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Workers Are Poor While Forbes 500 Prosper

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) - While Governor Rick Scott claims to be making Florida a more business-friendly state, the editors of Forbes have some bad news for the governor.

No Florida company made into the top 100 of the annual Forbes 500 list released Thursday. The highest rated company in the state was Lakeland-based Publix Super Market, which had revenues last year of $25 billion.

The highest ranked companies from South Florida were World Fuel Services (#133), AutoNation (#197), and Office Depot (#211). Combined, those companies had $42 billion in revenues in 2010.

As a sign of the times, three of the top four companies in the Forbes 500 list relied on foreign oil. Exxon ranked second, while Chevron was third, and ConocoPhillips was fourth.

While the companies were raking in big bucks off the backs of the working class, the money certainly wasn't going back to the workers.

According to Forbes, the Fortune 500 saw profits soar 81 percent. How did companies do this? Many down-sized, took jobs overseas, or simply eliminated positions. All of which contributed to the staggeringly high unemployment rate seen today.

Forbes even commented that "We've rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans."

It throws water on trickle-down economics and presents Governor Scott with a conundrum.

He has to balance giving businesses everything they want as far as no taxes or regulations, which is a tea party staple; and forcing them to produce the jobs in Florida that are desperately needed and reinvesting in the communities that house the companies.

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