Republican War on State Workers

The Florida legislature is taking the rare good first step of working on a bill that would raise the pay of state workers. The Florida House proposal would raise pay by $1,400.00-a-year.

Republicans have loved to bash state workers. The GOP narrative would have you believe that state workers are making Fortune 500 money off of government salaries. The truth is the best paid state workers are staffers for the governor and members of the legislature. By July of 2011, Gov. Rick Scott had laid off 1,295 state workers. Firing state workers increases unemployment, cost government more by having its services run less efficiently. Yet, Republicans like Senator Rand Paul argue to economist Paul Krugman that there are more government workers than ever.

PAUL: The thing I don't understand is that you're arguing that the government sector is struggling. Are you arguing that there are fewer government employees under Obama than there were under Bush?

KRUGMAN: Of course. That's a fact. That's a tremendous fact.

PAUL: No, the size of government is enormous under Obama.

KRUGMAN: If government employment had grown as fast under Obama as it did under Bush, we'd have a million and a half more people employed right now - directly.

PAUL: Are there less people employed or more people employed now by the government?

The fact that Paul doesn't know is what happens when Republicans live inside their talking points and make no effort to educate themselves on policy. Unfortunately, these brain dead policies by Republicans have hurt state workers in Florida and across America.