SHE WAS AGAINST IT BEFORE SHE SUPPORTED IT, MONEY IS A WONDERFUL THING!!!
It looks like gambling will pass the senate this time. During the last senate race one of the differences that I pointed out between me and Senator Hassan was the over $100,000 she took from special interests. The truism is if you’re for sale the money will roll in. I do not particularly care for lobbyists in general because most of them lie. The ones I do like I respect them for telling the truth and enjoying working with them. In the last election the gambling interests placed large well placed contributions to a number of senators, ours included.
There will be a fight in the house, the house members have not been bought; just, too many of them to purchase. That fight will be interesting. In his typical limp wristed management style the governor has not made up his mind yet on which way he is going to go on supporting gambling. GIVE ME A BREAK, this issue has been floating around in Concord since last fall.
Our good senator, when she was first running claimed to be against gambling. Then she got bit by the Concord bug, took about $10,000 in gambling contributions and is now one of the big champions of making multi millionaires out of the millionaires who contributed to her by championing slot machines at the race tracks.
I suppose when one has extremely high political aspirations and forgets the people who voted her in, one needs lots of money to meet those aspirations. Personally I always thought more of you and myself than to sell out for personal or political gain.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
POLITICAL LINE UP
Gossip has it that our local senator’s political aspirations are out of control and she told people at a meeting that she is running for governor. The other half of the rumor is that a State Rep from East Kingston will run for her senate seat. I always thought it was an election that determined who got elected and not an annointment policy. I am always leery of out of control political ego’s that put themselves before their constituents for their own political future. I could never do that and made sure that Matt, growing up, always understood that our constituents came first; PEOPLE BEFORE POLITICS was not just a phrase, it was a belief.
We had a saying in Vietnam that, “the farther up the tree you climb, the dumber the monkey’s you ran into”. The gist of this is the higher you go the narrower the limbs and less secure you are.
If you believe in public service than it is never about you, it is about the people you serve, they always come first. If you are a leader, with training and experience in leading, you will make decisions. By making decisions you will make mistakes, learn from them; analyze them and find out what went wrong and don’t make the same mistake twice.
Our country is facing a socialist democrat and feminist agenda. We have some women who think that only women know how to do things and always make the right decisions. I have tremendous respect for women and all they can do; but, I don’t believe there is a superior race or gender. We have three women running the state, Terry Norelli, Sylvia Larson and John Lynch, and we are in a hell of a mess.
Over 500 million in debt so they spend over $72,000 to renovate the ladies room next to the house leadership offices. I know that does not sound like much but it sure shows an attitude of me first and the hell with you. Oh, I almost forgot it was our local senator’s amendment to the budget that allowed this to happen.
I don’t care what party we talk about there is a total lack of common sense. Give me a good old Yankee farmer and give the socialist democrats their PHD arrogant know it all’s, and I will have a better chance of getting the job done.
We had a saying in Vietnam that, “the farther up the tree you climb, the dumber the monkey’s you ran into”. The gist of this is the higher you go the narrower the limbs and less secure you are.
If you believe in public service than it is never about you, it is about the people you serve, they always come first. If you are a leader, with training and experience in leading, you will make decisions. By making decisions you will make mistakes, learn from them; analyze them and find out what went wrong and don’t make the same mistake twice.
Our country is facing a socialist democrat and feminist agenda. We have some women who think that only women know how to do things and always make the right decisions. I have tremendous respect for women and all they can do; but, I don’t believe there is a superior race or gender. We have three women running the state, Terry Norelli, Sylvia Larson and John Lynch, and we are in a hell of a mess.
Over 500 million in debt so they spend over $72,000 to renovate the ladies room next to the house leadership offices. I know that does not sound like much but it sure shows an attitude of me first and the hell with you. Oh, I almost forgot it was our local senator’s amendment to the budget that allowed this to happen.
