Alex Sink, the state's former Chief Financial Officer and the 2010 Democratic nominee for governor, took aim at former political opponent Gov. Rick Scott for his comments on Monday that Congress should not raise the federal debt ceiling
"It's clueless," Sink told the Times/Herald. "Heck yes our credit rating will be impacted. That's Florida budgeting 101."
Scott, however, believes the impact to Florida and financial markets would be minimal.
An analysis his office prepared (read it here) showed a federal government shutdown would have few immediate consequences for Florida: the Florida National Guard would suspend drill activities, child support enforcement would have cash flow issues and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement might not be able to use E-verify, the federal database used to check immigration status.
There would be significantly more long-term impacts to say nothing of the potential impact on state and local government credit ratings.
"Suggesting the debt ceiling should not be addressed is outrageous and irresponsible," Sink said in an e-mail. "A default by the federal government would have immediate impact on the state of Florida, our budget, and our credit ratings.
"The people of Florida know better, and we need our governor to know better."
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