Florida’s High-Speed Future

"With $70 Million Already Spent On Planning, Will Governor Scott’s Budget Proposal De-Rail Florida’s High-Speed Future?" by v. johns, 2/21/11, 11:50 PM

I just came up with a great title for a post should I come to the conclusion that Governor Scott is as bad for the state of Florida as I suspect that he is. Ready? Here it is: “Florida’s War On Its Own Middle Class Has New General… Rick Scott.”

Despite my apparent prejudices I think it would be premature, at this point, to cast a final verdict on Mr. Scott when he’s only been in office for less than two months. Still, the fact that he’s an outsider and has appointed outsiders to help him govern our state (Ref: TCPalm.com) bothers me greatly. And while I’m no big fan of the state-proposed and federally-approved Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail line, the idea that Florida, a donor state whose tax dollars help support other less appealing states, can afford to reject $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money to begin building the project reeks of ill intent in the name of budget balancing. According to Opinion Editor Randy Schultz of the Palm Beach Post, $70 million in planning for this high-speed rail line that would eventually connect Tampa to Orlando and Miami had already been approved by previous Florida governor Charlie Crist and would be wasted money if stimulus dollars are not rewarded for all that planning. Then there’s the “20,000 construction jobs” and “1,000 permanent jobs” that would come from constructing the rail line that would all be up in flames (R. Schultz, PBPost.com). Does any of this sound “fiscally responsible” to you?

According to WPTV News Channel 5, Senator Bill Nelson is trying to get the governor to change his mind or to get the Feds to give the money to “an outside-government entity” and that the U.S. Department of Transportation has given Florida until Friday of this week to come up with an alternative plan in order to get the money. U.S. Department of Transportation officials, Channel 5 says, will be visiting Florida, on Tuesday, to discuss the matter with state officials.

With Bill Nelson involved, there is no doubt in my mind that the project will be saved. Senator Nelson is not only a smart leader who gets things done, he’s also a true Floridian who loves his state and puts its people first.

Its very clear to me from watching “Capitol Update” on Channel 2 (WXEL) that our governor is certainly very sharp and rather smart. Some of his ideas, his “Diversity In Government Initiative” for instance, sound pretty good and may actually be of some benefit to our state, if implemented properly. But while Mr. Scott is no dummy, his far-right agenda, beginning with his controversial budget proposal, begs for forgiveness and may leave Florida substantially worse off, in the long run, if vital services are cut as drastically as has been proposed. And while the jury is still out on Mr. Scott, at first glance, I simply cannot imagine a person that favors abstract numbers over flesh-and-blood human beings gaining any traction in the “great leader” column.

Sooner or later, barring any changes to his current trajectory, I predict that many Floridians will realize their haste and experience a mild case of buyer’s remorse once the disconnect is felt. There’s already some suggestion that Governor Scott’s outsider-laden administration may not be sitting so well with some in the current Florida establishment and that his proposed budget has been cited by other important GOP players as not making much sense in some areas of concern (Ref: TCPalm.com).

In my opinion, Mr. Scott should have stayed in California and made some attempt to bring his own home state back from its infamous state of fiscal ruin. His apparently disrupted California Dream should not be allowed to become our Florida Nightmare…