Well, the primary is over and we really haven’t taken a look at the Deomcrat running for the Governor of Florida. That Democrat is Florida’s CFO Alex Sink (CAN-D-FL-GOV). Oh yeah, I am going to have fun with her name.
Alex Sink is currently Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a statewide elected cabinet level official. It was created in 2002, following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. She is the second person to hold the office and the first Democrat elected to Florida’s Cabinet since the reforms.
The office is a combination of the former offices of Comptroller, Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal*. The office heads the Florida Department of Financial Services and is responsible for overseeing the state’s finances, collecting revenue, paying state bills, auditing state agencies, regulating cemeteries and funerals, and handling fires and arsons. In addition, the CFO has administrative oversight over the offices which handles banking and insurance regulation.
Let’s take a look at her record:
Debt
Along with the state’s $26.4 billion in debt, another $14.7 billion in “indirect debt” also hangs over the Legislature. Indirect debt is money owned that is not backed by state revenue, stems from the borrowing of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Finance Corp.
A couple things pop out at me, that pisses me off to no end:
1) Alex Sink is more or less the Insurance Commissioner and she (and Crist) is raiding the funds from the Citizens Property Insurance Corp? My mind is blown. The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation was created in 2002 to provide property insurance for home-owners who could not obtain insurance elsewhere. There is another version of this for the people of Louisiana.
2) Raiding the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund also pisses me off, maybe more so than the other one. This was created after Hurricane Andrew for reimbursements to insurers for a portion of their catastrophic hurricane losses.
This is disgraceful. Those funds should be locked-box until we have a hurricane!
Deficit
We also currently have a budget deficit of at least $6 Billion, maybe even $8 Billion. I am sure the State Legislature has some responiblity in this matter, but when they pass a budget and the Governor signs it, then he and the CFO should stick to it. Clearly they have not done this simple feat. I know it could be worse, but $6 Billion is honestly $6 Billion toO much.
It’s not really the Debt, but the Deficit that kills people. Debt can be managed as long as there is no Deficit.
Christie Got Off Light
Governor Chris Christie thinks he has it bad? He only has $2.2 Billion in debt to deal with. We do have a bigger state, so that means we are going to have bigger problems to bring down that debt and closing that deficit.
I am sure there is more. And I am sure I will write about the more. But right now Alex Sink says she is the solution. However from 2006 and up until now, she has been part of the problem. Why then, in all that is good and great, would we vote her a promotion?
[Cross-Posted On Practical State.com]
*Don’t ask. I don’t understand how that happen either.
