The Frustrating Existence of Rick Scott

I spent a lot of time on this blog in advance of the election saying Rick Scott shouldn't be governor because he was a lousy crook. I stand by that, but since taking election, it has become clear that Scott has a much bigger problem. He simply cannot come to grips with the fact that the election didn't make him king of Florida.

Or more appropriately, CEO of Florida.

As detailed in the linked Herald article, Scott has spent his first few weeks in office trying to reach far beyond the legal confines of the governor's mansion. He believes other elected members of the Cabinet should cede spending authorization to his office, that he should have veto power over regulations introduced by agencies within Florida and that he alone should get the final call on major incentive expenditures.

There are many reasons, of course, why government doesn't work this way. What Scott tacitly suggests through his governing style is that all checks and balances be eliminated in Tallahassee so that he can more swiftly and purposefully enact an agenda. That probably sounds good to any governor, but in practice could lead to abuse and careless waste, as opposed to the considered and careful waste government produces today.

The notion that government should run more like a business is a tried and true message on the campaign trail, but is impossible to enact in real life for a number of practical and political reasons. The most obvious example in Florida is that the balance must be budgeted every year, whereas private companies interested in doing something bold will dip into debt to make a big move. Interestingly, eliminating debt is also something those pro-business conservatives also say government should do better. Of course, any leader who put the entire state budget at risk in a make-it-or-break-it venture would likely be punished at the polls regardless of outcome, hence the political problems of running like a business.

The other big issue, though, is corruption. A governor given free reign over the state budget can to easily take an undue share of tax dollars and direct it to certain private interests who lack scruples about stealing from taxpayers.

In other words, how Rick Scott ran HCA.

Or at least how the Feds said he ran HCA. Which brings up the funniest part of this, because if we are to believe Rick Scott's sworn testimony in various court encounters, he actually delegated a lot of decision-making when he actually was a CEO. This was a man who didn't always recall signing paperwork, and simply wasn't paying enough attention to his own employees as they committed fraud. At least, that was his story before.

Now that we get to see his style in the governor's mansion, he seems to have changed completely from the man described in depositions. This is a CEO who does not wish anyone, even other statewide leaders elected by more voters in the same election, to weigh in on spending decisions for the state. Time will only tell what he thinks of the Legislature once they start tinkering with his proposed budget.

So is Scott the type of leader described in depositions, who delegates often and oversees very little himself, or the type we have seen come into Tallahassee, huffing and puffing and reaching for more power? I guess we will have to see.