Florida TaxWatch, an organization not known for the generation of stimulating reading material, released an absolute eye-popper of a report this week titled "Florida Taxpayers Spend Millions Annually on Communications and Legislative Affairs Staff in State Agencies." Not catchy, sure, but check it out: Apparently, Floridians spend a little more than $11 million on these "communications" and "legislative affairs" staff.
This doesn't demand a huge payout from each of Florida's 16 million
residents. But when you consider that Gov. Rick Scott is in the process
of ripping several billion dollars
from the state's education budget, it's a little galling to think about Scott's
own office spending $360,000 on just three high-end P.R. personnel.
Again: That's three P.R. professionals in the the employ of the governor
earning a combined total of $360,000. Obviously a governor needs the
services of such people. But is it unreasonable to hope that our
Florida tax dollars might be spent more effectively? With Scott's
approval rating plummeting faster than that of any governor in the
country, it's clear that at least one of our publicly funded spin
doctors isn't earning his keep.
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