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Text SizeGeorgia Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues Breakfast - 1/12/09
As always, I appreciate the Georgia Chamber for continuing this tradition of bringing business leaders and legislators together to talk about important issues as we begin a new year and a new legislative session.
It goes without saying that 2008 was a year full of economic hardship. As I look around this room, I recall conversations I have had with many of you about the tough choices you have been forced to make with your businesses. The homebuilder who had to lay off 60% of his workforce because the housing market has dried up. The utility contractor who had to sell off half his equipment just to pay his bills.
And now you sit here at the dawn of 2009 and wonder what this year will bring. Can my business survive another year of this?
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not here to tell you that this year is going to be an easy one. My job today is to paint a picture of reality while still casting a vision of the possible. To join with you in setting the goals for our future and then working together to make those dreams a reality. Because at my core, I care deeply about the people from across this state. And it is their burden I will carry with me in the days ahead.
By all accounts, 2009 is going to present just as many challenges as 2008. But at its core, I still believe that Georgia is the greatest state in the nation. Even in these challenging times, people continue to move here. They come because of the strong economic foundation Georgia has built over the years, through key investments that have created a healthy business climate. Investments like Hartsfield-Jackson Airport—the busiest airport in the world; the Georgia Ports, which includes the fourth largest container port in the United States; and our outstanding research universities such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory and Georgia State.
Strategic investments of the past built the Georgia of today—a state that is a national economic powerhouse. We cannot afford to rest on those laurels and successes of the past. We must plan for future successes by planting the seeds of tomorrow’s economic drivers today.
Now is the time for the real leaders to rise up. It is time for the people who really want to make this state a better place to stand up and say “I’m ready.” Challenges create opportunities. But we cannot let our state be defined by its challenges. Instead, we should be defined by what we did with the opportunities those challenges created.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have forty days. Forty days in this legislative session to set the tone for Georgia for the entire year. Forty days to balance a budget that is currently more than $2 billion short. What we do in these next forty days will impact every one of you in this room and every citizen in our state. So there is no time to waste. The time to write the agenda for the future of Georgia is now.
Let me be crystal clear. My goal during these next forty days is to use the opportunity we have before us to cut wasteful spending and truly right-size our state government. I am not interested in using Georgia’s economic hardship to play political games. And I am not interested in losing valuable time on issues that are not critical to getting us through this time. Through sound, principled decision making we will balance our budget. We will be the best stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars. We will put ourselves on the path towards economic recovery and move our state closer to that day when you no longer have to ask yourself the question “Can my business survive the year?” but “How much will my business grow this year?”
The stakes are high, and Georgians are counting on us to deliver them to the warm sunshine of our brighter tomorrow. And I for one am ready to rise to the occasion, to move our state forward with the kind of consistency you ought to expect out of your elected leaders.
So as we work to prepare our state for the future, we should use this opportunity to redouble our efforts on the core functions of government…like education. Georgia students deserve a world-class education system, and Georgia businesses deserve a top-quality workforce. Now is the time to build a system that lays out options for our students to choose the path to the career of their dreams. A system that provides the same opportunities for a child who wants to work in the health technology field as the child who wants to become a doctor. The reason I have spent so much time promoting career academies is because they work. This model has proven success with their 98% graduation rate and 100% placement rate. These are students who are ready for tomorrow’s workforce and business opportunities today. And folks, they come to you with a no-excuses allowed attitude.
Beyond education, we need to take this opportunity to reinvent the way we deliver and fund the transportation priorities of our state. We need at least 4,000 new road miles and more than $50 billion worth of investment to get us to where we need to be on transportation. And we are never going to get there with the way business is currently being done. We need to stop wringing our hands and complaining about lost opportunities, wasted time and unresponsive bureaucracies. Challenges create opportunities. Now is the time to make something happen. Now is the time to seek private investment in our infrastructure and to encourage innovation. It is a big undertaking, but I know our leaders are up to the task.
And protecting our water resources must remain a top priority if we want to continue to grow in population and economic prosperity. The US Supreme Court decision yesterday not to take up our petition to preserve the water in Lake Lanier is inexcusable. We have been good stewards of our water resources, and it is unacceptable for bureaucrats in Washington or politicians in other states to try to dictate to us how to manage Georgia’s water. As long as I’m a statewide elected official, I will not stop fighting to protect Lake Lanier. And I will do whatever it takes, work across party lines and work with the new Administration to make sure that Georgia’s case is heard and that our resources are protected for our citizens.
I am confident that we can get there. I am confident that working with Governor Perdue and Speaker Richardson, we can make it happen. I have had the pleasure of working with Governor Perdue for many years and I am proud of the leadership he has shown. His steady hand has guided our state through good times and bad, and his sound business decisions have put us in a better position to weather this economic storm. We have all heard the horror stories in other states. California is facing a $25 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2010, and New Jersey looks to be around $4 billion while Florida is staring at $6 billion shortfall. If it wasn’t for the good stewardship of your tax dollars and our philosophy to limit the size of government while reducing unnecessary waste, our state would be in a much worse position.
I have always tried to base my leadership style on a simple set of core principles. Integrity…honesty…and accountability. These are the values that I applied to running my first business, to starting my first bank and to becoming a public official. They are the principles of good business. And I believe they should be the principles of good government as well.
As a businessman, I have met a payroll. I have been accountable to shareholders. I know what it is like to have employees count on you to make sound business decisions. The Lt. Governor has an even greater responsibility. As elected officials, we are accountable to every citizen in Georgia. They count on us to make tough decisions, to stand up and lead on their behalf. And they are counting on us now more than ever.
Ladies and gentlemen, things will get better. Prosperous times will return to Georgia, and I promise you that we have a bright future ahead. And as we move to meet that future, I will continue to do what you have asked of me. I will continue to lead based upon the principles of good government. And I hope you all will join me. Because at the end of the day, our future will be written together. And it is not a story about profit or special interest. Not Republican or Democrat. It’s about our kids and our grandkids. And it’s about Georgia.
Thank you…God Bless You…and God Bless our state and our nation.