Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. First to our great madam secretary of state, who is doing just a fantastic job. Lets give her a round of applause. [ applause ] his eminence, thank you once again for your leadership and guidance. Cardinal oconnor. [ applause ] we have our attorney general, who is doing great work with us. Eric schneiderman, please stand. [ applause ] our new york state controller who is doing a great job, tom da naply. [ applause ] we have mayor bill de blasio of new york city. The last time i was with the mayor, we were at new years eve. We did a new Years Eve Party in a subway station at the Second Avenue subway. Nobody had heard of it before. It went so well that the mta is now starting a catering service. You can have a party at the Second Avenue subway. Theyre specializing in marriages, and they will time the oncoming trains so the rumble happens right after the vows. But it was a great night. Bill de blasio. Lets give him a round of applause. [ applause ] we have new york city controller scott stringer, who is doing a magnificent job. [ applause ] the other local elected officials and members of our court of appeals and our chief judge, janet defury. Thank you very much for being here. Thank you. [ applause ] for the past few days weve been talking about the state of the state. To put it shortly and concisely, the positive news is that the ship of state is doing very well and is stronger than it has been in decades. There are 49 are governors in this country that give this type of report, and i wouldnt change positions with any of them. New york has truly made remarkable economic and social progress. Not since the time of fdr and robert moses has our government passed more impactful legislation, achieved more or built more for the people. But at the same time, the troubling reality is the sea upon which our ship of state sails is as rough and tempesttossed as it has been in over 50 years. Our new york credo, indeed our american credo, our progressive philosophy in providing opportunity for all and welcoming immigrants and fostering community, providing for the poor, respecting individual and religious freedom its all being questioned, blamed, and attacked. The generations of progress that we have made on womens rights, climate change, public education, and Affordable Health care are being threatened. There is a recent and powerful belief that americas diversity, openness, and acceptance is in conflict with the success of americas middle class working families. That belief is both misguided and incredibly dangerous. It tears at our social fabric, and it threatens to turn americas strength into a weakness. Now, we all heard the roar on election day, and we must respond. But we cannot lose ourselves in an apparent attempt to save ourselves. We must follow two paths forward. First, to admit, acknowledge, and address the very real economic problems of our struggling middle class, and, second, to prevent misdirected anger from doing damage to our countrys core values. This year we will enact a new economic program, the middle class economic recovery act, and institute the new york Promise Agenda to protect and advance our progressive values and principles of social justice that are being challenged today. To begin, new york must continue to be strong and move forward. New york has maintained a level of fiscal responsibility unknown in the postwar era. After years of spending more than we took in, we have finally done what every family in the state of new york has had to do. We set a budget, and we kept to it. Our annual spending increases are lower than at any time since theyve been keeping budget numbers. Our Credit Rating is as high as it has been in 60 years. Our unemployment is down from 8. 4 six years ago to 5. 1 today. And the good news is our economic success is felt all across the state. Today new york has 7. 95 private sector jobs, the most private sector jobs in the history of the state of new york. [ applause ] and i would like to thank the state controller for his good work in helping us maintain the fiscal integrity and responsibility of this state. Thank you, mr. Controller. [ applause ] the states increase in spending is down because we are governing smarter. We cut the waste, and we prioritized better. Weve invested more in education than at any time in history and more than any state in the nation. Suny, cuny, the Master Teacher program, and im proud to announce that this year we will increase funding for education to a new record level alltime high all across the state, and that new york city will receive more aid for education than it has ever received from the state of new york in history. [ applause ] and we are building a new new york, for Montauk Point to niagara falls, from the long island rail road to penn station, from the Second Avenue subway to the from our harbor of liebl of lights bridges project to our new jones beach. We are not just starting projects, but we are getting them done, and thats governments responsibility. And we are performing for the people of the state of new york. And what makes our economic progress even sweeter is that it is matched by unprecedented social progress. At the same time we did all our economic work and our infrastructure work, we passed marriage equality. We passed paid family leave. We passed common sense gun control. We passed a 15 minimum wage. New york once again is truly the progressive capital of the nation. E. B. White, my friends, would be pleased. The nation once again looks to new york to find the way up. [ applause ] i am proud of the work we have done and how far new york has come over the last six years. But this is not the time for selfcongratulation. It is the time to prepare for the future because we will not stop working until the bright light of opportunity