O'Malley to Focus on 'Choices' in State of the State

The word of the day is "choice."

Gov. Martin O'Malley will give his seventh State of the State speech at noon on Wednesday. The focus of his address will be the choices state government has made during his terms in office, according to portions of the speech released by his office.

"When the national recession hit—wiping out jobs and revenues all across our country—other states tried to cut their way to prosperity. Many found this only made things worse. Laying off police officers, fire fighters and teachers, cutting public education, hiking up college tuition by double digits every single year, continuing down the merry path of cutting taxes for the very wealthy, hoping against cruel experience that somehow it would trickle down to the rest of their citizens."

"But in Maryland, we made better choices," O'Malley is expected to say, according to the prepared text.

The governor will focus on efficiencies in government over the last few years as well as more than $8 billion in reductions to expected spending made since 2007.

"Knowing that we could not cut our way to prosperity, we balanced record budget cuts with modern investments; investments in the very priorities that create jobs and expand opportunity: educating, innovating, and rebuilding for a better economic future," according to O'Malley's prepared text.

"These are the choices which enable us to invest in a stronger and better future: more job creation, more opportunity, and a stronger, growing middle class.

"Better choices. Better results. The proof is in our progress," O'Malley said in his prepared remarks.