2008 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Budget & Economy


Charlie Crist: Florida HOPE taskforce to help victims of housing crisis

For families to feel truly safe, they cannot be worried about losing their home to foreclosure. That’s why I recently announced the Florida HOPE taskforce charged with making recommendations to help families who have found themselves victims of the housing crisis.

The people who sent us here--their wisdom and their experience in the real world makes up a significant portion of the knowledge base from which we must lead.

Source: 2008 State of the State Address to Florida legislature Mar 4, 2008

Steve Beshear: Cut government spending due to the revenue shortfall

Because of the economic slowdown, the cooling of the housing market, oil prices and a gap between what we spend and what we earn, we are facing an unprecedented budgetary shortfall. While this is a situation I inherited, it is my job to fix it. It is not a time for whining or “woe is us”--it is a time for leadership, bold action and temporary cost cutting. We have two options: raise taxes, or cut spending. If the Commonwealth of Kentucky were a family, and we realized we were spending more than we could afford, we’d have no choice but to tighten our belts. Even though state government is not a family, it’s about time we began acting more like one. After all, it is the people’s money, and we need to be as efficient as possible when it comes to taxpayer dollars. Raising taxes is and will continue to be a last resort as long as I’m Governor. So, that leaves cutting government spending. We can wring more efficiency out of state government and I intend to do just that.
Source: Kentucky 2008 State of the State Address Jan 14, 2008

Steve Beshear: Some budget priorities won’t go away despite budget crisis

In the short-term, this budget crisis will unfortunately reduce our ability to make major new investments in some important priorities. However, the need to lower prescription drug costs for our senior citizens will not go away! The need to increase college aid and job training will not go away! The need to send colleges and universities better prepared students will not go away! The need to invest in new 21st century jobs will not go away. I remain fully committed to those priorities.
Source: Kentucky 2008 State of the State Address Jan 14, 2008

Steve Beshear: Revenue situation becomes a golden opportunity for change

Ironically, the revenue situation I inherited becomes a golden opportunity to change the way we do business in Kentucky. It is an opportunity to make every state agency leaner, more efficient and more responsive. It is an opportunity to begin preparing Kentucky to compete in the new economy. It is a way to focus on economic development that will create a stronger economy with jobs of the future rather than those of the past.
Source: Kentucky 2008 State of the State Address Jan 14, 2008

  • The above quotations are from 2008 Governor's State of the State speeches.
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Candidates and political leaders on Budget & Economy:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 02, 2018