Bill Haslam in 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Education:
Drive to 55: 55% get post-HS certificate or degree by 2025
In the year 2025, 55 percent of Tennesseans will need a certificate or degree beyond high school to get a job. Today, only 32 percent of Tennesseans qualify. To truly be America at its best, that's not good enough.This time last year, I announced the
Drive to 55--our effort to reach at least 55 percent by 2025. This isn't just about higher education--it's about better jobs for more Tennesseans. It's about building a stronger economy. I have spent a lot of time over the past two years on workforce
readiness. I am more convinced than ever that our urgent needs are in the areas of access, quality and relevance. To tackle these, our Drive to 55 initiative focuses on five key goals:
- Getting students ready;
-
Getting them into school;
- Getting them out of school;
- Finishing what we started with adult students; and
- Tying education directly to workforce needs.
Source: 2014 State of the State address to Tennessee legislature
Feb 3, 2014
On Families & Children:
Support services to 100% of former foster youth
Due to the work of our Department of Children's Services, we're the first state in the nation to make support services available to
100 percent of our former foster youth as they transition to adulthood.
Source: 2014 State of the State address to Tennessee legislature
Feb 3, 2014
On Principles & Values:
Tennessee--America at Its Best: we are a model to the nation
I want to take you back 50 years to 1963. Merritt Potter, a Kingsport realtor, entered a contest to come up with a slogan to promote Tennessee.
He won, and the prize was a $21,000 savings bond. A bill was introduced in the General Assembly to adopt it as the state's official slogan. It passed and was signed into law.
Fifty years later, Merritt Potter's words are still our state's official slogan, and they still are true: "Tennessee--America at Its Best."
Today in Tennessee we are more than a slogan. We think we are a model to the nation in so many ways.
Source: 2014 State of the State address to Tennessee legislature
Feb 3, 2014
On Social Security:
TN named the best state in the country to retire in 2013
I don't think it's any accident that Tennessee was named the best state in the country to retire in 2013. And, while lowering the sales tax on food doesn't generate new revenue or investment, I think we can all agree that reducing the amount of taxes
that all Tennesseans pay on their groceries was the right thing to do. Tennessee is America at its best because we employ one of the best tax strategies of all time--common sense.
Source: 2014 State of the State address to Tennessee legislature
Feb 3, 2014
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018