“Floriduh.” Remember that? It’s baaack.
Sure enough, amid the signage at Monday’s high-speed rail rally–and counter-rally–in front of City Hall was a haunting reminder of that embarrassing appellation from 2000. There it was: “New York and Calif. Win, Floriduh Loses.” Indeed, Florida’s likely loss of $2.4 billion to jumpstart the Tampa-Orlando super region and bring as many as 20,000 recession-addressing jobs is being seen as welcome “found money” in Sacramento and Albany. “Hanging chads” made more sense.
While local and regional officials work around the clock to try and cobble together an “entity”–or sub-grantee–to work with the feds and private-sector bidders, Gov. Rick Scott has given every indication that he’s not budging. He’s the 800-pound gorilla in the roadbed that can’t be ignored. He couches his objections in fears that the state could still be “on the hook” for any number of economic-liability scenarios.
A couple of points.
Nobody of good faith would rail against a governor–even one who bought his office for $73 million–for fiscal prudence. Looking out for taxpayers is hardly a character flaw. But being motivated more by Tea Party ideology, libertarian naysaying and an anti-Obama agenda than the competitive future of this region and this state is.
Recall that in his gubernatorial campaign Scott ran more against President Obama and the federal deficit than against his ostensible opponent, Alex Sink. “Obamacare” has merely morphed into “Obamarail.” How do you–as a mandate-free governor–placate the only base you have if you take “Obamarail” money? You obviously don’t take the money–whatever its need and merit–if you value that base above all else. Obviously, that’s the case.
That’s why–and when–the decision was made. Due diligence remains overdue.
Less than five weeks into his term, Scott made his high-speed rail-rejection decision after his disingenuous “review.” He cherry-picked flawed studies, the most flagrant of which was that of the libertarian Reason Foundation. A key member became part of his transition team. It wrongly assumed state liability in the event of cost overruns and ridership-projection shortfalls. The state plan actually requires the chosen private-sector operator–who would build and run the system–to absorb such costs.
But it’s unconscionable that Scott did not wait to put it out to competitive bid. It’s almost as if he didn’t want to chance what he’d see in the actual–not speculated–details.
Backers of the train had expected to issue bid proposals in March to the eight consortia of international companies that had expressed serious interest in America’s first high-speed rail line. They were motivated; they knew Orlando to Tampa was the first link in what President Obama envisioned would be a nationwide high-speed rail network. That a marketing bonanza likely awaited the winner was a given.
The onus was on the bid winner to pay the state’s $300 million (of $2.7 billion) share of the project, absorb any construction-cost overruns, operate the rail line for 20 years with no state subsidy and be responsible for any financial obligations for federal-grant repayment should the project fail at any point.
But that was not, it now seems, assurance enough for Scott. Neither does he seem impressed with legal efforts to secure the concurrence of cities and counties along the (I-4) right of way to create an independent interlocal agency.
Scott’s Faustian deal with anti-Obama ideology also seems ironically premised on the inability of private enterprise to deliver its part of a public-private partnership. It may be that he really doesn’t trust the private sector. Wonder why?
Who knew that “Let’s get to work” really meant “Let’s stay with the politically pandering, ideological play book that got us here”? It was only feared that is what it meant.
In four years, barring recall, Scott can retire to his favorite state: the job-creation Mecca that is Texas. In his wake: a state that would have missed a decades-in-the-planning opportunity to send an unmistakable signal to the national and international business communities that Florida was, indeed, open for business. And for 21st century economic opportunity.