A few weeks ago, we wrote about Rick Scott's suddenly realizing that the FCAT was bad (mostly because his approval numbers were taking a bit of a tumble).
Gov. McCreepypants released an ad that said he was listening to parents and teachers and that, as a result of all that listening, they were going to phase out the FCAT from Florida schools.
And we basically called bullshit on Lord Voldemort.
Well, now it seems Politifact has also hopped on that train, calling B.S. on Scott for not only being untruthful about his FCAT claims but also his claims on how unemployment numbers are dropping in Florida.
No, the FCAT phase-out has been in place for a while -- even before I Used to Be for the FCAT Before I Was Against It.
But that ain't all.
Scott has also been running around telling everyone that unemployment numbers are down under his watch.
"We have every reason to brag about what's going on in our state," he said. "If you look at the fastest drop in unemployment, it's down 2.3 [percentage points] in the last 20 months."
Oh goody, this makes me a great governor now, don'tcha think?
Yes! Except that, no.
Economists say the real reason for a decline in the numbers is that thousands of people who are tired of looking for work that isn't there have flat-out given up on finding a job in the state.
"What we're seeing is that our participation in the labor force is declining," said Amy Baker, the Florida Legislature's top economist, at a Sept. 12, 2012, meeting. "And because it's declining, that's really leading to much of the improvement -- in the month of July, about 91 percent of the improvement -- in the unemployment rate."
Fact is, Florida ranks dead last in the country in long-term unemployment, and job creation is as common as the Miami Dolphins winning the AFC East.
Scott can brag all he wants, but the truth is he's full of it. Always has been.
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