This just in from the department of Excuse Me?:
Last week, while the Florida Legislature was busy making it easier for Floridians to be more susceptible to fraud by deregulating 20 professions, Gov. Rick Scott was busy giving "raises" to his very own department heads.
No, he didn't "get to work" creating new jobs, he just decided to pay his people more for doing jobs that were already there, and much more than anyone in those jobs has made before.
Now, you're probably scratching your head thinking "hey, wait a minute, he gave raises to state employees?" Of course not, silly, they haven't had raises in over four years and Gov. Cuts-A-Lot won't be giving them one anytime soon. No these are his department heads, because I suppose the higher the salary, the more cooperative one might be.
A total (so far) of 10 department heads will now make $140,000 instead of the $120,000 or less the previous ones made:
Scott this past week named three agency secretaries, with both Ken Lawson at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and Dr. Frank Farmer, secretary of the Department of Health, earning will $140,000 compared to $120,000 for their predecessors. Liz Dudek was elevated to secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration at $140,000 a year compared to $164,380 for her predecessor, Tom Arnold.
Oddly enough, according to Rick Scott Logic 101, the less businesses you have to regulate, the more the head of the department not regulating them should be paid:
Asked this week why he was paying most of his secretaries significantly more when state employees haven't been given a raise, Scott did not directly answer the question. Instead he said that state employees are "very hard working people."
See? Makes perfect sense!
"And they clearly are doing a great job for the citizens of our state," Scott told reporters. "And I want to make sure I do everything I can to make sure we get the best people and we pay them a fair wage."
What kind of logic could we really expect from the guy who redefined the phrase "conflict of interest" which doesn't include the Governors spouse? (Can you say "Solantic?") "Nope, she's just the old ball and chain, nothing to see there."
But back to Scott's comment on those high salaries:
"And I want to make sure I do everything I can to make sure we get the best people and we pay them a fair wage."
"Fair wage?" Mere state employees don't rate such "fairness?" They work harder for less, and yet those like Ken Lawson get paid more in order to regulate less. In Lawson's case, that's a bonus of $1,000 per each of the 20 businesses he no longer has to regulate. Nice less work if you can get it.
How "fair" is no raise in over four years for the rest of those state employees?
Sure gives Scott's favorite slogan "Let's Get To Work" a whole new meaning.
