Inaugural address of  Philip H. Hoff  As it appears in the  Journal  of the  JOINT ASSEMBLY  BIENNIAL SESSION  1963     Thursday, January 17, 1963 Inaugural Address  I  think  things  are  just  a  little  bit  different  here  today  than  they  were  for  about  the  last  109  years  and  I  am reminded  of  being  in  New  Hampshire  recently  when  Governor  King  spoke.    At  that  particular  time  he mentioned something about being Daniel in the Lion’s Den and I kind of appreciated that remark, and I kind of appreciated what he had  to  say  that  followed,  and what he  said,  in  essence, was  this –  that we would get  along just fine.  I am looking forward to being with you for the months ahead and I think we will get along just fine. Lieutenant  Governor  Foote,  Mr.  Speaker,  Members  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Supreme  Court,  fellow Vermonters: I am here  today because  the people of Vermont have clearly voiced a desire for a bold departure  in meeting the pressing problems that face our state.  Vermonters have called for change, and their votes have made me the symbol of this demand for a new and fresh approach in the conduct of State affairs. It  is  not  mere  caprice  that  led  the  people  of  this  State  to  place  the  Office  of  Governor  in  the  hands  of  a Democrat  for  the  first  time  in more  than  a  century.    I  am here only because  the  subtle workings of  a  society  in transition last fall finally broke 109 years of tradition and habit.   This break with the past has great meaning, and its significance must be clearly understood.   No one should mistake  the purpose of our people  to  challenge  the past,  evaluate old  concepts,  and  to  find  solutions, no matter how unpopular, to the host of crucial problems that have placed Vermont at a critical point in its history.  I solemnly accept the responsibility of leadership in this challenge. This is the time to speak the truth in simple and direct terms. And the truth requires that we look closely and dispassionately at ourselves. We  must  not  be  complacent  and  blind  to  the  corrosive  forces  which  are  working  on  the  structure  of  our society. We must  not  let  these  forces  determine  our  destiny. Rather, we must  recognize  them  and  control  them so the future of this State can be faced with confidence. We have all grown familiar with old things that have with time mistakenly become valued as rich traditions. Here  in  Vermont  we  have  many  of  these  old  traditions,  systems  and  institutions  which  have  seized  control  of our  thought and actions. These old  things have been  treasured as  the rich  legacy of an honorable past, but  if we look at them with a critical eye and an open mind in this time of change, many of them will be seen in their true light. This legacy of the past has created the crisis we must now face. The  crisis we  face  today  is  one  of  obsolescence. Many  of  our  old ways  of  doing  things  no  longer  serve  as useful and valuable  tools  in  the efficient handling of our public affairs.  In  fact,  they  thwart and hold us back  in our search for a better future. In  too  many  areas  we  have  disregarded  the  revolutionary  changes  that  have  swept  across  our  State  and Nation.  Our  proud  rural  regions  that  for  so  long  supplied  the  lifeblood  of  Vermont  have  been  allowed  to  fall victims  to  new  forces  that  have  drained  their  capacity  for  growth.  In  the  shadow  of  our  beautiful  Green Mountains many of our communities face a future of stagnation and decay. The land no longer provides as many jobs as it once did, and Vermonters have been forced to move from the farms  to our  larger communities, or  to  leave our State  in search of opportunity. But opportunity can once again be  found  in  Vermont  if  we  but  recognize  our  potential  and  have  the  courage  to  cast  aside  those  old  ways  that force us to squander our resources. For  too  long  we  have  blindly  attempted  to  maintain  the  old  order  in  these  new  times,  and  it  has  been  this costly effort to defend and preserve the past that has sapped much of our strength and stifled our development.  For too long we have paid homage to the lame argument that by keeping the old ways we can more strongly preserve the independence of our smaller communities. The truth is our towns have not retained their traditional independence of spirit and action. That cherished heritage has in reality been blown away by the winds of changing times. As the population in our  smaller  towns  has  dwindled,  their  financial  plight  has  increased.  Their  once  proud  independence  has  been replaced  by  a  servile  dependency  on  offerings  from  State  Government.  This  has  lulled  our  towns  and  dulled their  appetite  for  action.  The  Vermont  traditions  of  independence,  resourcefulness  and  initiative  must  be renewed and revitalized for these are basic strengths. But they have been eroded by our desperate effort to cling to old ways that are now outmoded. The  people  of Vermont  have  clearly  said  they  do  not want  to  continue with  the  old ways,  and  if we  fail  to respond to the forces at work in our society we face a bleak future. I therefore call upon the members of this forty-seventh Biennial Session of the General Assembly to join me in preparing a solid foundation for a bold departure from the past. To achieve  that end  I call  for your cooperation  to meet with me once again during our  terms of office  in an adjourned Session. At  that  time  I  shall present  to you a detailed course of action  that will enable us  to  steer a more meaningful course for the future. In  the  months  before  our  next  meeting,  I  shall  call  upon  members  of  the  General  Assembly  and  other distinguished Vermonters to assist me in clearly delineating the problems of our State and in defining solutions. We  shall  explore  together  those  problems  that  are  plaguing  us  in  the  areas  of  education,  health,  welfare, transportation,  development,  protection,  public  finance,  and  governmental  organization.  