I don’t care what party we talk about there is a total lack of common sense. Give me a good old Yankee farmer and give the socialist democrats their PHD arrogant know it all’s, and I will have a better chance of getting the job done.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
LET’S CALL EACH OTHER MORE NAMES
I have never been a gay marriage supporter and probably will not change my position in the near future. I will tell you that during the last State election a local gay rights same sex marriage advocate went to Matt and said, “I can’t support you and your father because you don’t support gay marriage”. OK, no problem; but then the same individual wanted to run for local office and I would not support him. It had nothing to do with gay rights; it had to do with the individual.
It is interesting that if a person disagrees with same sex marriage because of how we are raised or our core beliefs these people are called bigots, or homophobes or whatever. If we object to the liberal socialists agenda being taught in school we are called uninformed, not progressive or right wing extremists. Oh and we should not say anything when elementary school children are required to read books about Mary has two mothers or David has two daddy’s.
In reality who cares? Who cares what people do in their personal lives? Just don’t stick the issue in our faces, claim that we cannot disagree on the issue and stop the name calling. If you want to throw names around those who do not believe in some of these whacky socialist agendas can call people names too.
There is a movement underway to take the word “bulls—t or BS out of our vocabulary and use the word Pelosi. You’re full of Pelosi. What Pelosi this issue is. Plus all of the choice names for homosexuals and other parts of society we may disagree with.
I actually had a discussion with a left wing socialist liberal and talked about the history of Exeter and talked about when it was a blue collar working class community and what a great place to learn values, morals, and the difference between right and wrong. I argued about all the change the socialists have brought to Exeter. In pure frustration the socialist I was arguing with referred to those times and those of us who worked to make Exeter the way it was, referred to us as “low class, low wage people”. She went on to tell me how much the liberal socialists have brought to Exeter and “enlightened us”. I wanted to tell her she was full of Pelosi; but, I like her and understood that she finally let her true feelings out. This was good for the sole and mental well being, even if I thought she was nuts. She just could not hold back her elitist attitude.
What people do not seem to grasp is NH is, or was, fiscally conservative and protective of individual rights. If you’re gay, ok your gay, good luck, have a good life and happy hunting. I’ll tolerate your life style if you tolerate mine.
It is interesting that if a person disagrees with same sex marriage because of how we are raised or our core beliefs these people are called bigots, or homophobes or whatever. If we object to the liberal socialists agenda being taught in school we are called uninformed, not progressive or right wing extremists. Oh and we should not say anything when elementary school children are required to read books about Mary has two mothers or David has two daddy’s.
In reality who cares? Who cares what people do in their personal lives? Just don’t stick the issue in our faces, claim that we cannot disagree on the issue and stop the name calling. If you want to throw names around those who do not believe in some of these whacky socialist agendas can call people names too.
There is a movement underway to take the word “bulls—t or BS out of our vocabulary and use the word Pelosi. You’re full of Pelosi. What Pelosi this issue is. Plus all of the choice names for homosexuals and other parts of society we may disagree with.
I actually had a discussion with a left wing socialist liberal and talked about the history of Exeter and talked about when it was a blue collar working class community and what a great place to learn values, morals, and the difference between right and wrong. I argued about all the change the socialists have brought to Exeter. In pure frustration the socialist I was arguing with referred to those times and those of us who worked to make Exeter the way it was, referred to us as “low class, low wage people”. She went on to tell me how much the liberal socialists have brought to Exeter and “enlightened us”. I wanted to tell her she was full of Pelosi; but, I like her and understood that she finally let her true feelings out. This was good for the sole and mental well being, even if I thought she was nuts. She just could not hold back her elitist attitude.
What people do not seem to grasp is NH is, or was, fiscally conservative and protective of individual rights. If you’re gay, ok your gay, good luck, have a good life and happy hunting. I’ll tolerate your life style if you tolerate mine.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
About a week ago I went to the Governor and Council meeting in Concord because a friend had a hearing requesting that a worker’s comp lien be vacated; only the G&C can do that according to statute.
The situation was he was almost killed in the line of duty performing his duties as a state employee. I am not going to use his name or circumstances since I do not have his permission to do so; but, the circumstances of how he has been treated by the state and Liberty Mutual, the worker’s comp carrier can only be described as reprehensible and despicable. I put this case evaluation in a letter to each one of the G&C Counselor’s before the hearing.
