Empowering our People to Grow their own Hogs

Georgia's Governor Sonny Perdue delivered his eighth and final annual state-of-the-state address to the Georgia General Assembly on January 13, 2010. You can watch it here or read the text here.

The Governor typically uses the state-of-the-state address to present the year's legislative agenda and spending priorities to state Senators and Representatives. Gov. Perdue is now in the last year of his second term, which perhaps explains why this year's address favored ambitious rhetoric over specific details.

He quoted Alexis de Tocqueville, Thomas Paine, the Apostol Paul, Dr. Michael Guido, General Oglethorpe, and the prophet Micah. All of these are men (the small but growing role of women in Georgia government will be a future post). The only woman mentioned (but not quoted) was his wife, Mary, and this was admittedly sweet.

I want to recognize the one Earthly person who has stood out as my inspiration and guide throughout this journey. Mary, you are the person I hope to become. Your kindness and gentleness have not only comforted me, but changed me. Mary, you have been a constant reminder of our purpose in public office, and I thank you for all that you have done as my loving wife and as the First Lady of Georgia.

He made analogies to the American Revolution, the Great Depression, both World Wars as well as Korea and Vietnam, rugby, and hog farming.

Georgians didn’t elect us to see a rugby match with a scrum on every decision. When we don’t work together, our jerseys get so muddy the people can’t even distinguish which team we’re on. And we all come out with mud on our face.

These times demand that we worry less about bringing home the pork, and more about empowering our people to grow their own hogs.

And while he didn't go into much detail, the key statement was this:

If we fail to do the hard thing now, our government will be spread far too thin to ensure that Georgia is educated, healthy, safe and growing.

"The hard thing," mostly, is budget cuts. Education, health care, and criminal justice make up 75% of the state budget, and Georgia has its share of troubles even in typical years when state revenue grows four or five percent. This year, it is an understatement to say that Georgia must trim its budget. It is not likely to be pleasant, but guaranteed to be exciting. I'll be watching closely so I can share the highlights with you!