Rachel Maddow On Rick Scott's Intrusive Government

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Rachel Maddow points out that Gov. Rick Scott's idea of less government is forcing women seeking abortions to pay for an ultrasound.

Maddow shows video of an interview of Scott stating that poor people do more drugs than the rest of Florida's population. Maddow cited data of only 2 percent of people seeking unemployment compensation testing positive for drugs. The number of Floridians using drugs is over 8 percent. The testing is increasing government expenses from having to reimburse people that tested negative.

The Department of Children and Families’ central region has tested 40 applicants since the law went into effect six weeks ago, and of those 40 applicants, 38 tested negative for drugs. The cost to the state of Florida to reimburse those 38 individuals who tested negative was at least $1,140 over the course of six weeks. Meanwhile, denying benefits to the two applicants who tested positive will save Florida less than $240 a month.

So much for Scott's so-called fiscal conservatism. I agree with Maddow. Scott is doing this because he has a belief that poor people are immoral.

Update Six days before the drug testing bill was signed into law, Scott's spokeman Lane Wright told Talking Points Memo that they didn't know what the cost of the program would be.

"We don't have a dollar cost estimate at this time," he said. "Because of volume, the state is hoping to negotiate very competitive rates."

So much for fiscal conservatism.