New York Governor Targets Economy in State of the State Address

The most important thing, he said, is “to build the trust that the people in New York once had in their state government.”

“We can attract businesses only if they believe in the integrity of [the] state government,” he said. “We can initiate job creation as long as our credit rating is strong.”

To do this, Paterson planned an ethics reform called The Reform Albany Act to bring fairness and openness to the government. It will establish an independent ethics commission to oversee government officers.

“We must address the chronic abuse of power,” he said. “The chronic, continuing experiences of outside influence and inside decay have bred cynicism and scorn in the people we represent.”

Another reform Paterson proposed for the government is for it to have a spending cap. “We can be competitive on property taxes if, and only if, we can keep spending down,” he said.

For the citizens, Paterson proposes the Sustainable Neighborhoods Project, which aims to provide affordable housing. It includes rehabilitating blighted homes and selling them at affordable prices to first-time homeowners selected through a lottery. He noted that there are over 23,000 vacant homes in Buffalo, which will make the project feasible.