I discussed with the director of Administrative Services (she oversees the bureau of risk management), prior to the hearing that I believed she was being lied to. She as well as the governor seemed to be relying on an attorney who I have dealt with in the past and in my opinion found to be untruthful. The attorney is a contractor doing business with the state.
I do not think the G&C had seen a hearing like this in a long time. The opposition tried to portray my friend as a difficult person to deal with, un-cooperative, and just greedy trying to renege on a court agreement to pad his books.
The facts that my friend presented were clear, simple and straight forward. He was almost killed, sustained serious head injuries and a myriad of other injuries sustained in the line of duty as a law enforcement officer. That is when he and his lawyer tried to deal with Liberty Mutual on the workers comp part of the case; they were told that under no circumstances would Liberty Mutual deal with them. The only course of action was to go before the G&C.
The lawyer representing the state (the contractor I have dealt with on two separate occasions), throughout the hearing continued to try to cloud the issue and confuse the Council. My friend and his attorney effectively rebutted the misinformation. At the very end of the hearing the governor asked if there was a motion, Ray Wizoreck from Manchester made a motion to deny the petition for relief, Deborah Pignetelli from Nashua seconded it. There are five members on the counsel and those two were the only ones supporting the denial motion, it died. Our G&C counselor, Bev Hollingworth made a motion to pass the request and it was seconded by John Shea from Nelson and supported by Ray Burton. At that point the governor finally spoke; I was going to throw him a doggie treat until I heard what he was saying. What he told the counsel was that if the counsel voted to pass this petition he was going to negate the vote and the issue would fail, if the council voted to table it he would not object and justified it by saying he had questions about this issue. The request was tabled; the governor called a recess and bolted out of the G&C chambers into his office.
I personally thanked Bev Hollingworth, Ray Burton from Bath and John Shea for seeing through the lies and doing the right thing. A special note of thanks goes to Bev for championing a righteous cause, doing her homework and defending her constituent. She did an outstanding job and whether a democrat or republican deserves our thanks.
This leads us to the nasty underbelly of, many times, the dirty side of special interests as they influence the bureaucracy. What do we do when we catch department heads and lawyers lying? There are some remedies available to us and we are exploring them. I have requested a copy of the tape of the hearing and am trying to find a disinterested state rep that will put in a bill of address to fire the department head for lying. We also need to explore doing away with Liberty Mutual as the states worker’s comp carrier. Our State Employees deserve better. As far as the attorney goes, the option is to file a complaint with the Bar Association for his mis-conduct.
The situation was he was almost killed in the line of duty performing his duties as a state employee. I am not going to use his name or circumstances since I do not have his permission to do so; but, the circumstances of how he has been treated by the state and Liberty Mutual, the worker’s comp carrier can only be described as reprehensible and despicable. I put this case evaluation in a letter to each one of the G&C Counselor’s before the hearing.
I discussed with the director of Administrative Services (she oversees the bureau of risk management), prior to the hearing that I believed she was being lied to. She as well as the governor seemed to be relying on an attorney who I have dealt with in the past and in my opinion found to be untruthful. The attorney is a contractor doing business with the state.
I do not think the G&C had seen a hearing like this in a long time. The opposition tried to portray my friend as a difficult person to deal with, un-cooperative, and just greedy trying to renege on a court agreement to pad his books.
The facts that my friend presented were clear, simple and straight forward. He was almost killed, sustained serious head injuries and a myriad of other injuries sustained in the line of duty as a law enforcement officer. That is when he and his lawyer tried to deal with Liberty Mutual on the workers comp part of the case; they were told that under no circumstances would Liberty Mutual deal with them. The only course of action was to go before the G&C.
