Guest Author
[Ed. note: Gov. Rick Scott is responding to the Times/Herald article: “Rick Scott and wife invested in parent company bidding on Tampa high-speed rail.”]
Democrats like Bill Nelson want to talk a lot about my blind trust and the investments within it, but there’s one thing they never mention: How I got here.
I grew up poor. I lived in public housing. I never met my natural father and he never helped our family. I remember the pain on my adopted dad’s face when our family car was repossessed, and how hard my mother worked at multiple jobs to feed us kids.
It was my mother who pushed me to focus on my education and to get a job, and with that support, hard work, and the grace of God, I had success in business.
I’ve been blessed to live the American Dream and to have owned businesses that created jobs for so many people.
I will not apologize for having success in business.
Unlike many politicians in Washington, I have never made a single decision as Governor with any thought or consideration of my personal finances. I have refused to take a salary as Governor, I travel the state at my own expense, which has saved the state $2.4 million each year since 2011, and I work hard every day as governor to create jobs and opportunities so kids who grow up the way I did can someday achieve their dreams.
Part of that work means protecting taxpayer dollars. So, when it became clear to me seven years ago that the proposed high-speed rail project funded by federal taxpayer dollars would ultimately end up costing families in our state, I turned it down.
States like California and Connecticut who did take the funding — with their over-budget, over-delayed projects — have proved this was the right call. Unfortunately, if Bill Nelson had his way, Florida would be right there with them.
Bill Nelson has been in Washington so long he doesn’t understand the basics of how the economy works — much less the difference between a project that will cost Florida taxpayers money and a project that won’t.
That’s not something you learn in Washington; it’s something you learn through hard work.
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Rick Scott is the 45th and current Governor of Florida.
13 comments
Nate
August 22, 2018 at 11:24 pm
Ric. You are a joke. So your father wasn’t around. Is that why you vetoed a shared parenting bill. Do you feel all kids shouldn’t have a father because you didn’t. You are a disgrace and you let down the children of Florida.
Kevin
August 23, 2018 at 2:08 am
You also defrauded Medicare and Medicaid out of millions of dollars and then pleaded the 5th and settled. Very Trumpian!
Donna Dezso
August 23, 2018 at 5:06 am
This from the man who plead the 5th how many times on illegally taking money from medicare.
Valearia Wilson
August 23, 2018 at 6:49 am
What up with that Medicaid fraud, taking the 5th, and giving some felony’s a 2nd chance ?
Timothy Myers
August 23, 2018 at 7:50 am
Blind trust my ass you’re a white collar Criminal but thanks a lot of decisions on the state people to make yourself richer you’re defrauded Medicaid and Medicare and took V your party wants to cut Social Security and Medicare you’ll go right along with them really Trump yes man
Deborah Eldridge
August 23, 2018 at 8:14 am
If bill nelson cont to be our senator taxes will go up and I can not afford it. The people of Florida need Rick Scott. All the Democratic are talking about is raising taxes and taking away our gun Also want illegal immagrants to come into out country so the can vote for the Democratic s We need a person like Rick Scott to keep the illegals out and make sure our secondament is protected. All so we need a republican governor to keep our taxes down an protect our second amendment rights to keep law abiding citizens to keep their guns. No socialism.
Lynda Parkhurst
August 23, 2018 at 10:07 am
Medicare criminal pleads the 5th…very honorable and no need to apologize for that success. The great majority of felons are not rapists or murderers. You will deny others the right to move on with their lives after making a mistake. I can’t abide you.
Joe HUBERT
August 23, 2018 at 10:16 am
You are a Joke. Go away,we never want to see your freakish head/face again!
You are a DISGRACE
Rick Skeen
August 23, 2018 at 12:09 pm
Wou
Judy Spangler
August 23, 2018 at 12:14 pm
Rick Scott, you routinely take hundreds of millions of dollars OUT of the budget for SCHOOLS in order to put it towards TOURISM. And we still haven’t heard a PEEP out of you about the corrupt Trump administrationputting MILLIONS of acres of Gulf ocean up for auction to the highest bidding OIL companies…WHY NOT? WHY aren’t you FIGHTING this??….i guess we can say goodbye to our beautiful beaches huh? The GOP is officially the Party of Greed & Corruption now.
Linda E Trimpey
August 23, 2018 at 12:34 pm
The people making comments about our Governor re Columbia/HCA Medicare overbilling fraud fines, for which he was never investigated, need to realize that dozens of pharmaceutical companies and hospitals including some of the most prestigious educational institutions in our country paid Medicare overbilling fraud fines. This issue was addressed and answered during our governor’s first gubernatorial campaign. If you are interested in the truth, please read the linked article. Also, our Governor pleading the fifth 75 times was in an unrelated civil case. https://www.businessobserverfl.com/article/real-rick-scott
Ray E
August 23, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Typical pivot by Rick Scott away from answering the question or ‘responding’ to questions of his behavior. A zebra can’t changes its stripes.
Spiro
August 23, 2018 at 7:12 pm
Scott should just go ahead and get that swastika tattooed on his skinhead to make things clear for his base….
Comments are closed.