The highly unfavorable governor of Florida, Rick Scott, whose self interests outweigh his constituents just got owned. Scott initiated a new drug test for the welfare program where the recipient of benefits would have to go through a drug test before getting aid. The results are in on the first batch of tests.
98% passed which debunks much of the Republican rhetoric of welfare being largely for drug addicts. Governor Scott is also an avid critic of the health care bill but the multimillionaire and former hospital chain executive enjoys a taxpayer subsidized health insurance plan offered by the state of Florida. (Yes, he’s a socialist!) He pays $400 per year to cover health insurance for his wife and himself. We should all be so fortunate, but especially those in need who he denies while he benefits.
Tea Party backed Scott’s past stereotypical statements include, publicly stating many times that people on welfare use drugs at a higher rate than the general population. Scott then prompted a legislature implemented policy requiring all temporary cash assistance applicants pass a drug test before getting any help — almost all of them passed.
Only 2% are failing the tests.
The Tampa Tribune did some research to discover how much Scott’s stereotyping will cost the state:
Cost of the tests averages about $30. Assuming that 1,000 to 1,500 applicants take the test every month, the state will owe about $28,800-$43,200 monthly in reimbursements to those who test drug-free.
That compares with roughly $32,200-$48,200 the state may save on one month’s worth of rejected applicants.
Net savings to the state: $3,400 to $5,000 annually on one month’s worth of rejected applicants. Over 12 months, the money saved on all rejected applicants would add up to $40,800 to $60,000 for a program that state analysts have predicted will cost $178 million this fiscal year.
Rick Scott on the other hand stood to gain financially if he hadn’t been publicly outed for his involvement in a drug testing company. Two weeks later, Scott finalized a deal to sell Solantic Inc.
It gets worse:
Scott had appeared to satisfy state law when he transferred his shares of the company a few days before he took office to a fund in his wife’s name, the Frances Annette Scott Revocable Trust. But political pressure from Solantic has weighed on Scott since last year, when his Republican primary opponent made the company a campaign issue.
Soctt should be drug tested, instead of the needy, considering his own criminal background and his wife who owns/owned a large portion of the drug testing company can foot the bill for the state. Now, that would be fiscally Conservative of him.