The lawyer representing the state (the contractor I have dealt with on two separate occasions), throughout the hearing continued to try to cloud the issue and confuse the Council. My friend and his attorney effectively rebutted the misinformation. At the very end of the hearing the governor asked if there was a motion, Ray Wizoreck from Manchester made a motion to deny the petition for relief, Deborah Pignetelli from Nashua seconded it. There are five members on the counsel and those two were the only ones supporting the denial motion, it died. Our G&C counselor, Bev Hollingworth made a motion to pass the request and it was seconded by John Shea from Nelson and supported by Ray Burton. At that point the governor finally spoke; I was going to throw him a doggie treat until I heard what he was saying. What he told the counsel was that if the counsel voted to pass this petition he was going to negate the vote and the issue would fail, if the council voted to table it he would not object and justified it by saying he had questions about this issue. The request was tabled; the governor called a recess and bolted out of the G&C chambers into his office.
I personally thanked Bev Hollingworth, Ray Burton from Bath and John Shea for seeing through the lies and doing the right thing. A special note of thanks goes to Bev for championing a righteous cause, doing her homework and defending her constituent. She did an outstanding job and whether a democrat or republican deserves our thanks.
This leads us to the nasty underbelly of, many times, the dirty side of special interests as they influence the bureaucracy. What do we do when we catch department heads and lawyers lying? There are some remedies available to us and we are exploring them. I have requested a copy of the tape of the hearing and am trying to find a disinterested state rep that will put in a bill of address to fire the department head for lying. We also need to explore doing away with Liberty Mutual as the states worker’s comp carrier. Our State Employees deserve better. As far as the attorney goes, the option is to file a complaint with the Bar Association for his mis-conduct.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Kennedy knew it: Tax cuts stimulate economy
Our New Hampshire Democratic leadership can learn a lot from President John F. Kennedy on getting our state economy back on its feet.
Kennedy was a champion for fiscal prudence, lower taxation and investments back into the private sector to generate more revenue for the government. In 1962, during a news conference, Kennedy stated, "It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now ... Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy, which can bring a budget surplus."
Kennedy understood that increasing taxes has a negative impact on the economy. On Jan. 21, 1963, Kennedy made a testimony before Congress on tax reduction and reform: "Our tax system still siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power and reduces the incentive for risk, investment and effort — thereby aborting our recoveries and stifling our national growth rate."
Today, many of New Hampshire's residents are putting their dreams on hold, watching every dollar spent, and laying awake at night unsure if they will have another paycheck. Our state representatives' spending has been unchecked, and they're now seeking to pass an unprecedented tax increase during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Recently, the New Hampshire House voted to increase meals, hotel and cigarettes tax. They are looking to add new taxes on gambling winnings and a capital gains tax of 5 percent. To burden the taxpayer more, the House included in the package a 15-cent gas tax increase.
New Hampshire residents need to let their voices be heard by e-mailing their representatives to remind them of the wisdom of JFK. To find your representative, Google search: NH General Court Who's My Legislator. To contact Gov. Lynch visit www.governor.nh.gov/contactus.htm.
Peter Horton
Stratham
Peter Horton is a common sense democrat who I am proud to know.
Lee
Kennedy was a champion for fiscal prudence, lower taxation and investments back into the private sector to generate more revenue for the government. In 1962, during a news conference, Kennedy stated, "It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now ... Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy, which can bring a budget surplus."
Kennedy understood that increasing taxes has a negative impact on the economy. On Jan. 21, 1963, Kennedy made a testimony before Congress on tax reduction and reform: "Our tax system still siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power and reduces the incentive for risk, investment and effort — thereby aborting our recoveries and stifling our national growth rate."
Today, many of New Hampshire's residents are putting their dreams on hold, watching every dollar spent, and laying awake at night unsure if they will have another paycheck. Our state representatives' spending has been unchecked, and they're now seeking to pass an unprecedented tax increase during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Recently, the New Hampshire House voted to increase meals, hotel and cigarettes tax. They are looking to add new taxes on gambling winnings and a capital gains tax of 5 percent. To burden the taxpayer more, the House included in the package a 15-cent gas tax increase.
