Last week Governor Patterson gave the 2010 State of the State address for New York. He was blunt, and most likely angered everyone in the audience at some point. Although I don’t agree with everything he proposed, I do have renewed hope that things will be changing for the better in the near future. Below are some highlights from the speech.
From the very beginning he dove right in to the dirty truth, not even taking the time to acknowlede the formalities and heads of power that are usually acknowledged. I liked this “no-crap” approach from the get-go:
It has become customary on occasions of this significance to recognize each and every public official in the room with congratulatory pronouncements and self-reflected praise.But, my colleagues, the times are measured. And I would ask, with your understanding, that we dispense with the flourishes and formalities and I would like to address all of you today just as fellow citizens of our great State – all equal under the eyes of God, all responsible to the people of the State of New York, whether our service be short-lived or long-remembered.
He then moves to bluntly describe the tough situation New York is in:
Look at history. Cultures of addiction to spending, power, and approval have ruined empires and now they threaten the Empire State.
Apparently New York’s budget deficit is growing at the astounding rate of “millions of dollars per day”, a sobering figure. He talks about how this is unsustainable and how the road will be rough, but we NEED to change. He talks about the struggles we faced passing the last few budgets, and how it still wasn’t enough:
The last two budget battles have left its toll on all of us in this Chamber, and there are more deficits up ahead that will require an even greater sacrifice. But if acceptance really is the prelude to recovery, then we have to accept that the old way of doing budgets is unsustainable.
And so do the special interests, who intimidate, who badger, and who push when they don’t get their way – even when they are aware that the cupboard is bare.
The time for that type of politics has to end. We have to take firm and decisive steps to rebuild New York.
We need fiscal reform. We need ethics reform. And we need an economic plan that will put New Yorkers back to work.
The moneyed interests, many of them here today as guests, have got to understand that their days of influence in this capitol are numbered.
The most important line of all:
No longer are we going to run New York like a payday loan operation.
He isn’t going to take any bull, and so far hasn’t. Here he talks about how he will use his power as Governor to prevent the state from defaulting. Already he has done that in his battles with the teachers unions.
Whether it is this Administration or the next or the one after that, we have got to find a procedure that cures the spending structure that has infected our budget process for the last 20 years.And the sooner we do that, the more control we will have over spending, not less. For as you may have observed in the past few weeks, the Governor will exercise authority to prevent this State from going into default. You have left me and other Governors no choice. So whether it be by vetoes or delayed spending, I will not write bad checks and we will not mortgage our children’s future.
But it’s not just financial worries, he goes beyond that and addresses the core issue of rotten ethics in Albany:
After we have uncovered the sins of finance, we must address the chronic abuse of power.Chronic and continuing experiences of outside influence and inside decay have bred cynicism and scorn of the people we represent.
That is why today, I’m introducing comprehensive ethics reform – not driven by the illegal acts of any one person, but instead by what is legal and rampant in our entire system of government.
The Reform Albany agenda will significantly drive down campaign contributions; require openness of outside income; will strip public officials of their pensions who commit felonies; phase in gradually public campaign finance; and will impose term limits on State officeholders by constitutional amendment.
I am hoping that many of these reforms come to fruition. The road won’t be easy, and there will be a lot of push-back as he tries to enforce these changes, but in the long run they should greatly improve the strength of our State. Governor Patterson, thank you for stepping up and having the courage to attempt substantial changes. I will be following the progress of these reforms, and doing my best to make sure they happen. For the first time in a long time I have hope that things aren’t totally broken beyond repair, but only time will tell if Patterson has the power and true conviction to make these sweeping changes a reality.
You can watch the full 30 minute speech at CSPAN.org or read the full transcript at the NY State Website.
CSPAN also has coverage of all the other State of the State addresses that have been made so far, so if you live in a different part of the country and want to check out what your Governor is planning head over and search the website.
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