Gov. Rick Scott defends plan for improving economy

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott turned down $2 billion in federal money for a Tampa to Orlando high-speed rail project, despite objections from both Republicans and Democrats.

When I talked with him today in the WPTV studios, I asked him if other states that were taking the federal money were wrong.

"A couple of months ago they said they cut that money out of the budget, and now they're saying they're dividing it up. Only in Washington can you divide up money twice. But let's go back to when I turned it down. They didn't give us enough money to build it."

Scott and lawmakers faced other tough choices to close a nearly $4 billion dollar deficit. State workers from teachers to police will now pay 3 percent of their paycheck towards their pensions. Also jobless benefits are being trimmed.

But Scott and GOP lawmakers found money for $60 million in corporate tax breaks, and if Scott had had his way it would have been much more.

"If you go back to thinking what do you have to do, you have to get our economy going again," he replied. "That was my whole focus, was how do we get the state back to work. We have a million people out of work. If we don't make this the state business people want to do business in, we'll never get the money to do those things so we have to reduce taxes."