Rick Scott is governing Florida like a business -- and that's made the former health-care CEO the bete noir of pro-labor progressives and union-loving Democrats.
But Scott's agenda is just what the voters ordered to revive an ailing economy, say corporate leaders and grass-roots conservatives.
Whether Scott turns out to be a vulture capitalist or Florida's financial savior remains to be seen. But after less than two months in office, he leaves little room for ambivalence.
Like fellow freshman governors Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio, Scott has quickly instigated a showdown with public employees and their unions. Unlike those Midwestern politicians, Scott brought an extensive business portfolio -- and he's using his experience to restructure government.
"There's been a confluence of factors that make Governor Scott so different from anything we've seen in America since the election of Michael Bloomberg in New York City -- an individual who can govern without the distractions of special interests and the influence of money in the system," said Tom Lee, a real-estate developer and former Florida Senate president.
Starting with $5 billion in proposed budget cuts, Scott quickly asserted that state government could make do with less. His plan to reform the state pension program and require workers to contribute to their retirement is patterned after policies long-established in the private sector.
Stanching the hemorrhage at Medicaid, Scott brings firsthand expertise to the arcane operation of that indigent-care program which, at more than $16 billion, is the state's second biggest budget line after K-12 education.
Tim Stapleton, executive vice president of the Florida Medical Association, applauded Scott's "unique insight on how to streamline government programs and services and realize greater efficiencies."
Stapleton added that the FMA "looks forward to continuing to work with the governor and his staff on Medicaid and tort reform to make Florida a better place for physicians to practice medicine and create new jobs, and for patients to receive care.
As for Obamacare, Scott didn't convene a working group to decide what to do when a federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional. The governor simply announced that the state would not waste "time and money" on implementing it.
Scott's common-sense approach mirrors the no-nonsense style of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Where Christie pulled the plug on the $8 billion trans-Hudson tunnel, Scott derailed the proposed Tampa-Orlando high-speed train venture before it got started. Both governors took political heat for halting hugely expensive public-works projects, but each explained that their intervention was needed to avert massive financial liability.
DISCOMBOBULATING THE OPPOSITION
To Florida taxpayers who continue to cinch up their belts in a slumping economy, Scott is viewed as a courageous change agent determined to shake up Tallahassee. His speeches may lack political polish, but his words resonate with voters who have become increasingly suspicious of glib politicians who lack real-world experience.
The outsider's rise to power is maddening to those who see government as somehow morally and ethically superior to the world of business. Democratic critics have likened his election to a hostile takeover of Florida.
Though Scott defeated Alex Sink by barely 2 percentage points, his business-minded approach to policy and his soft-spoken demeanor discombobulate the opposition. Even his personal wealth appeals to Joe Six Pack when the governor sells off the state planes and opts for his personal jet instead (his failure to see the sale from Sen. J.D. Alexander's perspective notwithstanding).
Unlike career politicians who shoot from the lip or mouth mealy platitudes while waiting for the polling numbers, Scott wins points by staying focused on two core objectives -- reducing public spending and creating 700,000 private-sector jobs over seven years.
As the CEO at HCA/Columbia, Scott cut costs and built employment. Business leaders are confident he will do the same for Florida because, unlike the schmoozing Charlie Crist, Scott speaks the language of business. Each day, the governor reaches out to fellow executives around the country to talk up opportunities for growth and expansion here.
On Feb. 10, Bing Energy of Chino, Calif., announced it was relocating its corporate headquarters to Tallahassee, bringing 244 jobs paying an average of $41,000 per position. Scott says more companies are on the way.
Because he is acquainted firsthand with the concerns and priorities of businesses, Scott gets more fiscal credit than the average politician who never signed a paycheck. Scott says he is determined to slash regulatory red tape, abolish the corporate income tax and create a more welcoming environment for commerce and trade.
Internally, Scott is schooling bureaucrats on the business world's "return on investment" approach. Bottom line: Duplicative state agencies will be downsized and redundant employees will be laid off. Scott believes the government work force can be shrunk by 5 percent while more jobs are created in the productive private sector.
Barney Bishop, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida, says Scott is refreshing because he intuitively understands what drives business. Bishop applauds Scott's re-establishment of the state department of commerce, the streamlining of agencies, and the unstinting emphasis on economic-development issues.
Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, is similarly impressed with Scott's work ethic. Calabro said business recruitment suffered under Crist, whom he characterized as hyper-political but disengaged from market realities.
Business interests, including the Wall Street Journal, complained that Scott's populist predecessor exposed Florida to financial disaster by mishandling the property insurance industry. The state's arbitrary caps on rates threaten to send more insurers fleeing, leaving the hurricane-prone peninsula precariously dependent on the state-backed Citizens Insurance.
