Copy of Florida Governor Rick Scott Budget for 2011-2012

Governor Rick Scott offered his first state budget this week stating that it would reduce state spending, lower taxes, and hold government accountable.

He said that he'll cut state spending by over $5 billion while returning $2 billion back to taxpayers.

I am quite pleased with his decisions so far.

An excerpt from his speech:

"There are things we need to dust off, repair and protect. And there are things we need to throw away.

And all of it needs to be regularly re-examined.

Let's start with the obvious. We can't spend more than we take in. And we take-in enough from hardworking Floridians.

Over the last few years, Florida accepted one time hand-outs from the federal government.

Those temporary resources allowed state and local governments to spend beyond their means.

That's like someone who wins the lottery expecting to receive that same windfall year after year.

It just doesn't make sense. There was never any reason to think that Florida taxpayers could afford to continue that higher level of spending once the federal hand-outs were gone.

The false expectations created by the federal hand-outs are the reason we hear about a multi-billion dollar deficit.

Some have become accustomed to the artificially high level of state spending made possible by the money the federal government borrowed from our grandchildren.

That level of spending was never wise and simply cannot be sustained.

To those who suggest that we meet those new unsustainable expectations with higher taxes, I want to send a clear signal.

That is NOT the answer. We will not increase taxes.

For the last four years, most Florida families have had to learn to live with less at home.

Even those who continued to find work have been forced to make sacrifices. There are places where several generations are crowded into tight quarters. They've given up all the extras because it's what they had to do.

Floridians shouldn't have to send more of their MONEY to Tallahassee to pay for non-essential government programs or solely fund the retirement programs of government employees.

Let's never forget that government has no resources of its own. Government can only give to us what it has previously taken from us - minus a huge cut for the government middleman.

Now this "jobs budget" reduces taxes for Florida taxpayers to energize the economy and help Floridians can get back to work.

This "jobs budget" will reduce the business tax from 5.5 percent to 3 percent, completely phasing it out by 2018. And we will cut property taxes by $1.4 billion over the two year term. Together we will cut taxes by over $4 billion over two years."

To view Governor Rick Scott's state budget check out these links:

http://letsgettowork.state.fl.us/mviewbudget.aspx

http://letsgettowork.state.fl.us/billview/billpage.aspx