Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Nydia Negron (212) 788-9364
"In order to understand where we are going, it is first important to remember where we are coming from and where we have been," Mayor Giuliani said. "Over the course of the past 60 years, the decision-making process has shifted away from local institutions that have a direct impact on people's lives to those that are further removed from them.
"Government at a distance is bound to be ineffective. It cannot accurately reflect the aspirations, needs and desires of local communities. The result is often that people feel alienated, angry and less connected to the political process."
The Mayor spoke about a new vision of a society that functions best when people's lives are most influenced by the institutions that are closest to them, such as family, religious and community groups, schools and voluntary organizations and municipal government.
"Today we are seeing that governments closest to the people are the most competent," said Mayor Giuliani naming the cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Indianapolis as examples of effective, hands-on municipal governments. "Municipal government does best when it is independent and apart from the mandates of the state and federal government."
"It is a movement where government provides sufficient resources but where individual people and families take responsibility for the decisions that affect their lives."
Addressing his administration's welfare reform program, the Mayor pointed out that this initiative has helped move 166,000 people off welfare. Over 35,000 are now on workfare and a total of 90,000 people have participated in the program. These numbers are the largest of any city or state in the nation.
"The core of this success lies in the fact that New York City is encouraging a movement toward individual responsibility," said the Mayor. "We are moving decision-making back to the people."
Speaking about the federal Welfare Reform Act, the Mayor said that it is a mandate to move large numbers of people off welfare and into workfare but it does not provide the resources that a city and state governments need to implement the mandate.
The Mayor also spoke about how other "unfunded mandates" by Congress and the President are shifting burdens to local governments pointing out that the costs of supporting legal immigrants should not be delegated to local governments.
" Washington has dominion over how many people come in and taxes them once they are here," said the Mayor. "Then it washes its hands of responsibility for immigrants once they are here. They claim to have solved a problem by giving the problem to us but do not give us the necessary resources to deal with it."
The Mayor reiterated that the most effective and competent decision-making is being done at the local level and this can be seen in the dramatic reduction in crime, the improvement in the quality of life and in helping people off welfare with the largest workfare program in the country.
"Today there is renewed faith and hope for the future in our City," said the Mayor. "It is a future that I am sure will live up to Tom Cuite's expectations."
The lecture series at St. Francis College is named after Thomas J. Cuite to commemorate his dedicated public service to the City of New York. He began his respected career in 1953 in the New York State Senate and later was elected to the New York City Council. In 1969, he was elected vice-chairman and majority leader of the Council.