Video summary
Governor Wolf reflects on his seven-year tenure, noting how personal life changes like aging and becoming a grandfather have deepened his commitment to democratic processes. He emphasizes that the friction and disagreements inherent in governance are essential strengths rather than weaknesses, shaping him into a more dedicated advocate for democracy over time. Looking back at Pennsylvania's financial trajectory, he contrasts the dire economic conditions of his early years with the current stability achieved through collaboration on major issues such as pension reform, liquor laws, and medical marijuana legalization. This journey from conflict to compromise allowed the state to move forward effectively by the second budget cycle, demonstrating that working together yields tangible results despite initial ambitious goals facing legislative hurdles.
The Governor takes pride in listing significant achievements across various sectors, including criminal justice reform which reduced the prison population, expanding Medicaid coverage to achieve historically low uninsured rates, and investing billions into public education. He highlights unique milestones like Pennsylvania being the first state to pass a GI Bill or farm bill, as well as joining regional climate initiatives and building a substantial rainy day fund. A key point of pride is handing over a budget surplus for the first time in forty years, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to address long-standing needs without raising taxes on citizens. Instead of increasing burdens on families struggling with mortgages, insurance, and healthcare costs like braces, this fiscal health allows the state to focus resources where they are most needed while maintaining economic stability.
With a balanced budget secured, Governor Wolf outlines his priorities for finishing strong before leaving office, focusing primarily on education as a transformative force that defines the future of the state. He argues that underfunding education is essentially cheating citizens out of their potential and future prosperity, making it the single most important investment available to any government. Alongside educational support, he intends to address minimum wage adjustments and corporate tax structures to ensure workers have opportunities in an ever-changing global economy. His goal is not to introduce numerous new ancillary programs but rather to complete unfinished tasks that will make Pennsylvania a place where people want to learn, live, and stay long-term.
Ultimately, the Governor frames this final budget address as a call to action to cross the finish line on critical initiatives before his term ends naturally. He urges colleagues not to waste the current surplus by frittering it away but instead to use these funds responsibly for families trying to make ends meet across Pennsylvania. By focusing on education and fair economic policies, he aims to demonstrate that democracy works when leaders prioritize collaboration over partisanship. The video concludes with a vision of leaving office having shown the world that democratic governance can achieve real progress while protecting the well-being of ordinary citizens facing everyday financial challenges.
Read the full video transcript
[Music]
i think people who are term limited
might
be
forgiven for
actually coasting in their their last
year but i think you want to run through
the finish line
this job has changed me i'm seven years
older now than i was when i started this
job i have three grandchildren i didn't
have before
francis and i are in our 47th year of
marriage
and i am more of a
advocate for democracy now than i even
was and i was a big fan before i got
here it's the the give and take the
frictions the the annoying
disagreements that that
are so much a part of of democracy
that's what makes us stronger
each budget address has i think sort of
reflected
the tenor of of where we were
financially
we were in rotten financial shape in my
first couple years
so i i put out a budget that said let's
fix this all things are possible and it
was a little more ambitious than
apparently the general assembly wouldn't
wanted to go along with
then we started working together a
pension system then we worked together
on liquor we worked together on
legalizing medical marijuana and by the
time we got to the second budget
we could actually start
moving toward compromise
i i do a lousy job in terms of
touting the things that have been done
but but
you know
thinking about it
we really have done a lot we've done
criminal justice reform expansion
medicaid i mean we have the lowest
uninsured rate in pennsylvania history
1.9 billion dollars into public
education 11 000 fewer prisoners in our
prisons pennsylvania was the first state
to have a gi bill we have the first farm
bill
joining the regional greenhouse gas
initiative and we have almost three
billion dollars in the rainy day fund
i'm proud to be the first governor in
four decades to hand over a budget
surplus to my successor
because of the surplus we can actually
do something we have never been able to
do in in my seven years and that is to
say you know what we can pay our bills
and we don't have to raise anybody's
taxes in fact we can reduce the
corporate income tax the the question i
guess is is what do we do with this
surplus
and
the last thing you want to do is fritter
it away
i think of that family down the street
or down the road and they're trying to
make ends meet and they're trying to pay
the car bill they're trying to pay their
insurance bill
they're trying to pay the mortgage or
the rent and then you know one of their
children ends up needing braces and they
got to pay for that
i'm trying to think of of that family
what what is it that we can do at the
state level
the first thing is education that's
transformational
i'm not sure there's anything that's
more important
for a state than education
when we
stiff education we're basically just
saying well we're gonna
you know we're stiffing ourselves we're
cheating ourselves out of our future the
other two things the minimum wage and
the corporate and income tax are
basically saying
if we do a good job in preparing you for
a career in this complicated and
ever-changing world that we live in then
we need you to have opportunities
i'd like to make this a place that
people want to come and learn and then
stay
i i'm not really loading this budget up
with a whole lot of ancillary things
they're just a few things and it's
basically come on we've done so many
different good things together here are
a few things that remain to be done
let's get them done bring them across
the finish line
[Music]
let's finish the job and
by the way in the process let's show the
world that democracy actually works