As New Hampshire plays it’s traditional “First In The Nation Primary” role for the next few days, I am reminded of two things. First, as the Live Free or Die state, no matter who ends up as either the GOP nominee or the next president, we’ll still have to act like the sovereign Republic that we are and repel the borders from progressives and big government, both inside and out, for years to come. Second, there is what has to be my favorite New Hampshire bumper sticker; “Welcome to New Hampshire, Now Go home.” To which I would add,” unless you’d like to just move here.”
There are conditions for moving here, of course. We consistently have some of the lowest poverty, lowest crime, and the best standard of living for a reason. And as people speculate about our reasonably low unemployment as well, let me point out that these things are all related. It is the secret ingredient. It is what makes all the great things about New Hampshire possible. The answer; reduce the incentive for bad behavior.
If you don’t pay people a livable wage to remain unemployed, for some strange reason progressives cannot grasp, those people go find a job. And believe it or not, this works everywhere it is tried.
And it works for all the poorly fitting cogs in the machine of the welfare state. The mere act of limiting taxpayer funded “compassion’ somehow inspires people to seek other solutions; family, friends, non-profits, their local church or religious group -Gasp!, or Heaven forbid, they just help themselves.
So those are the rules. Flinty New England Self Reliance. We believe in you, more than you may believe in yourself. To borrow a phrase from Nike, ‘Just Do it.’ To re-purpose a phrase used by Obama, ‘You are the one you are looking for.” And If for any reason you intend to move here and weep for the less fortunate, and beg the government to do something–which would of course require ‘more revenue’–my suggestion is that you start a business and hire those people with your own money, or petition the government to lower taxes, fees, or free handouts, to make the Granite State even more attractive to people who will.
If that wont work for you, there are several liberal ghettos within a stones throw. I hear Massachusetts is just as expensive this time a year as any other. Feel free to live there, put up with the warm-fuzzy bureaucracy, finance the corruption, pay all the taxes and fees, and fund all the welfare programs you like. You are more than welcome to visit us on weekends. We’d love to have you stop buy, spend a few bucks, and enjoy what we have to offer. But if you were thinking about turning New Hampshire into another progressive wasteland, no thanks. We’re all set. We’d rather you didn’t.
So that is what we mean when we say, “Welcome to New Hampshire. Now Go Home.” The water is fine, and everyone is invited for a swim, but if you have come to pee in the pool, we are going to have to ask you to leave.
