When he was governor of Florida, Rick Scott would make recruiting trips to states like California and New York, and tell business leaders about the lack on income tax and other perks of living in a red state. Blue state governors scoffed, but with an assist from changes in federal tax law, wealthy residents of high tax states such as Connecticut and New York began fleeing to Florida at a stepped-up pace.
Now, as a U.S. senator in Washington, Scott is ticking off blue state leaders again, by echoing President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's opposition to a bailout for states that find themselves on the edge with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting revenues.
"It's not fair to the taxpayers of Florida. We sit here, we live within our means, and then New York, Illinois, California and other states don't. And we're supposed to go bail them out? That's not right," Scott told reporters, including Burgess Everett of POLITICO.
The response from Democratic states didn't take long. "If Florida would like to have a conversation about making sure no state gets more money from the federal government than they send to it, Connecticut is ready," said Senator Chris Murphy of that state. Blue staters often complain that they send more to the federal government and get less back than red states.