Gross, And We Mean Gross, Injustice - On one hand, we have the State's Medically Needy program, "a $368-million Medicaid option Florida offers for almost 27,000 people who have suffered a catastrophic illness and have exhausted their own medical insurance."
However, as a result of cuts Bush pushed, "begining May 1, Medically Needy participants will have to spend all but $450 of their monthly income on their medical care before the state will pick up any part of the tab."
Now, "[f]aced with the possibility of Floridians dying from health care cuts he supported, Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday his office is looking for ways to temporarily help the most vulnerable." As usual, "Bush offered few specifics". Story. Thanks "Jeb!" More here.
On the other hand, while, in addition to eviscerating this life and death program, "Florida's new budget is likely to slash funding for the poor, university students and the elderly, but lawmakers are still finding room for a $100 million tax cut for some of the state's wealthier residents and businesses." See "Investors' tax cut survives".
"Like A Business" - "Consumers have no right to complain about legislation that may result in the largest increase in home telephone service rates in Florida's history. The telecommunications industry and its lobbyists played by the rules; it poured something like $5 million into political party coffers and candidate campaign accounts. If consumers wanted to keep their phone bills low, they could have given hefty campaign contributions and soft-money donations themselves."
"And environmentalists can't gripe about the way Big Sugar is managing to torpedo Florida's ambitious Everglades restoration project by securing a 20-year extension on pollution abatement requirements from the Legislature. There was nothing to stop environmentalists from throwing $800,000 at the politicians like the sugar lobby did."
Rich Daddy's Boy Repub Expects To Outspend Dem Opponent (A Self-Made Man) By Two-To-One - No, "Jeb!" is not running again (at least for Gov., and not for any other office anytime soon). It's this race.
Jeez, Wonder If He'll Get The Job? "John Delaney knows most people don't think he's qualified to be a university president. He's barely been inside a classroom since he was a law student two decades ago and doesn't know anything about tenure and academic freedom. But the popular Jacksonville mayor still is considered the heavy favorite to lead the University of North Florida. If he succeeds, Delaney would be the third politician picked to head a Florida university since December." See "Mayor's candidacy puts damper on UNF search".
He's Got A Sense Of Humor, Sort Of -
"'If you believe in limited government, passing one bill through the first six weeks of the Legislature is a sign of great success. That's the number. One. One bill.'" --- "Gov. Jeb Bush, making sarcastic reference to Legislature's lack of progress on important legislation as session nears end." Then again, theysay sarcasim is the lowest form of wit.
See, We're Not Racist - No doubt because she is a Black female Repub, the GOP has been carrying Jennifer Carroll up for years (she was defeated in the 2000 and 2002 congressional races by U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, and then rewarded by Bush with an appointment as executive director of the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs); her recent election in a solid Repub house district is now said to be "historical: "Jennifer Carroll made history this week by becoming the first black Republican woman elected to the Florida House of Representatives." See "New GOP legislator makes history with election to House".
According to the Dems, "the Democrats did not run in the special election because it was gerrymandered so that only a Republican could win." We say whoopee for the Repubs - we're sure she'll be present in every photo op from now until doomsday.
Get Over It - Some Florida media - guess which - simply cannot get over Bill Clinton. They ought to do themselves a favor and avoid anything that encourages people to campare Clinton with the person who occupies the White House.
Imagine That: Privatized Socialized Medicine, Or Something Like It - "House and Senate committees have done the right thing in directing a portion of nursing home Medicaid funding to be used to increase wages and/or benefits for nursing home workers. Not much, either; just $1 per hour would be dedicated to this purpose." The reason - "very few are paid enough to afford health insurance for themselves and their families" Indeed, "the median pay for a certified nurse's assistant in a nursing home in Florida $9.32 an hour". See"Give nursing home workers insurance".
A note to the Florida Legislature - there are many, many workers in Florida who do not make $9.32 and do not have health insurance. We look forward to your continued efforts in this regard.
The Election Is Over, To Heck With DCF - "The [recent] cases show that the reforms, including a housecleaning at the highest echelons by Gov. Jeb Bush that brought in a new leader last year, fall short of making the system more responsible and safer for children, child welfare advocates say." See "DCF criticized after boy's death".