Rick Scott cut mosquito control to the bone --- now over 400 Zika infections

[lpbk2713]

He cut their budget and shut down two mosquito control research facilities and
now wants the Feds to bail him out.

A small contingency fund was available if needed but it was used for purposes
other than mosquito control ... "And indeed, year after year, Scott and the
Republican-controlled Legislature have raided the trust fund to plug other
holes in the budget at the same time they’ve cut taxes and fees for other
programs and special interests."


Link: http://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2016/08/scott-boasts-about-states-zika-fight-but-slashed-mosquito-control-funding-to-save-money-104539

[global1]

1. Didn't The Same Thing Happen In Flint With Respect To The Lead In The Water?.....nt

[tanyev]

2. And his GOP cohorts in Washington couldn't care less about bailing him out.

C'mon, Florida, give these A-holes the boot!

[barbtries]

3. life under republicans.

only gets better for them and their bosses and buddies.

[lostnfound]

4. Great. Instead of small mosquito problem we have microoencephaly

And lives impacted and god knows what else will be the consequence.
I did hear mention that it can affect adult brain health too

[onecaliberal]

5. When will people learn this is what happens when they elect republicans?

[RKP5637]

6. Far too many Americans are literally stupid, they really really are IMO!!! I used to make excuses

for them, but really, looking at the track record, it's hard to say they are not literally stupid.

[onecaliberal]

22. Agree, what else can one say. It's really unbelievable.

[RockaFowler]

7. Same crap with the Algae situation

The Treasure Coast is still dealing with this issue. Toxic runoff from Lake Okeechobee. Charlie Crist helped to secure the land SOUTH of Lake Okeechobee to be used as a reservoir for the water from the Lake. Nope, pRick Scott gave the area back to the Sugar Industry. Possibly a payback from the election.

This guy is so crooked. Oh and the Republicans running for office down here are just as crooked.

[procon]

8. What was his reasoning?

Mosquitoes would just vanish because Republicans were in charge, so no funding is necessary?
No mosquito problems in nice white communities, so no funding is necessary?
Mosquitoes only target poor areas where brown people live, so no funding is necessary?
Republican anti-tax policies cripple state revenues, no worries, the Feds will pony up taxpayer's money from other states to bail them out, right?

How is that responsible 'leadership'?

[Lochloosa]

10. THEY DON'T CARE! My standard answer when someone ask me why repubs do things that hurt people.

[procon]

11. Isn't there a word for people who lack any ability to empathize with human suffering? nt

[caballojm]

14. I believe the term you're looking for is "misanthropic assholes."

[procon]

19. LOL - Yeah, that'll work! nt

[Lochloosa]

16. Yeah...it's called money.

[lark]

21. Responsibility to a repug

means how to steal power and feather your own nest at the same time. They don't give a shit about anyone or anything other than themselves, the 1%, power and $$. Scott is not a human being, he's Drumpf without the tweets, a mean vicious twit who steals elections and shits on the people of fl with his repug friends support. He has everyone applying for welfare in our state getting drug tested, only it's mandated that they get drug tested at Solantic, a company partially owned by his wife. Think that may have been ended because after 2 years, think we'd spent over 2 million dollars and had a less than 1% hit rate, it was a really small #, like in the teens. I know they had hearings on this, and think the program was stopped as a huge waste of money, but in the meantime Mrs. Scott received a $2,000,000+ gift from the people in FL least able to pay it. Pond scum looks down on him.

[titaniumsalute]

9. I'm not defending Rick Scott (POS)

but mosquito control wouldn't have solved Zika. Maybe slowed it down some. My house in Palm Beach County was right on the edge of the Everglades. You could have sprayed massive amounts of mosquito spray and it would have not done any good within a mile or two of the Everglades.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

12. Good grief. This is just another example of a government service that people...

... take for granted, or they simply don't know about it.

When Republicans and Libertarians slash these programs, this is what we get.

All that anyone needs to do is venture into wild areas away from cities to get the "mosquito experience" that they'd normally have without those programs.

[mcar]

13. And blames Obama

[Auggie]

15. I believe that's the plan: blame Obama and blame Democrats ...

an odious election plog.

[ErikJ]

17. RWers dont understand "Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

In almost everything they do. Preventive Health care, bank regulations and enforcement, etc etc.

[Fast Walker 52]

18. same old fucking story with the GOP death cult

[spanone]

20. typical of republicans....rob one program to pay for another, then go crying to the fed for help.

and the people suffer....

[raven mad]

23. Well, "everyone knows" it'll be confined to a small area in Florida -

hopefully it'll be as small as the idiot brains who voted for him.

Heck, in 1972, I couldn't bring my horse "home" from here to Florida - guess those mosquitos didn't die out either.........

[quaker bill]

24. And JEB cut funding for wildfire fighters

before the firestorm in 1998. Republicans in government, more needs not be said.