New Hampshire residents need to let their voices be heard by e-mailing their representatives to remind them of the wisdom of JFK. To find your representative, Google search: NH General Court Who's My Legislator. To contact Gov. Lynch visit www.governor.nh.gov/contactus.htm.
Peter Horton
Stratham
Peter Horton is a common sense democrat who I am proud to know.
Lee
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A TIME TO REMEMBER
Memorial Day is not a time to celebrate our freedoms; but, to remember and pay homage and respect to those who gave us those freedoms. We do not always understand what sacrifices, pain and suffering our veterans have gone through to insure we have what we have to understand our country is the greatest country on earth with the greatest freedoms ever experienced in the history of the world.
We pay our deepest respects and admiration to those who died in the performance of their duties or who were wounded in the performance of their duties. It makes no difference if they died in combat, training or by accident. They were doing their jobs as was required in the furtherance of the mission to keep our country free. We do not pay enough respect to those left behind with the loss of a loved one they have to bare the pain of the personal loss of one they loved. When I hear politicians giving speeches about how freedom is not free, I always think how much have they invested in the process? What dividends have they paid to get their speech in the papers?
The United States of America is not just a country, it is an idea. It is a belief and a way of life. If our nation is destroyed tomorrow will the destroyer ever be able to kill the idea that brought us into existence? No enemy of our nation will ever understand our strength or why we sacrifice ourselves so others can live without fear and promote the benefits of freedom.
There is a common bond between veterans of every nation and that is the bond of suffering. War is a measurement of how much suffering people can take and still survive. In the United States it goes back to the French and Indian Wars to the present. Veterans of all wars have been bonded together by the pain and suffering and the understanding of what we have all gone through. I wonder if the Army troops at Bastogne were any warmer or colder than those at Valley Forge, or the mountains of Korea, or the mountains of Afghanistan
Our country is now facing some of the worst threats in our history. Not only are we losing our moral compass; but, our understanding that we have to stand together and show the same level of courage in support of our country as our young men and women show in combat. Asking our politicians to show that same level of backbone is quite a task; to them I say “take your hands out of people’s wallets and put them over your heart”.
We hear people deny god and the bible that is their choice; but, in doing so denies the very movement that brought the pilgrims over on the Mayflower. It denies the very movement that brought our country into existence and gave us the moral compass to stand strong, free, compassionate, and independent.
To those of you who are veterans, gone and with us, I can only say THANK YOU for doing your job. To those of you who are families who have young men and women in the military I say thank you for doing such a great job raising such fine Americans. For those of you who have lost members of your families, I say THANK YOU, for sharing them with the greatest country in the world. The world is not a better place by their passing; but a better place because of their deeds. To those young men and women who are serving I say THANK YOU for being the greatest generation for, like all veterans, putting your life on line to defend our way of life.
It seems totally inadequate to say this; but, THANK YOU.
We pay our deepest respects and admiration to those who died in the performance of their duties or who were wounded in the performance of their duties. It makes no difference if they died in combat, training or by accident. They were doing their jobs as was required in the furtherance of the mission to keep our country free. We do not pay enough respect to those left behind with the loss of a loved one they have to bare the pain of the personal loss of one they loved. When I hear politicians giving speeches about how freedom is not free, I always think how much have they invested in the process? What dividends have they paid to get their speech in the papers?
The United States of America is not just a country, it is an idea. It is a belief and a way of life. If our nation is destroyed tomorrow will the destroyer ever be able to kill the idea that brought us into existence? No enemy of our nation will ever understand our strength or why we sacrifice ourselves so others can live without fear and promote the benefits of freedom.
There is a common bond between veterans of every nation and that is the bond of suffering. War is a measurement of how much suffering people can take and still survive. In the United States it goes back to the French and Indian Wars to the present. Veterans of all wars have been bonded together by the pain and suffering and the understanding of what we have all gone through. I wonder if the Army troops at Bastogne were any warmer or colder than those at Valley Forge, or the mountains of Korea, or the mountains of Afghanistan
Our country is now facing some of the worst threats in our history. Not only are we losing our moral compass; but, our understanding that we have to stand together and show the same level of courage in support of our country as our young men and women show in combat. Asking our politicians to show that same level of backbone is quite a task; to them I say “take your hands out of people’s wallets and put them over your heart”.
