Promises Made, Promises Kept | Gov. Rick Scott – ThursdayMan

Dear James,
I promised to get Florida back to work and turn our state around by cutting taxes, holding government accountable, reducing spending and expanding educational opportunities. Today with the help of the Legislature, I am proud to say that we are on our way to creating 700,000 new jobs for Florida.

Under my leadership, we closed a more than $3 billion deficit and balanced the budget, while slashing overall spending by over $2 billion.

We began reducing government spending by requiring government workers to contribute directly towards their own retirement, saving taxpayers over $1 billion. We will continue to reorganize government functions, reform the regulatory and rule-making processes, and optimize state agencies to focus on job growth and economic development.

In addition, we expanded educational opportunities with passage of virtual education legislation and the expansion of charter schools. There will be more school choices for parents than ever before. I also signed the Student Success Act which rewards the best teachers through a merit pay system while eliminating tenure, allowing under-performing teachers to be more easily replaced.

Most important, I kept my promise to reduce property taxes. With the Legislature’s help, we will reduce the property tax burden on Florida taxpayers by $210 million.

And we began phasing out the business income tax. Almost half of Florida’s small businesses will no longer be burdened with this tax.

It is through these reforms we are holding the government accountable to the most important person in the state, the taxpayer. With your continued support I will fight to make government more efficient and ensure a brighter future for Florida. Be sure to share our accomplishments here in Florida with your friends and family by encouraging them to check out my website or by sharing my page on Facebook.

Regards,