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Governor Patrick: Thank you all for being here, and let me be among the many who welcome
you to this house. This is your house, the State House, and you make it your house by
showing up and making your voices heard and making your views known, because we don’t
work for some abstract thing called state government; we work for you. We work for you.
And I’m glad you’re here. What I have asked is not in some abstract sense for just
new revenue for the sake of new revenue. Nobody ever wants to run for office for the sake
of raising taxes. The question is, are we going to make the kinds of sacrifices in our
time that our grandparents made for us to give us the opportunities we have today? During
the blizzard last month, I was out on the Pike at a point when you actually weren’t
supposed to be out on the Pike. We had made all the big decisions about whether to declare
a state of emergency or do the driving ban. We had pretty firm and confident weather forecasts
at that point, and the only folks out on the Pike at that particular moment were plows
and emergency vehicles and me, going to or from, in my case, the emergency bunker in
Framingham. And I was so struck by how quiet the Pike was, knowing that as soon as the
storm was over, everybody would be back crowding that road just as fast as they can. Why? Because
we depend on it. We take it for granted. And I thought to myself at that time, our grandparents
gave us that. We get to take the Pike, or the T, or commuter rail, or this building,
or any number of school buildings for granted because our grandparents made a decision in
their time to sacrifice so that their lives and ours would be better. And what I am asking
of all of the people of the Commonwealth today is to call that question, in our time, for
you, and for your children. What sacrifices are we prepared to make to have a 21st century
modern, safe and convenient transportation system that actually reaches every corner
of the Commonwealth rather than just some? What sacrifices are we going to make in our
time to assure that the 33,000 3- and 4-year-olds come off the waitlist and into quality early
education programs? What kinds of sacrifices? What kinds of sacrifices are we willing to
make at a time when the global economy is in the middle of a knowledge explosion, really
and truly to make college affordable for you? What kinds of sacrifice? And it is quite clear
to me that there is broad consensus that the investments we are talking about making should
be made, that it’s worthy to invest in transportation, that it’s worthy to invest in education
and in workforce development. And I think there is a strong sense that that should happen,
not just by the people who work in this building but the people in the general public. The
issue is always the hard part: how do we pay for it? Are we really willing to ask of each
other a little more in order to get a lot more? So I see the question very much not
as about abstract policy, or more revenue for revenue’s sake. The question is: are
we all in this together? Are we going to lift this Commonwealth together? Are we going to
invest in our future together? With your help, I am sure we will. Thank you so much for being
here.