Scott's pledge to realign the insurance system with market realities earns high marks from business leaders. But his business-first approach, which, in this case, would likely result in higher rates for consumers, could run into political headwinds -- even within his own party.
Tension between the executive and legislative branches may be Scott's biggest challenge over the next four years. Since Republicans hold supermajorities in both houses, the prospects for intraparty squabbles increase as individual lawmakers maneuver to assert themselves in the political hierarchy.
LIMITS TO THE BUSINESS MODEL?
Seth McKee, a political science professor at University of South Florida St. Petersburg, sees built-in problems to running a state like a business.
"By its very nature, representation involves lots of compromise and responsiveness to voter concerns, and if Scott continues to be tone deaf, he will be bipartisan in his alienation of political supporters in and outside of Tallahassee. He definitely isn't behaving in a manner that reflects a desire to win re-election," McKee said.
"Perhaps most striking is that he doesn't even bother cultivating support for his plans from the Florida electorate -- beyond a very small group of tea party folks. It's bizarre," McKee added.
But Lee, who served in the state Senate for 10 years, says it would be a mistake to dismiss Scott as some sort of novice.
"The environment drives a lot of the mandate. People want to shrink and right-size government. [Scott] doesn't have the vocabulary of a politician, but it would be naive to underestimate his political acumen. His high-speed rail decision was a good example of that," Lee said.
Political observers have also noted that Scott has stopped short of making a Walker-esque attack on public unions' collective-bargaining privileges, which may suggest he's more savvy and less ideological than his critics care to admit. He's at least keeping his options open.
Lee said that even Democratic businessmen he knows are "incensed at the pro-government worker rhetoric" wafting around the state. "These guys look at their offices and half the cubicles are empty. The dynamics of the times drive people's ability to change," he said.
Former Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd says Scott "is as business savvy, independent and courageous as any governor we will ever have. ... Ive heard that you can put all the courage in Tallahassee in a thimble. Well, Scott brings a bucket full of it."
Byrd, a Plant City attorney, said Scott's business orientation will result in more freedom for the individual citizen. And he sees no limits on what Scott can accomplish with that agenda.
"Whatever service or product that government is buying and giving to someone can be done more efficiently by the private sector. From school vouchers to delivery of health care for poor people to housing convicted felons to building roads, the private sector does it better," Byrd said.
"There is nothing government does that cant be done better either through privatization or deregulation."
WHY SCOTT IS WINNING THE PUBLIC DEBATE
Scott may look and sound politically incorrect to statist avatars of the status-quo -- including left-leaning editorial boards -- but his business-centric approach is red meat for tea partiers and independents who chafe at what they see as government's overweening sense of entitlement.
Energized by a governor who gives voice to their everyday concerns, tea parties are rallying, literally, to his call to promote business and get government out of the way. A pro-Scott tea party rally is scheduled for March 8 at the Capitol, on the opening day of the 2011 Legislature. Another tea rally is planned for March 10.
Two ironies auger success for Scott's government-as-a-business model.
First, his personal fortune frees him from the usual political dependence on campaign contributions. That means Scott is not beholden to the institutional interests that drive the growth of government. Neither organized labor nor corporate-welfare pleaders can lay a financial claim on this governor -- and that enables him to govern in the best interests of the taxpayers at large.
The second irony: Public-sector unions are unwittingly helping to further Scott's agenda. As these groups rise in opposition to pension and budget reforms, they appear increasingly out of step with the general public -- which pays the bills and is overwhelmingly nonunion.
Rhetoric by union activists that is perceived as self-dealing will likely rebound to the advantage of the governor, who will be seen as defending the wallets and interests of taxpayers in this right-to-work state. Acknowledging the precarious political position union agitators put his Democratic Party in, President Barack Obama backed away from the imbroglio in Wisconsin and stopped second-guessing Gov. Walker.
If the Wisconsin protests accomplish nothing else, they have driven a wedge between unionized public employees and the far larger base of nonunion private-sector workers. Labor groups that try to mimic the raucous Wisconsin demonstrations in Florida will play into Scott's hands by alienating independent voters, who polls show moving rightward on fiscal issues since the 2008 elections.
"Wise leaders in both sectors have as their top priority seeking value for those they serve," said Robert Sanchez, policy director at the conservative James Madison Institute in Tallahassee.
"In the private sector, leaders seek to ensure enduring success by providing value to their enterprises customers, shareholders and employees. In government, wise leaders seek to provide value to the general public. They can do this better if they apply proven business principles of efficiency and accountability," he said.
"If they do so," Sanchez concluded, "the government still wont be run exactly like a business, but both the government and the public it serves will nonetheless reap many of the benefits that come from a more efficient use of finite resources."
Union leaders from AFSCME and the Florida Education Association did not respond to Sunshine State News' requests for comment.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
