I thought Scott was an outsider. This move is very unlibertarian and only done, so the GOP has a glimmer of hope to win Florida in the presidential elections. It is kind of hard to win a state for the GOP when the Gop governors poll numbers trail Satan.
Put me down for the group that thinks this will be a money sink.
It may or may not be a money sink. Just depends on who manages it and how. As the links above show, a properly run light rail system works when integrated with buses, trolleys, and high speed rail. In this case LYNX (as well as Votran over here) has, despite increased ridership), cut routes instead of adding them. The Daytona/Orlando connector bus was filled to the brim (thanks Maxwell House!) every day until Votran started cutting back trips.
Stimulus funds help run these systems, adding thousands of full time jobs in the process. When Republican and teabagger legislators and governors started refusing these funds the light rail systems, bus systems, and trolly systems started struggling.
One of the mottos I used in the hotel business while attempting to increase sales was "
You gotta spend money to make money."
That phrase is so crucial right now to returning our economy to a healthy state. Yet nobody but a few forward-thinking Democrats realize it...