We hear people deny god and the bible that is their choice; but, in doing so denies the very movement that brought the pilgrims over on the Mayflower. It denies the very movement that brought our country into existence and gave us the moral compass to stand strong, free, compassionate, and independent.
To those of you who are veterans, gone and with us, I can only say THANK YOU for doing your job. To those of you who are families who have young men and women in the military I say thank you for doing such a great job raising such fine Americans. For those of you who have lost members of your families, I say THANK YOU, for sharing them with the greatest country in the world. The world is not a better place by their passing; but a better place because of their deeds. To those young men and women who are serving I say THANK YOU for being the greatest generation for, like all veterans, putting your life on line to defend our way of life.
It seems totally inadequate to say this; but, THANK YOU.
Friday, April 24, 2009
NEW HAMPSHIRE'S NEW REPORT CARD
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has just released its 2009 “Rich States Poor States” report ranking the economic potential of all the states. New Hampshire, flying high in 2007, has received a flunking grade. In just two short years from having elected a new legislative majority, New Hampshire has fallen from a ranking of #20 nationally to a ranking of #37 today. In other words, New Hampshire’s has fallen seventeen positions in rank in relation to all other states and is now just thirteen places from the bottom of the list.
The report’s authors, Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore and Jonathan Williams, periodically evaluate all states on the basis of their tax rates, tax burden, recently legislated tax changes, debt service, public employees per 10,000 of population, state liability system, state minimum wage, worker’s compensation costs, right to work, and tax expenditure limits.
The report’s purpose is to identify which states are engines for economic growth, economic improvement and job creation and which states are not. States that promote regulation and tax schemes that discourage capital growth and investment in new businesses and jobs fall toward the bottom of the rankings. Presently, the five top performing states are Utah (#1), Colorado (#2), Arizona (#3), Virginia (#4), and South Dakota (#5). The five worst performing states are New Jersey (#46), Maine (#47), Rhode Island (#48), Vermont (#49) and, New York (#50).
This importance of ranking New Hampshire’s economic potential may be lost on individuals employed by government, higher education or institutions providing health care but for those not dependent upon these entities for either employment or for business development, a precipitous decline in New Hampshire’s national ranking means poorer prospects for future business development, lower future wages, less opportunity for advancement, poorer prospects for the sale of homes and other real estate and poorer prospects for creating a satisfactory retirement income. New Hampshire’s lessened status will simply cause investors to look elsewhere.
Legislatures wanting to promote long term growth and prosperity for their states do so by promoting less government, less regulation and a favorable tax climate for individuals and for businesses. Until recently, New Hampshire thrived on this approach to government. By reversing the state’s historic preference for low taxes and less government, New Hampshire’s legislature has now begun to drive investors away. Google “Rich States Poor States.” Check out New Hampshire. For the first time in decades, New Hampshire has begun to lose population.
In 2007, New Hampshire lead all northeastern states in terms of economic growth and prosperity. It was then the northeast’s economic powerhouse. The glory of that era has now dissipated. Today, New Hampshire’s ranks behind Massachusetts, #26, and behind Connecticut, #32, as a desirable place to invest, to build a business and to create jobs. In addition, New Hampshire is performing worse than average in gross state product growth, in personal income growth, and in personal income per-capita growth.
The calamity of New Hampshire’s steep decline in national and regional economic prestige over such a compressed period of time is entirely due to its legislature’s enactment of toxic regulatory, tax, and spending initiatives. In 2007, New Hampshire’s governor and legislature increased state spending by more than 17% over the previous biennium and increased more than twenty taxes and fees to pay for growth in government. Calculations and projections by the majority were inept however and instead of covering costs, the legislature caused New Hampshire’s deficit to balloon hundreds of millions of dollars out of control.
