| At 1 p.m. today, Governor David Paterson will give his State of the State Address before a joint session of the New York State Legislature. There are plenty of things that Governor Paterson should talk about, but he will only fit so much into his address.
It is expected that Paterson will defend his Executive Budget proposal that includes several spending cuts and many increased fees and taxes. While it is expected, he will be saying this in front of the Assembly and Senate who will ultimately have a say in what spending cuts will pass and what increased fees and taxes will be implemented.
But Paterson needs to talk about the future. He needs to have a plan. We all know about the present. The present requires urgent attention and will receive that by this state and by our federal government. But we also need to hear a plan for the future. The future needs to include more than spending cuts and increased taxes. The future needs to include economic development.
Economic development (and job creation) is a big issue because it impacts the whole state, especially upstate New York. While New York is in crisis, upstate New York has been in crisis for a long time. It is the reason why former Governor Eliot Spitzer decided to have a separate State of Upstate Address. It wasn't meant to divide us, but it was meant to address the problems from upstate in a more personal manner. Paterson will do that, but not through a separate address.
In about 90 minutes, Paterson will give his address. We will hear about the current economic state and how New York faces a tough road ahead. We will also hear Paterson defend his much-talked about spending cuts and increased fees and taxes. But what will we hear about economic development and job creation? Will we hear anything about funding such initiatives? Will we hear anything about planning for the future?
That is what we need to hear. Paterson only gets one State of the State Address a year. Next year, I hope he gets to talk about the progress we have made economically. But this year, he needs to talk about a plan for the future. That plan doesn't include budget cuts and increased taxes. That plan needs to include other proposals. |
