Rick Scott's Let's Get Laid Off Plan

Florida's unemployment rate for July was 10.7 percent. The unemployment rate for June was 10.6 percent. Things are not getting better. Florida lost 22,000 jobs in July. 1,295 of those jobs were state workers laid off by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida legislature. Many more state and local government jobs will be lost because Republicans have this ideological belief that teachers and clerks get paid more than Goldman Sachs executives.

University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith told the St. Petersburg Times that unemployment is tied to the lack of leadership in Washington.

"Consumers are suffering from post-traumatic financial stress disorder," Snaith said. "With the recent debt ceiling debacle and all the volatility in financial markets, we're seeing a bit of a flashback to the 2008 financial crisis and the fear it created."

Next month's unemployment report, Snaith warned, could be even worse as both Wall Street and Main Street fret about the threat of a double dip recession. Europe's debt crisis, low consumer confidence, a housing market still seeking a bottom and roller-coaster stock markets are all fueling anxiety.

Meanwhile, Gov. Scott is backpeddling from his promise to create 700,000 jobs on top of the 1,000,000 jobs that were forecasted for the next seven years. You may remember that Scott promised to create 300,000 less then what was forecasted. Scott tells The Orlando Sentinel he doesn't know if his 700,000 job promise is possible.

Scott is now lowering the benchmark he set for himself if he counts every job created toward his 700,000 goal.

"I have no idea — I've never been an economist — what the state would have done," he said, referring to the state's projections. "But I do know that reducing taxes, which kill jobs, getting rid of regulation we don't need that kills jobs, making sure we don't have a bunch of frivolous lawsuits — that's what's going to change the trajectory of the state."

Scott revised his statement. Scott never produced an economic study to say how he would create these jobs. More likely Scott and his campaign team picked 700,000 because it was a nice around number.