Friday, May 21, 2010

FRM JEB BRADLEY!!

Our core beliefs of limited government, fiscal restraint, low taxes, personal responsibility and individual freedoms are being pummeled by the Democrats. Our fight must start right now to save our state values!

The news from Concord could not be more alarming. Our state long known for prudent fiscal management currently confronts a $220 million deficit in this budget. The deficit picture in the next budget gets even worse – an almost unimaginable $600 million and counting as federal revenue disappears.

Given that backdrop – one might think that the Democrats who control the state Legislature would do what hard working families and small business owners across our state are doing: cutting expenditures.

Unfortunately that is not the case. In the last two budgets spending has increased by 23% followed by over 70 tax and fee increases including the job killing income tax on business owners, the LLC Tax, and numerous other taxes that have made New Hampshire less competitive.

Now it is time to pay the piper, but as I write this Concord Democrats are looking for clever ways to dig deeper into everyone’s wallet rather than trimming runaway spending. Under consideration are a Capital Gains Tax, an Estate Tax, the fifth increase in six years on tobacco and additional tax hikes on other tobacco products, increases in pet shop licensure fees, a new tax on electricity, hikes in the insurance premium taxes, and the old-standby, down shifting costs to cities and towns causing property tax hikes.

The Democrats who control the Legislature do not comprehend two simple facts: as a state we cannot continue this spending binge and hard working taxpayers are already maxed out.

The unemployment rate is out of sight and working families are struggling to find jobs and keep their jobs while small businesses across the state are fighting to stay in business.

What the folks who control the Legislature also don’t comprehend is the devastating impact these job killing taxes – especially business owner income taxes – are having on our economy. 52,508 of our friends and neighbors in New Hampshire are out of work. While national unemployment has begun to inch downward, ours has stubbornly stayed near its high. All these new taxes have already hurt our chances of recovery. Adding a Capital Gains and Estate Tax makes it ever more likely an income and sales tax are just over the horizon and these taxes will ensure that our economy continues to deteriorate while New Hampshire citizens remain out of work.

If you have been receiving these email updates over the year that I have served in the New Hampshire Senate you know what my top priorities are: economic recovery, cutting spending, repealing job killing taxes and curtailing the reach and control of big government into every corner of our lives.

It's time to say loudly and clearly that enough is enough!
If you believe as I do that we need to change priorities in Concord --- then I need your help. Please click here to visit my website and visit the Contributions page to make a contribution today.

Please consider donating $25, $50, $100, or even $250, $500, $1000 to my campaign for re-election to the New Hampshire Senate from District 3 in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley.

Never has an upcoming election been so critical for our State’s future. Critical to assure we make tough spending decisions and reduce the growth in government.

Critical to assure we maintain our family values. Critical to assure New Hampshire does not enact a sales and income tax or new business taxes that will drive even more jobs away.

Thank you very much for your consideration and financial support. Together we can turn our state around in 2010.

House Democrats Ignore Revenue Warnings….Again

Republicans Predict $360M Shortfall



Concord—Ignoring their mistake of three years ago when over-exuberant revenue estimates led to a huge state budget deficit, House Democrats are once again basing their budget on revenues that are totally unrealistic, given the current state of the economy.



Rep. Norm Major, a seven term veteran of the New Hampshire House and a former chairman of the House Ways & Means committee, first warned the majority party in April, 2007 that their revenue projects were much higher than economic forecasts could possibly support. This week the majority party chose once again to ignore history and turned their backs on Major’s revenue predictions a second time by refusing to allow him to present his updated estimates on the floor of the House.



“If we are going to be dealing with the budget over the next week in a committee of conference, shouldn’t the House be made aware of an additional $57M problem? Shouldn’t we know about a potential $360M deficit? But we were prevented from bringing these figures to the House floor. When I asked Speaker Norelli she told me that we were, ‘Running out of time and that there was a race getting ready to start.’ What is more important, the start of a road race or a budget deficit that is pushing New Hampshire toward financial disaster?” asked Major.



According to Rep. Major, the Democrats over inflated estimates on three major taxes will result in an additional $57M shortfall, increasing the budget deficit to $360M, a jump of 19%.



Democrats are estimating $503M in business taxes for 2011, $40M higher than Major’s estimates and a 13% increase overall. This comes despite the fact that all businesses filing with money in April this year are down 10.5%. When it comes to Meals & Rooms taxes, the Democrats have actually increased the tax rate by 12.5% while revenues have only seen an 8.3% increase. Reasonable growth in this economy is no more than 3%, but Democrats are anticipating a growth of $10M in meals and rooms, or a 7.3% increase. Said Major, “This state has never realized a 7% increase in growth in this tax and we certainly cannot anticipate that happening in this economy.” Finally, Democrats are projecting a $9.7M increase in lottery revenue in 2011, or 14.3%, when normal increases fall in the 3% to 5% range.



The end result will be another $57.7M tacked on to the budget deficit because House Democrats once again want to increase spending to match their inflated estimates, just as they have done for four years. When their spending has fallen short of the revenue, they have resorted to raising more than 60 taxes and fees.