When  we  meet  here again we shall act together to transform proposed solutions into programs of action. A detailed  review of  all  of  the  problems  in  these  areas would  serve  no  purpose  here. The mention  of  a  few of the more crucial problem areas will be sufficient. The  children  and  youth  of  Vermont  are  entitled  to  equality  of  opportunity  to  develop  their  abilities  and  to exercise  real  choice  in  objectives.  We  will  deny  them  their  opportunities  and  we  will  bankrupt  ourselves  in costly  patchwork  measures,  if  we  do  not  redesign  and  coordinate  our  school  system  including  institutions  of higher education. Our  present  road  system  has  reached  a  point  of  absurdity.  Our  assignment  of  responsibility  for reconstruction  and  maintenance  of  secondary  and  local  roads  must  be  reexamined  in  terms  of  the  modern realities of daily  travel and  living,  the needs of our people for  integrated road facilities, and  the demands of our major  highways. We must  recognize  that  our  ability  to  develop  and move  forward  is  not  only  dependent  upon better means of communication between various areas of  the State but better means of communication with our neighboring States. Nothing is more important than development of our economy. There is a growing recognition that for many areas of  the State  this development can be accomplished only on  a  regional basis  to permit  effective utilization of  available  talent  and  resources.  Despite  this  recognition  we  remain  poorly  organized  on  the  State  and  local level, to give dynamic impetus in efforts to create new and better job opportunities. We must understand  the basic  factors  that  are  shaping our  economy, do  a better  job  in  fostering  the growth and  effective  management  of  our  many  assets,  and  find  the  means  of  coordinating  the  many  activities  in  this vast  field.    State  and  regional  planning  therefore  will  be  given  full  support  and  direction  from  the  Executive Office and will be a central function in this overall program of review, assessment, and projection. In  problems  of  State  and  local  taxation  and  finance,  there  are  two  interlocking  questions.  In  State  finance, we must determine our ability  to pay  for  the  response  to needs, and within  this capacity  to pay, where we want to  put  emphasis.  This  involves  questions  of  selectivity  and  priorities.  A  look  at  the  local  level  also  raises questions about local resources, about our system of appraising real estate, and about our difficulty in measuring relative capacity to support local services. We must recognize the interdependence of towns, one with another and with the State. We cannot ignore the health of any one unit, because what affects one affects us all. We must examine carefully our governmental structure both State and local and recognize the costly impact of  this  structure  on  Government  finance.  The  recent  Commission  to  Study  State  Government  confined  its attention  largely  to  the  field  of  executive  organization  and management.  Its  bipartisan  effort  and  the  bipartisan response represent only a beginning of what needs to be done. For example, there continue to be many separate agencies  operating  in  the  field  of  mental  health  and  many  separate  agencies  operating  in  the  field  of  resource management  and  development.  We  must  face  the  fact,  however  unpleasant,  that  there  is  a  costly  excess  of Government on the local level. We must, we will, find the way to enable our communities to grow and flourish once again and to check the drifting  course  of  our  economy.  Now  is  the  time  to  determine  where  we  are  and  where  we  are  going.  Our objective  in  this  bold  departure  is  to  assess  and  utilize  all  our  human  and  natural  resources  to  measure  our capacity  for  growth,  and  to  define  the  best  and  most  efficient  course  for  promoting  development  of  the  entire State.  I am sure you are all aware that at the time that I campaigned for Governor of this State that I talked a great deal  about  increased  state  aid  to  education,  and  at  that  time  it  was  felt  that  there  would  be  available  for increased programs  in  all  areas  somewhere  between $6  and $7 million dollars. And when  I  came  to  the budget hearings  I discovered  that  there was $6 and $7 million dollars but  frankly  that  it was already committed.  I  then had  a  choice.  I  had  a  choice  to  increase  taxes  in  some  area  to  provide  the  necessary  increase  in  state  aid  to education  or  I  could  let  it  drop,  and  I  looked  upon  it  as  a  promise.  But  then  when  I  looked  at  the  prospect  of raising additional revenue -- and I think that we all know that it would have had to have been substantial -- I had to consider the fact that if I did this, was I going to be perpetuating a basic evil, and as much as I disliked doing so,  I  had  to  consider  the  cold,  hard  fact  that  in  all  probability  I  would  have  been  projecting  and  continuing  a basic  evil,  and  that  it  wouldn't  have  solved  the  basic  problem  at  all.  