Jim Martin: “Sunshine state can’t shake the dark clouds of Obama’s big government agenda.”

(Alexandria, Virginia) – 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization with over 7.1 million supporters, released the following statement on the state of the Florida economy on the eve of tomorrow’s GOP presidential primary contest:

“Floridians are heading to the polls tomorrow, eager to help change the course of our nation, so it is instructive to reflect on the current state of Florida’s economy after three years under the current Administration.

“As a native of Florida, a ’62 graduate of the University of Florida, and the leader of a national seniors organization which has over 785,000 senior supporters in Florida, I am naturally very troubled over the severe decline of this great state under the leadership of President Obama and Democrat elites like Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Under their policies and on their watch, Florida’s unemployment rate went from 8.6% when the President took office, to 12.3% a year later. Thanks to Governor Rick Scott’s aggressive pro-jobs agenda, it has since fallen to 9.9%, but under Obama over a million families have lost their home due to foreclosure, and 650,000 more Floridians are now toiling in poverty.

“Those, my friends, are facts, and can’t be dismissed or brushed away despite the army of media spinners dispatched by the White House and DNC. Even more troubling, all of this decline was ‘achieved’ after spending our nation into an additional $5 trillion of debt, while crucial programs for current seniors such as Social Security and Medicare have received no attention despite their dire condition, but instead have been battered by new entitlement spending.

“The President’s disapproval rating in Florida is now at 54%, yet he demonstrated last week that he remains committed to expanding government, growing our debt, and attacking free markets and those who create jobs. Florida has traditionally been one of the strongest and most vibrant state economies in the nation, and in just three years this President has nearly switched off the light that shines in the Sunshine state. As Floridians head to the polls tomorrow, they know as well as people anywhere that the time to set a new course our nation can’t come soon enough.”

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