Gov. Scott To Give Keynote In Miami

MIAMI (CBS4) - Controversial Florida Governor Rick Scott will give a keynote speech at Jungle Island on January 11 as part of the 2011 South Florida Economic Summit, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

Scott has drawn fire for his transition team's misinterpretation of economic data published by Princeton professor of economics, and former U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary, Alan Krueger.

Scott's team cited a study by Krueger that the transition team said showed that unemployed people only look for a job for 20 minutes a day. The transition team was using that logic to call for massive unemployment reform, including cutting unemployment compensation taxes for businesses.

The problem for Scott's team was that Krueger disputed what they said. He said that the research was conducted in the mid-2000's and found people spend more than 40 minutes a day looking for jobs; the unemployed in the U.S. search for jobs longer than unemployed workers in other country; and that the real problem is "lack of jobs, not overly generous benefits," according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Scott's keynote will be part of the 8 a.m. opening of the summit, according to the South Florida Business Journal.