And  then  I  had  to  look  to  other  areas  of local  government,  and  I  find  the  same  is  true  of  them  as  well,  and  I  talk  particularly  about  our  road  system. There  is great waste  in our  local road system, I dislike saying so, I know  it's not a popular  thing  to say, but  it  is nevertheless the cold, hard truth. And  ladies  and  gentlemen,  we  have  reached  a  point  in  the  history  of  the  State  of  Vermont  where  we  are going to have to face up to these situations. And if you will think about them, and think about them hard, I think you will  recognize  that  this  cuts  across virtually  every  area of  local government. On  the State  level,  I must  say that  I am extremely concerned about  the drifting course of our economy. For example,  I bring  to your attention the  whole  question  of  bonding.  Virtually  every  person  that  I  talk  to  who  is  knowledgeable  in  this  field  agrees that we have about reached the limit of our bonding and we have not faced up to a couple of other factors that I think we've passed over  too easily. For example,  I  talk about Federal programs. We have been awfully anxious to match  these  Federal  programs  and  yet  in  a  very  real  sense what's  happened  here  is  this  has  committed  us  to courses of action which, if we had thought about them seriously and forgotten about the State Aid we might not well have followed. We  are  a  small  state. We  are  limited  in  numbers  of  people  and  yet we  are  trying  to  provide  essentially  the same services that are carried on in states twice, and many, many times our size, and it is terribly expensive and we have limited resources, and the time has come that we just cannot allow ourselves to continue to drift in this way. And what  I  am  trying  to  say  is  this:  the  time has come  to  sit  down  and  take  a  good  look  at  ourselves  and try to analyze who we are, what we are, what we have in the way of possible revenues that we can raise and still make Vermont an attractive place to live, and once recognizing this, proceed ahead, putting our emphasis on the most  needed  programs  and  from  there  on  down. What's  happened  here  in  the  past,  in  my  opinion  –  and  I  feel very  strongly  that  this  is  correct  --  is  that we  have  not  been  selective  in  those  things  that we would  do,  and  of recent years we've used bonding as a means of getting around it. Now I'm well aware that there are going to be many people who are going to say, "Well, this is just another study  program."  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  is  not  just  another  study  program,  because  the  problems  I  am talking  about we  are going  to meet. We  are going  to have  to meet  them, unless we want  to bankrupt  this State. The  solutions  are  not  easy  and  they  fly  in  the  face  of  tradition.  I  don't  like  particularly  to  do  this  and  I'm well aware  that  it won't make me  a popular person, but  the  time has  come  to  face up  to  these questions  and we will face up  to  these questions, but  I  don't want  to be  in  the position of plunging  into  solutions  in  areas which have existed for hundreds of years without being mighty sure that we know what we're doing. In  the  meantime,  of  course,  our  Government  must  continue  to  function.  To  that  end  I  will  present  to  you later this month a budget for the next fiscal year only that will permit our State to move ahead to the very limits of  its  current  ability.  I  trust  you  will  act  swiftly  and  with  a  spirit  of  cooperation  in  this  proposed  course  of events. We need not improvise during this first meeting of the 1963 General Assembly and we should conserve our energies and our innovations until we meet here again. The full authority vested in the executive office will be  used  to  the  utmost  in  this  bold  departure  and  to  assist  those  of  you  who  agree  that  new  ways  should  be pursued in laying the foundation for the revival of our beloved State. We cannot afford  to pursue  the old ways any  longer. The  risk  is  too great. True,  there are hazards along  the way of any new endeavor. But there is also the challenge of opportunity in participating in a great leap forward. New methods have always been resisted by the timid and by the vested interests. We have too long accepted the belief we cannot change with the times. We have for too long heard only the cries about the risk involved in change. We now must  lift our eyes  to  the opportunities  that are within our grasp  if we only have  the courage  to reach out for them. I  have  no  fear  the  differences  in  our  political  affiliations will  hold  us  from  the  task  at  hand. On  this  day  of dedication we know in our minds and hearts that our business is no mere business of politics. A former Governor of the State said: "Whatever may be our party preferences, and however strongly we may adhere to the principles we profess, the  legislation  required  for  the  domestic  Government  of  the  State,  does  not  ordinarily  involve  our  political opinions or excite the asperity of party controversy."   These  words  by  Governor  John  S.  Robinson,  the  last  Democratic  Governor  of  Vermont,  in  his  bid  for harmony are as pertinent today as they were a century ago. Our State has faced hours of decision in  its past. On each occasion  this decision has been met by  leadership of  candor  and  vitality.  And  that  leadership  has  always  had  the  support  of  the  people  which  is  so  essential  to success. The people of Vermont have every  right  to expect us  to provide  the necessary cooperative  leadership  in  the days ahead, and I pledge my best effort to provide the leadership these times require. A  proud  past  deserves  a  proud  future,  and with  the  courage  the  times  demand  of  us, we will  forge  a  future that will see this proud State rally and surge forward. We can gain strength from our past to embark on this venture and successfully meet the challenges that face us. With God's help, we will have the courage, the imagination and the will to begin this venture now.