On Monday Gov.-elect Rick Scott announced the members of his Economic Advisory Council, a group of notably conservative and at times controversial economics experts, the Sun Sentinel reports.
“Staying true to his campaign promise to ‘Get-to-Work,’ Governor-Elect Rick Scott put his 7-step plan to create 700,000 jobs in 7 years on the fast-track today with the announcement of an impressive cast of nationally known economics experts who will advise the Governor-elect throughout the budget process as he begins to turn policy into action,” according to a press release from Scott’s office.
The group will advise Scott on his budget proposal, which is due Feb. 4, 2011.
Heading the council is Donna Arduin, who formerly served as budget chief to both Gov. Jeb Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other notable members are Arthur Laffer, known for the “Laffer Curve,” an economic theory that uses tax cuts to stimulate the economy, and Ted DeHaven, of the conservative Cato Institute.
Scott’s choices haven’t gone without controversy, according to the Sentinel:
“[Laffer’s] theory basically doesn’t hold water and Donna Arduin is one of his disciples,” [Director of Research at the Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University, Bruce] Nissen said. “When you complement that with extreme libertarian thinking of individuals from the Cato Institute and the rest, you get some extremely unorthodox and unusual economic policies.”
The impact, Nissen said, will be felt by anyone who relies on social services and public education.
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Laffer said Nissen’s criticism is misplaced because Reaganomics was based upon income tax and, “economic growth under Reagan, everyone knows, was extraordinary.”
