from governor cuomo's rarely bold and visionary state of the state, jan 5:
"we have the worst business tax climate in the nation, period, our taxes are 66% higher than the national average"
"the costs of pensions are exploding... a 476% increase and its only getting worse"
"the state of new york spends too much money, it is that blunt and it is that simple"
"an unsustainable rate of growth and it has been for a long time"
"not only do we spend too much, but we get too little in return"
"the large government we have is all too often responsive to the special interests over the people"
"new yorkers are voting with their feet, two million new yorkers have left the state over the past decade"
"what does this say, it says we need radical reform, it says we need a new approach, we need a new perspective and we need it now"
"this is a fundamental realignment for the state"
"the old way wasn't working anyway, let's be honest"
"we want a government that puts the people first and not the special interests first"
"what made new york the empire state was a not a large government complex, it was a vibrant private sector that was creating great jobs"
"and that's what's going to make us the empire state again"
"at the heart of this state is business"
"we have to relearn the lesson our founders knew and we have to put up a sign that says new york is open for business, we get it, and this is going to be a business friendly state"
"we are going to have to confront the tax situation in our state, property taxes in this state are killing new yorkers, thirteen of the sixteen highest tax counties are in new york when assessed by home value"
"westchester county has the highest property taxes in the united states, nassau county has the second highest"
"it has to end, it has to end this year"
"we have to hold the line on taxes for now and reduce taxes in the future, new york has no future as the tax capital of the nation, our young people will not stay, our business will not come"
"put it simply, the people of this state simply cannot afford to pay any more taxes, period"
"we have to start with an emergency financial plan to stabilize our finances, we need to hold the line and we need to institute a wage freeze in the state of new york, we need to hold the line on taxes, we need a state spending cap and we need to close this $10 billion gap without any borrowing"
GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