“It is clear that the Democrats are looking to leave us in such a hole that only a broad based tax will dig us out of it,” said House Republican leader Sherm Packard of Londonderry

Thursday, May 20, 2010

GUEST SHOT FROM JIM KNIGHT-A DEFENDER OF OUR VANISHING FREEDOMS!!

Last week The New Hampshire Senate and House of Representatives passed HB53. This Bill was sponsored by Kim Casey Democratic Representative of East Kingston. HB 53 amends the RSA 91A “the right to know” statute. The amendment all but eliminates the public’s right to access information from government agencies. The revision exempts Mayors, Town Managers, department heads, executive officers, superintendants and associated government political agencies as public bodies from complying with a “right to know” request.

This draconian annihilation of the “Right to Know” law will allow these extensions of government to operate under a Vail of secrecy. The only information that we the people would be entitled to scrutinize is that which these agents would elect to disseminate.

How many crimes would have escaped legal consequence if the public’s “right to Know or the freedom of information” was fettered by government agents who operate outside of the law? It is exactly why those who contemplate such acts fear the possibility of exposure through this mechanism of accountability.

In 2000 my attorneys and I sued SAU16 for a parent’s right to know what websites our children were accessing on school computers. Dr. Skip Hanson SAU16 superintendant of schools denied our request, sighting a child’s right of privacy.

Superior Court Justice Julian Abramson ruled in our favor. Unfortunately, the computer records were destroyed after the Judge ruled that the information must be released, a harm that found SAU16 in contempt of court. SAU16 actions required an amendment to RSA91A criminalizing those who would knowingly and willfully destroy public documents for the purpose of avoiding prosecution. None of this would have been possible without a formidable RSA 91A and the public’s “right to know”.

It should come as no surprise that Kim Casey would sponsor HB53, as she was an ardent opponent to the release of the computer records even at the elementary schools, when she was a Cooperative School board member.
Governor Lynch has on many occasions professed to be a fervent supporter of open and transparent government.

We should therefore, call upon the Governor to honor this commitment and compel him to veto this amendment.

Jim Knight

Friday, May 14, 2010

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

Dear Friends,

Our core beliefs of limited government, fiscal restraint, low taxes, personal responsibility and individual freedoms are being pummeled by the Democrats. Our fight must start right now to save our state values!

The news from Concord could not be more alarming. Our state long known for prudent fiscal management currently confronts a $220 million deficit in this budget. The deficit picture in the next budget gets even worse – an almost unimaginable $600 million and counting as federal revenue disappears.
Given that backdrop – one might think that the Democrats who control the state Legislature would do what hard working families and small business owners across our state are doing: cutting expenditures.

Unfortunately that is not the case. In the last two budgets spending has increased by 23% followed by over 70 tax and fee increases including the job killing income tax on business owners, the LLC Tax, and numerous other taxes that have made New Hampshire less competitive.

Now it is time to pay the piper, but as I write this Concord Democrats are looking for clever ways to dig deeper into everyone’s wallet rather than trimming runaway spending. Under consideration are a Capital Gains Tax, an Estate Tax, the fifth increase in six years on tobacco and additional tax hikes on other tobacco products, increases in pet shop licensure fees, a new tax on electricity, hikes in the insurance premium taxes, and the old-standby, down shifting costs to cities and towns causing property tax hikes.

The Democrats who control the Legislature do not comprehend two simple facts: as a state we cannot continue this spending binge and hard working taxpayers are already maxed out.

The unemployment rate is out of sight and working families are struggling to find jobs and keep their jobs while small businesses across the state are fighting to stay in business.


What the folks who control the Legislature also don’t comprehend is the devastating impact these job killing taxes – especially business owner income taxes – are having on our economy. 52,508 of our friends and neighbors in New Hampshire are out of work. While national unemployment has begun to inch downward, ours has stubbornly stayed near its high.

All these new taxes have already hurt our chances of recovery. Adding a Capital Gains and Estate Tax makes it ever more likely an income and sales tax are just over the horizon and these taxes will ensure that our economy continues to deteriorate while New Hampshire citizens remain out of work.

If you have been receiving these email updates over the year that I have served in the New Hampshire Senate you know what my top priorities are: economic recovery, cutting spending, repealing job killing taxes and curtailing the reach and control of big government into every corner of our lives.

It's time to say loudly and clearly that enough is enough!
If you believe as I do that we need to change priorities in Concord --- then I need your help. Please click here and make a contribution today.
Please consider donating $25, $50, $100, or even $250, $500, $1000 to my campaign for re-election to the New Hampshire Senate from District 3 in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley.

Never has an upcoming election been so critical for our State’s future. Critical to assure we make tough spending decisions and reduce the growth in government. Critical to assure we maintain our family values. Critical to assure New Hampshire does not enact a sales and income tax or new business taxes that will drive even more jobs away.

Thank you very much for your consideration and financial support. Together we can turn our state around in 2010.
Sincerely,

Jeb Bradley