HARTFORD -- "I want all of them," said a very enthusiastic Gov. Rick Scott during an interview with Fox CT on Thursday.
The Republican governor was referring to the businesses that are considering leaving the state in response to the new budget.
Scott arrived in Hartford Thursday as part of a two-day jaunt through the state to try and lure companies down south to Florida.
"I called all over the country but right now there's a big opportunity in Connecticut because your governor and Legislature is raising taxes on everybody, on families, on businesses, on everybody," said Scott, "and you can't pay for it."
The governor has been conducting a somewhat aggressive marketing campaign inside Connecticut's borders ever since the state Legislature passed a controversial two-year budget worth $40 billion which slaps businesses with higher taxes on data processing and imposes new taxes.
"He's not visiting because we're revolutionary, he's here to poach jobs and it's just ridiculous," remarked Lori Pelletier of the CT AFL-CIO. "If businesses were all about low taxes, then every business would be in Louisana and they're not. They care about quality of life, they care about education, and they care about that you have a trained workforce and that's what Connecticut has to offer."
Devon Puglia, a spokesman for Gov. Dan Malloy, sent Fox CT the following statement:
"Connecticut enjoys amazing schools, terrific parks, high quality of life, and an expanding economy - that's why people live, work, and raise their families here instead of Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida. Put simply, we're building a Connecticut for the future, with countless benefits that residents can't enjoy anywhere else."
Scott is scheduled to meet with business leaders in Norwalk Friday morning.