Where are the jobs?

By Zachary Zermay, Director of Political Affairs

July 1st, 2011

After riding a wave of public anger and discontent regarding unemployment, the newly elected tea-party Republican legislature and Governor Rick Scott promised to create jobs and get people back to work by passing pro-business legislation and follow the dogma that is the conservative principal of “tickle-down economics”. Well – the first legislative session is over and the laws that they have passed were set to take effect on 07/1/2011 and needless to say 2011 will be remembered by over 10.5% of Floridians as the year without a job.

With record unemployment abound, that stagnates our great state’s economy; Florida’s lawmakers took aim – not at barriers to economic growth, but at bath salts, abortion clinics, teachers and early voting. Now, the newest unemployment numbers are due to come out on July 22nd 2011 but there is a vast consensus among voters around the state that Rick Scott and the tea-party Republicans in the capitol have failed the public by effectively dodging their responsibility to govern as statesmen serving in the midst of an economic crisis, by reviving the Culture War – a cheap ‘bait and switch’ gimmick that has done nothing but hurt Florida’s economic prospects and Rick Scott’s approval rating, now at an all time low of 29 percent.

It is clear that Floridians are having buyer’s remorse however, it remains to be seen whether or not the electorate will return their defective tea-party Republican representatives to the private sector in exchange for another one.