shines on all new yorkers. We still have two educational systems in this state, one for the rich and one for the poor, separate and unequal, and that, my friends, is simply intolerable in 2017. [ applause ] we still have a judicial system that is supposed to be blind, but that all too often finds the scales of justice tipped by resources or race. We still have an electoral system that protects the prerogatives of politicians at the expense of voters. Our countrys Economic Transformation has made a handful rich and masses redundant. People still lack trust in government and for good cause. And i believe and understand that the government must do more to earn the peoples trust. Our safety net is tattered, and we have record numbers of homeless on our streets. Our jails have become the Mental Health system of last resort, and acts of discrimination, hate crimes, and racism are on the raise. Most pervasive, our middle class is hurting and angry at their lack of progress. In terms of real wages, the earning potential of working families is less than it was 20 years ago. They are paying the bills, but they are lacking security. Our middle class feels abused. They were Collateral Damage in the economic shift from the manufacturing economy to the hightech economy, and they feel that their government did nothing to help. In the recession of 2007, the middle class saw their hardearned equity in their homes stolen. Nearly half the homes of our middle class are not yet back to their prerecession value. Just think of it. That home equity was their lifes work. It was their security blanket, the payment for their daughters wedding. It was their Business Loan and their childs college tuition. It was taken through no fault of their own, but they never got it back, and no one ever went to jail, and justice was never done. And that is not the american way. The dream that their children is going to have a better life seems more and more elusive as the cost of college and housing goes up and up. Student debt now surpasses Credit Card Debt and consumer debt, and more College Graduates are living at home than in decades. Now, we can quote economic recovery numbers all day long. It is not their reality. Talk to the people from my home county of queens. Go to the gas station on hillside avenue where i worked. The pizzeria where we hung out. Its not what they feel. It is not their reality. And this opposition and this conflict is what is causing the rough waters we see and feel all around us. We understand the anger, and we will address it. Today i am proposing a middle class recovery act. It has three components jobs and infrastructure, access to education, and lower taxes. Our top objective is to keep growing and attracting jobs to new york, especially middle class jobs. We must continue our investment in building the infrastructure that will support 21st century economies. New york has lived off its inheritance for too long. We must build for tomorrow, or other states and countries will continue to pass us by. Mass transit will enable our sustained growth. This year, we will build a faster and better subway system with 1,200 new cars, dozens of rehabbed and modernized subway stations, and 20 rebuilt commuter stops. And lets give tom prender gaft, chairman of the mta, a big round of applause for the good work that hes doing. Please stand, tom. [ applause ] we are building a new laguardia, and last week we announced a 10 billion plan for a new john f. Kennedy airport. Well be announcing other important Infrastructure Projects statewide this week. At the same time, we must be ever mindful of the present threat of terrorism, especially in new york city. Our success breeds envy, and envy makes us a target. So when we build, we will be implementing new antiterrorism prevention measures, increased Police Presence at our bridges, tunnels and airports. New Electronic Security and equipment that will read license plates both to move traffic faster but also afford police a new effective Law Enforcement tool theyve never had before. And we must continue to invest in the industries of tomorrow. In this state with all our diversity, there is no one size fits all. So we work region by region in developing economies. In buffalo, a medical Research Industry is growing in combination with the u. B. Medical school. In rochester, the engineering legacy of kodak, xerox, and barb and laum is birthing the photonics industry. Our redcs are doing great, great work. And i propose another 750 million in economic developments to keep the growth coming and the jobs being delivered. [ applause ] tid, i am excited to announce we are going to invest 650 million to help fuel the new Life Sciences economy starting right here in new york city. We are partnering with johnson and johnson and the Genome Center to advance cuttingedge Genetic Research that will save lives and create jobs, and new york is the place to do it. [ applause ] we will also work to strengthen our outer boroughs. As i am a native outer borough boy as you can tell from my accent. We will invest in the kings bridge armory and Orchard Beach for more desperately needed urban recreation opportunities, and we will invest 50 million in Montefiore Hospital to preserve Affordable Health care. [ applause ] we will offer residents of Staten Island permanent verrazano toll reductions. [ applause ] queens will see two new airports, a new jfk and a new laguardia because im from queens. [ applause ] and we want to make brooklyn a new model for health care, incorporating Prevention Strategies into lifestyle and community development. Better food and diets with green markets offering new york Certified Organic products from farms and businesses in new york. We will be building more recreation facilities, more communitybased clinics, and we will make brooklyn a model for wellness. [ applause ] we have an exciting opportunity to attract jobs because the Economic Cycle has turned. Many corporations that went overseas for cheap labor have learned a very important lesson. They learned that sometimes you get what you paid for, and theyre coming back to the u. S. , and we want them back in new york. The key to the jobs of tomorrow is having an education. Advanced manufacturing requires skills and an education. The truth is that automation has taken american jobs far more than any immigrant has taken american jobs. [ applause ] but these economic changes have always been happening. During the industrial revolution, textile workers protested that machines and steam engines would destroy their livelihoods. In 1928, a New York Times headline proclaimed, march of machines makes idle hands. In 1961, president kennedy declared, the major domestic challenge of the 1960s was to maintain full employment when automation is replacing men. We have been through this before. Technology takes jobs, but then it creates more jobs than it destroys. Who gets them . People with an education get them. And at this time in history, as leaders of this state, it is our mission to lead the way and prepare our people for those jobs and bring those jobs back home to new york. And thats why in this session [ applause ] and that is why in this session i am proposing tuitionfree college at suny and cuny and our Community Colleges for students and families up to 125,000. Thats 80 of our people, 1 million families. It will change lives. And it will restore hope for thousands of children who never believed they could make it to college. This program go ahead. Look at it. [ applause ] thats only because youre my daughter. This program is a statement of new york values. Education should be a right, not a privilege. It shouldnt be about your income or your zip code or your ethnicity. And thats why i also propose the dream act, to help make all our childrens dreams come true. [ applause ] to further level the playing field, we will offer additional help to children in schools with poor districts. In 2017, my friends, the pword, poverty, is still a challenge we must address. We are proud that we pioneered our statewide prek, the first in the nation, but we need more. Today we are announcing a new pilot Afterschool Program that will target new york city and other cities in the state with our poorest communities. It will provide extended school hours for afterschool mentoring tutoring, and recreation all in a safe environment. [ applause ] creating a state that is economically competitive means keeping regulations sensible, the government entrepreneurial, and most importantly, taxes competitive. This year i will propose that we provide additional relief to working and middle class families with a middle class child care tax credit. The average annual Child Care Cost for two is 25,000 per year. This year, we will double the Child Tax Credit to help reduce the Child Care Costs for more than 200,000 hardworking new york families, and that will make a real difference in the way people live. [ applause ] i believe these measures will help alleviate the middle class anger. People focused energy generated by that anger, and when they focus that energy and they do it in a positive way, it can be a great force for reform. But misdirected, that anger can be destructive. It can scapegoat, and it can demonize. It can spread fear of those who are different, and it can destroy the uniquely American Values and progressive principles that are the foundation of this society. The number of hate crimes that has erupted recently in new york is disturbing. The kkk flyers, swastikas, white supremacist and antisemitic rants happening all across the state. It is disgusting, and it is ignorant, and it is antiamerican. [ applause ] because as we know in new york better than anywhere, we are all immigrants unless youre a native american. We all come from different places, and we not only coexist in america, but cooperate, and we work together, and we forge community. That is what makes this nation unique on the globe. We share benefits, and we share burdens without discrimination or judgment. That is the american promise, and that is the new york legacy. New york knows that our progressive principles of acceptance and diversity are not the enemy of our middle class, and we know that the middle class success is not the enemy of our progressive beliefs. In fact, it was the progressive policies that created the nations middle class in the first place. [ applause ] president roosevelt put people back to work while he regulated banks, while he established a minimum wage, while he created labor rights that built labor unions, social security, and built an infrastructure all at the same time. [ applause ] the answer for people who believe they are not getting a big enough piece of the american pie is not to try to take the piece of pie from your neighbor. It is not to fight for the scraps left by the rich. The answer is to grow the pie for all, and thats what we have to do. [ applause ] and if this is going to be a debate in this nation, which way to go forward, you have heard our philosophy. And if it is a debate, then we stand with abraham lincoln, who said and i quote america will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. We stand with mario cuomo, who said, some people believe that the wagon train will not make it to the frontier unless some of the old, some of the young, some of the weak are left behind by the side of the trail. We believe in something else. We believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact. [ applause ] at these stormy times of instability and confusion, let the great state of new york serve as a safe harbor for our progressive principles and social justice that made america. We wil