Florida Fraudster-in-Chief Rick Scott has named his economic advisers, and it's not a pretty list. The biggest name on the list is Arthur Laffer, Ronald Reagan's trickle-down voodoo economist whose "Laffer Curve" was aptly named.
It was certainly laughable. Laffer claimed that lower taxes would create higher tax revenues -- a lala-land idea designed to favor corporations and the ultrawealthy over the people. Laffer first drew the curve on a napkin in 1974 while hanging out with Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld (true story).
Make no mistake, Laffer is a shyster and a clown. Entire books have been written about how wrong he is, including one called "The Big Con." Read this for more, but the video above really says it all. In 2006, Laffer debated financial consultant Peter Schiff on CNBC. During the debate, Schiff said the economy was about to tank. Laffer laughed at Schiff and claimed the economy was in the best shape ever. They bet a penny on the show. Guess who won the bet?How could Laffer get it so wrong? Well, he's not a serious economist, but he's also not a crackpot. Crackpots aren't as
consistent as he is. No, he's worse than a crackpot -- he's a shill and propagandist for conservatives who sells his snake oil knowing full well that it's snake oil. Why do you think he was so rosy in 2006? Why, he was cheerleading for his team, then led by George W. Bush. His most recent book is a gloom-and-doomer called End of Prosperity that he wrote when Obama won office. See the pattern?
Scott named Laffer a member of his Economic Advisory Council. The head of the governor-elect's economic council is Donna Arduin, a Laffer acolyte and partner at his firm who previously served as budget chief for Jeb Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger. You may remember that Arduin is the former girlfriend of Broward-based lobbyist Dave Ericks.
There are more Scott appointments; I'll try to highlight each of them in the coming days.-- Speaking of lobbyists, what's up with number-two Florida Democratic Joe Gibbons? We know he's a homestead cheat, but now we find out he's also a... lobbyist?
Or maybe the state rep out of Hallandale Beach would call himself a "government consultant." His official title is "public affairs advisor" for the legal and lobbying firm Akerman Senterfitt. You can see his smiling face on the company website.
Gibbons didn't have to go to law school to get his position at the law firm -- he just had to get elected to the House of Representatives. Like the State of Florida under Scott, Gibbons is apparently open for business.
-- One value in the Scott Rothstein-Chris Salamone email exchange from yesterday's post is that it shows Rothstein in action prior to the pouring in of George Levin's big money. Rothstein was really nickel-and-diming with Salamone, and the emails stop, coincidence or not, about the time that Levin bought into the scheme with a vengeance and the New York hedge fund money started rolling in.
-- The Sun-Sentinel answers the question: Who is the biggest nerd in America? Straight out of Parkland, bitches.
