BOHICA

Or, Bend Over; Here It Comes Again.

The criminal scumbag who became Governor of Florida, (p)Rick Scott, has a money problem. Like all other states, Florida cannot run a budget deficit, and right now it's staring at a $4 billion hole. Since much of the state's revenue is derived from property taxes, the foreclosure tsunami has hit Florida very hard.

Don't look now, but in hindsight it appears that dialing back property tax rates a couple years ago was a stupid idea.

Well, Scott (some call him Lord Voldemort, but I disagree - Scott actually has a nose) has decided to lower taxes again, depriving the state of more revenue and increasing the deficit. "Oh, but not to worry," says Scott, "we'll just cut spending!"

Well, sure - we don't need to educate our kids, or provide heath care for the elderly, or anything else for that matter.

One thing that Scott's proposing involves 'modernizing' the state retirement system. Part of that 'modernization' involves forcing new law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMTs to enroll in private sector 401(k) plans. This is stupid, as these plans are subject to market fluctuations. Many people with 401(k)s saw their retirement funds evaporate over the past two years.

The real danger here is that young people will not be willing to undertake careers in law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medical services - work that involves voluntarily getting covered in body fluids, facing down armed and dangerous individuals, or walking deliberately into a burning building to save lives - because there's no attractive pension waiting for them at the end of that long career path.

But Scott doesn't care, and it's doubtful he ever did. Having spent $70 million on his campaign ($60 million out of his own pocket, and he still damned near lost), he can afford to hire Blackwater or Xe or whatever the fuck they're calling themselves today and have his own private army of mercenaries.

One solution to the state's budgetary woes is the state income tax. Florida doesn't have one, and hasn't since the Twenties when it was decided to write that prohibition into the state Constitution in an effort to attract retirees. It might be time to revisit that.

Either way, voters in Florida voted this criminal, fraudulent asshole into office.

So bend over, Florida. Here it comes again.