FL gov. buys pricey 2nd roof while Floridians lose homes

Florida's charming governor.

Floridians will soon feel the sting of the Legislature's cruelty. Lawmakers recently passed bills that will hurt working families, including a cut to unemployment benefits to pay for a corporate tax cut. Many Floridians are worried about losing unemployment, losing their jobs and losing their homes to foreclosure. Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott is concerned enough about hurricane season to have purchased a second roof for his Naples mansion. Miami New Times reports:

Apparently the Illinois native wasn't fully aware of the destructive forces of a hurricane when one hit his home in either 2004 or 2005 (he can't recall which) and his $9.2 million mansion lost about a third of the roofing tiles.

Informed that whatever fancy tile was used on the original roof was no longer in production, Scott, who is worth upward of $200 million, purchased enough tiles for a second roof and put them in storage.

How much did that cost? "Expensive," was all he said.

NBC 2 recently featured a heartbreaking story on the rise in homelessness in Florida. The Vantassel family was evicted from their apartment in the Naples area after Garrett Vantassel lost his construction job late last year. The family, including daughters Destiny, 5,  and Katrina, 4, have been living in their car for the past four months:

"When I lost my job, everything just started tumbling down. Sleeping in the car was hot and humid. Everybody was sweating to death," said Vantassel. "I told them things would get better, along the way. They accepted it. But in my mind, it hurts. Even in my heart, it hurts, to know we have to live in a car. That's not a place I want my kids to be."

Five years ago, the Florida Department of Education estimated there were 1,700 homeless kids in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties. After evictions, foreclosures and job losses, there are now over 2,900.

These families would love to have a roof over their heads.

Let alone two.