of him, both as an individual with white privilege and as an unsentenced felon. Scott oversaw the then-largest Medicare fraud in history. Then, he pleaded the fifth 75 times when deposed but still got off without going to jail.
His background was in health care, an extremely profitable venture. I doubt his concern for health care stretches at all beyond that. The same can be said of John Thrasher, who chaired Scott’s reelection campaign and was determined to claim FSU’s presidency as his prize, though he has no background in education. One is reminded of the dogs that mark their territory on every post on the block.
All Rick Scott talks about is jobs, jobs and more jobs. Why doesn’t he bemoan Florida’s status as a hotbed of human trafficking and sexual slavery? Repeat the mantra: jobs, jobs, jobs. We know those illicit activities operate well within Scott’s “no government regulation” model, one that benefits from cheap, invisible and disposable labor. In those terms, it doesn’t matter that innocent lives are being destroyed.
I think we should gauge the health of any place in terms of human welfare — of which economics are an inextricable part, but so are health, culture, access to legal recourse and protection of the law.
So, when you specifically target low-income populations and strip them of services they rely on to survive, that fails them in a profound way. It’s eerie to consider who should be held accountable, because “the government always takes more than it gives back,” as Scott pontificated. Don’t forget, though, as the sentiment expresses: “A system cannot fail those it was never built to protect.”
Naturally, these kinds of measures build discontent. Having lived in Tallahassee, I have seen firsthand how impenetrable and corrupt Florida’s government is. Average citizens, powerless by design, try to arrange meetings with their “representatives,” and their efforts are seldom met with even form letters.
That’s where people like Cara Jennings come in. Afforded no recourse and not even given a modicum of access, the only avenue we have left is through our words. She said what we all know: Rick Scott is an a--hole. He won’t be told what to do, but he’ll cut your health care because “Daddy knows best.”
Some assert yelling at the governor (gasp) is horribly offensive to his office. That’s cute. I would appreciate if these people found it within themselves to consider those who suffer because of the austerity measures of the powerful whom they so adulate.
The episode obviously struck a nerve with Scott’s PAC “Let’s Get to Work,” which uploaded a campy video degrading a private citizen. That’s not leadership. It’s crass and cowardly. If anything, that kind of behavior debases the dignity of the office.
There is no virtue in respecting or even tolerating politicians who use citizens as pawns for neoliberal experiments and wish to reduce Florida to a big rat race. Hang in there, fellow Floridians. We all know from “Harry Potter” good ultimately prevails.
Jordan MacKenzie is a second-year UF linguistics master’s student. His column usually appears on Wednesdays.
