Senator Nelson’s Economic Confusion
Senator Nelson says that Governor Scott should have taken federal taxpayer dollars to fund the high-speed rail, but he didn’t say anything about what that would have meant for Florida taxpayers. Luckily, you don’t have to look far to see what would have happened to Florida if Senator Nelson had his way… (hint: it’s not good.)
Governor Scott rejected federal funding to protect taxpayers, and that was the right decision. If Senator Nelson had his way, Florida would have accepted this federal funding, just like California and Connecticut…
- CALIFORNIA ACCEPTED federal taxpayer dollars for high-speed rail, and what happened?
The project has suffered with years upon years of significant delays and skyrocketing costs – the most recent estimate reaching more than $98 billion, an increase of over $13 billion in only two years. - CONNECTICUT ACCEPTED federal tax payer dollars for high-speed rail, and what happened?
Taxpayers in Connecticut ended up having to shell out more than $560 million in state funding – more than twice as much as the federal dollars they received in the first place. (No wonder their residents are all jumping ship and moving to Florida.)
Florida rejected federal taxpayer dollars, and what happened?
- Taxpayer dollars were protected and Floridians weren’t stuck paying the price of a government project. Instead, Florida’s economy made an incredible turnaround, taxes were cut by more than $10 billion, and record investments have been made in our education system, environment and transportation infrastructure.
- Governor Scott has announcedthat the State of Florida has begun the process to allow for private investment in a high-speed rail connection from Orlando to Tampa – which means zero financial risk to Florida taxpayers.
“Governor Scott turned down federal funding for high-speed rail for one reason: to protect taxpayers. Senator Nelson has been in Washington so long he doesn’t understand the basics of how the economy works – much less the difference between a project that burdens Florida taxpayers and a project that won’t.” – Lauren Schenone, Press Secretary for Scott for Florida
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