Oblivious to the damage wreaked upon the state’s economy by ill advised past policies, the New Hampshire House recently passed an 8% tax on estates larger than $2 million, passed a 5% capital gains tax and voted to increase existing taxes on dining out, on renting hotel rooms, on cigarettes and on gambling winnings.
Following these votes a Manchester Democrat publicly dismissed the idea that new tax and spending increases would cause anyone to move away from “such a beautiful state.” A prosperous attorney friend of mine in Manchester, who actively invests and advises other investors on the implications of tax policy, told me at lunch the other day, that because New Hampshire’s new political regime has chosen to penalize risk taking and success, he and his wife are now seeking to establish a new domicile in Wyoming. Wyoming is #6 on ALEC’s list.
Paul Mirski
POB 190
Enfield Center, NH 03749
603 632 5555
The report’s authors, Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore and Jonathan Williams, periodically evaluate all states on the basis of their tax rates, tax burden, recently legislated tax changes, debt service, public employees per 10,000 of population, state liability system, state minimum wage, worker’s compensation costs, right to work, and tax expenditure limits.
The report’s purpose is to identify which states are engines for economic growth, economic improvement and job creation and which states are not. States that promote regulation and tax schemes that discourage capital growth and investment in new businesses and jobs fall toward the bottom of the rankings. Presently, the five top performing states are Utah (#1), Colorado (#2), Arizona (#3), Virginia (#4), and South Dakota (#5). The five worst performing states are New Jersey (#46), Maine (#47), Rhode Island (#48), Vermont (#49) and, New York (#50).
This importance of ranking New Hampshire’s economic potential may be lost on individuals employed by government, higher education or institutions providing health care but for those not dependent upon these entities for either employment or for business development, a precipitous decline in New Hampshire’s national ranking means poorer prospects for future business development, lower future wages, less opportunity for advancement, poorer prospects for the sale of homes and other real estate and poorer prospects for creating a satisfactory retirement income. New Hampshire’s lessened status will simply cause investors to look elsewhere.
Legislatures wanting to promote long term growth and prosperity for their states do so by promoting less government, less regulation and a favorable tax climate for individuals and for businesses. Until recently, New Hampshire thrived on this approach to government. By reversing the state’s historic preference for low taxes and less government, New Hampshire’s legislature has now begun to drive investors away. Google “Rich States Poor States.” Check out New Hampshire. For the first time in decades, New Hampshire has begun to lose population.
In 2007, New Hampshire lead all northeastern states in terms of economic growth and prosperity. It was then the northeast’s economic powerhouse. The glory of that era has now dissipated. Today, New Hampshire’s ranks behind Massachusetts, #26, and behind Connecticut, #32, as a desirable place to invest, to build a business and to create jobs. In addition, New Hampshire is performing worse than average in gross state product growth, in personal income growth, and in personal income per-capita growth.
The calamity of New Hampshire’s steep decline in national and regional economic prestige over such a compressed period of time is entirely due to its legislature’s enactment of toxic regulatory, tax, and spending initiatives. In 2007, New Hampshire’s governor and legislature increased state spending by more than 17% over the previous biennium and increased more than twenty taxes and fees to pay for growth in government. Calculations and projections by the majority were inept however and instead of covering costs, the legislature caused New Hampshire’s deficit to balloon hundreds of millions of dollars out of control.
Oblivious to the damage wreaked upon the state’s economy by ill advised past policies, the New Hampshire House recently passed an 8% tax on estates larger than $2 million, passed a 5% capital gains tax and voted to increase existing taxes on dining out, on renting hotel rooms, on cigarettes and on gambling winnings.
Following these votes a Manchester Democrat publicly dismissed the idea that new tax and spending increases would cause anyone to move away from “such a beautiful state.” A prosperous attorney friend of mine in Manchester, who actively invests and advises other investors on the implications of tax policy, told me at lunch the other day, that because New Hampshire’s new political regime has chosen to penalize risk taking and success, he and his wife are now seeking to establish a new domicile in Wyoming. Wyoming is #6 on ALEC’s list.
Paul Mirski
POB 190
Enfield Center, NH 03749
603 632 5555
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