Sounding very much like a politician running for national office, Governor George Pataki delivered his 12th and final State of the State address, and in the 54 minutes that he spoke he managed to articulate only a sketchy vision for New York in 2006, identifying “cutting taxes, improving our children’s education, creating jobs, and protecting our natural environment” as his agenda for the year.

By all accounts, Pataki’s speech before a joint session of the State Legislature, Jan. 4, offered little in the way of ideas or a realistic roadmap for governing the nation’s third largest state, with an estimated population of 19,254,630 (NYS Data Center). One observer, who watched the speech live on television, noted that “Pataki said little of any value to New Yorkers. He could very well have given that speech in Iowa.” The ultra conservative New York Post had this to say in its editorial: “Gov. Pataki yesterday delivered his 12th and final State of the State message to a jointly convened session of the State Legislature. Highlights follow:

“Blah, blah, blah….government that works…blah, blah, blah, blah…empower the people…blah, blah, blah and blah, blah….unshakeable resolve…blah, blah. Blah…”

Pataki didn’t even try to play down the appearance that he was using the opportunity to project himself as a potential presidential candidate to a national audience. It’s hard to miss the reference to President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address whose message “inspired” a 15-year-old George Pataki with its “energy, optimism, and patriotism… When JFK urged us to consider what we as Americans could contribute to our nation, rather than what we could expect from it…”

If, as recent news reports and poll results suggest, New Yorkers are not excited or paying any attention to Pataki’s presidential ambitions, his tax-cutting proposal is likely to excite the Republicans in Iowa and other key primary states. Pataki’s “pro-family” tax-cutting program -- which includes eliminating the marriage penalty tax, cutting taxes to help family farms and small businesses, and cutting the income tax rate for families and businesses -- echoes the Bush White House theme that tax cuts are good for the economy. Pataki said his pro-family tax cut program will not only “reduce the tax burden on working families, stimulate the economy and foster the competitiveness that will attract even more investment and jobs to New York,” it will also “empower New York State to excel in the emerging global economy...Tax cuts work. And when we cut taxes, New Yorkers work,” Pataki declared.

Local 237 President Carl Haynes, who attended the governor’s address in Albany with Secretary-Treasurer Gregory Floyd and Political and Legislative Director Patricia Stryker, said he was “not surprised” that the governor “would squander” the state’s budget surplus on giveaways instead of using it to bolster education in the city and public services across the state. “The MTA -- a state agency which Pataki controls -- did the same thing when they used their budget surplus to reward tourists to the city with bonus tickets during the holidays while telling the workers they were negotiating with that they couldn’t give them decent raises and couldn’t afford to pay for their hospital insurance. It’s the same Bush White House obsession with giving away our hard-earned surplus to people who do not need a tax cut.

“Our taxes pay for vital public services for residents. If you cut taxes you cannot provide those essential services, which means you either have to reduce or eliminate services. That’s why President Bush’s budget slashes education, health care, tuition aid, and child care funding to finance greater tax cuts for the wealthy.”

Even Mayor Bloomberg, who sat in the audience in the Capitol building, is reported saying he would prefer the surplus be spent on education than on tax cuts.

Besides tax cuts, other items on Pataki’s agenda included tougher action against sexual predators, including longer sentences for those convicted of violent sexual crimes, and ending the statute of limitations for rape and other sexual assaults. He also plans, in his final year in office, to embark on a “comprehensive package of education reforms and enhancements to provide new opportunities for students and to empower parents." This would include access to tutoring services and after-school programs, adding more charter schools, new math and science summer programs at community colleges, and free SUNY or CUNY tuition to students who pursue math and science.