IN January, George Pataki addressed the New York state legislature as governor for the eleventh time--and proceeded to deliver an interminable speech on creating more bird sanctuaries, building new ethanol facilities, and encouraging kids to exercise. In what turned out to be a major applause line, he announced: "This morning I signed an executive order requiring all state agencies and authorities to begin using non-toxic cleaning products." When Pataki finally focused on taxes--New Yorkers endure the highest tax burden in the country--he mostly bragged about the achievements of the past. His major new proposal was to accelerate the phase-out of an income tax increase--a tax hike that had occurred on his own watch.
In fairness, Pataki didn't actually favor that particular tax hike. Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature conspired to pass it against his wishes and then overrode his veto. Yet as Pataki contemplates another run for governor in 2006--or perhaps even a campaign for the presidency in 2008--it is difficult not to compare his latest state-of-the-state speech with the one he delivered a decade ago. "The government of New York state is too big and it spends too much money," said the Pataki of 1995. Still on a high from his upset victory over Mario Cuomo, his liberal Democratic predecessor, the new GOP governor laid out a plan for aggressive tax cuts and spending reductions. And in the months ahead, he achieved much of what he sought and saved New York taxpayers billions of dollars.
Somewhere along the way, however, Pataki lost his enthusiasm for this bold project. Ten years ago, he had a chance to become one of America's great governors. But starting in the late 1990s, he devoted much of his energy to raising taxes and fees to keep up with state spending, arranging billion-dollar backroom deals with union bosses, and worrying about what kind of toilet-bowl cleaners swirl into the potties of Albany. Today, he presides over a state that just finished dead last in a survey of economic freedom conducted by Forbes magazine and the Pacific Research Institute. His tenure as the Empire State's chief executive began with incredible promise--but its legacy almost certainly will be one of squandered opportunity, shrunken ambition, and conservative disappointment.