With just a year since his first budget address, it is interesting to see how dramatically the focus and outlook have changed for first term Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, writes the Philadelphia Business Journal.

A year ago, the newly sworn in Governor focused on “Schools that Teach, Jobs that Pay and Government that Works,” in this year’s address, those topics that were almost completely absent. Instead, the Governor focused on several very different points in his speech, including the crisis in the Commonwealth, budget math, things that have not worked, the current deal, and how to move forward.

“This will not be an ordinary Governor’s budget address,” opened Wolf, saying that under the circumstances, he cannot give that kind of speech. Addressing each member of the General Assembly and every Pennsylvanian, Wolf proceeded to explain “the actions we must take to resolve this crisis, and the consequences we will all face if we don’t.”

Taking the focus off the fight between parties and onto simple math, Governor Wolf stated that the fact was simple, “Pennsylvania now faces a $2 billion budget deficit.”

Wolf then went on to give an overview of all the negative consequences that will befall Pennsylvania’s schools and citizens if the budget is not passed. He put the blame on years of inaction from officials in Harrisburg, saying that “we are in a hole we dug ourselves, right here in Harrisburg. And if the consequences I’m describing sound familiar, it’s because Pennsylvania has been building up to this moment for years.”

The Governor continued to admonish the legislature for all the credit downgrades given to the Commonwealth over the last several years, not hiding his displeasure about the December failure of the deal he made with the legislature.

“While I was disappointed by the Republicans’ proposal, I wasn’t discouraged,” said Wolf. “So I came to the table ready to talk. Ready to negotiate. Ready to compromise. It took months of bargaining. It took some painful sacrifices from both sides. But in the end, all that hard work paid off. We had a deal.”

Saying that House Republicans walked away from that deal caused the chamber to erupt in both boos and applause the from respective parties, before he continued to say that the crises still stands and that the fiscal bomb which is threatening the teachers, seniors, and all Pennsylvanians is still active and ticking.

“It’s up to the people in this chamber to save Pennsylvania’s future,” the Governor declared. “It’s time for the people in this chamber to get back to work.”

Trying to find the path forward, Wolf pledged to sign the compromise budget if the House adopts it.

“Nobody in Pennsylvania will care one iota about the politics of a disaster that costs our Commonwealth so much. I refuse to let that happen. But I cannot stop this catastrophe alone. The people of Pennsylvania need you to do the right thing.”