Next week, Floridians will engage in the collective catharsis of voting for Charlie Crist’s replacement. In the wake of America’s tax hiking flip-flopper in chief, there is a stark contrast between the two candidates to replace him.

The Democrat, Alex Sink, has refused to rule out tax increases should she become governor. ATR has approached Sink, currently the state’s Chief Financial Officer,  multiple times and asked her to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, but she has repeatedly declined. Instead, she has campaigned on an ambitious spending agenda that focuses on growing the size of government at the expense of the private sector.

In fact, Sink may be the only gubernatorial candidate campaigning explicitly on growing the public sector payroll. While New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie’s assault on public sector unions is spreading across the country like wildfire, Sink’s website takes a different approach:

In 2008, the average annual state employee salary of $38,839 was 4.5 percent below Florida's average wage for all industries. Compared to other states, Florida ranks last in the ratio of employees to
residents: 118 per 10,000 compared to the national average of 216 employees per 10,000 residents. And Florida is dead last in the nation in state employee payroll expenditures per resident: $38 compared to the national average of $69 per resident. As Governor, Alex Sink will push to ensure that state employees are recognized for high performance by receiving fair and competitive compensation.

This is pretty absurd. While she makes no concrete policy prescriptions, the tone is clear: Alex Sink is lamenting the fact that government employees make less than their private sector counterparts.
She is upset that government employees make up a comparatively small portion of the populace. This is directly at odds with the popular sentiment across the country: Government payrolls are too large and too expensive – both at the expensive of a vibrant public sector.

This and other expensive Sink proposals - like a massive "high speed rail" plan - are estimated to cost over $12 billion in new spending. Sink has refused to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, meaning she is likely to raise taxes to pay for her agenda.

Luckily, Floridians have a true choice on Election Day. Rick Scott is the Republican gubernatorial candidate, and he has signed the Pledge, putting in writing his commitment to never raise taxes. He realizes that overspending, not a lack of revenue, causes budget crises and economic stagnation. Should he win on November 2, he will join a wave of new governors, like Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio, who have taken higher taxes off the table in their states.

For a picture of Rick Scott re-signing the Pledge, this week, see below.

Posted by Joshua Culling on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 5:22 PM EDT

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