Our friends in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and California are now benefiting from the questionable fiscal decisions of Florida's Tea Party governor.
They're receiving a large portion of the $2.4 billion in federal funds for a high-speed train that would have connected Tampa and Orlando. Rick Scott rejected the money and sent it back to Washington, claiming he was saving the state money and helping to solve the national budget crisis. But his gloating gets more absurd by the day.
First, Florida's own transportation department predicted that the
bullet train would make money from the start. But Scott chose to believe the
study funded by Big Oil, which questioned how many people would ride
the train.
Then, we learned that Scott's lawyer lied when explaining to the Florida Supreme Court why he rejected the money.
Attorney Charles Tripp said $110 million in state funds had already been
spent on the proposed rail project, when the real number was just $31
million.
Now, the Associated Press is reporting that
only a small portion -- $400 million -- of Florida's funds were rescinded
by Congress and used to solve last month's budget crisis. The rest of
the $2 billion was redistributed to rail projects in the Northeast, Midwest,
and California.
"These projects will put thousands of Americans to work, save hundreds of thousands of hours for American travelers every year, and boost U.S. manufacturing by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in next-generation, American-made locomotives and railcars," Vice President Joe Biden said in a news release.
Jobs? Easy travel? We don't need such frivolities in the Sunshine State. We've got Rick Scott instead.
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