Crony Capitalism - so, Rusty McLear & Alex Ray want taxpayers to do their advertising for them? - Granite Grok

Crony Capitalism – so, Rusty McLear & Alex Ray want taxpayers to do their advertising for them?

Crony Capitalism

UPDATE:  I knew I forgot something – from the NH Constitution:

[Art.] 10. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; …

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Crony Capitalism – the combination of Big Government and Big Business cooperating to use taxpayers as a Piggy Bank.  Both of these gentleman showed us in their Op-Ed in the Union Leader that they possess an entitlement outlook that NH taxpayers should be expected to shoulder their advertising budget for them (entire Op-Ed after the jump) even with their own personal successes:

Rusty McLear is co-owner and president of Mill Falls at the Lake in Meredith. Alex Ray is owner and founder of The Common Man family of restaurants. Together, they are the principals of Granite State Hospitality, the company building the new state welcome centers on I-93 in Hooksett.

These are not small operations by anyone’s view.  So why should we (just as with Les Otten’s attempted claim on $28 Million for his Balsam Boondogle project) taxpayers fund their operations – as rent-seeking (seeking a profit and/or preferred treatment from Government)is ALSO part of the definition of Crony Capitalism?   McLear and Ray actually make the case against doing so in their own words:

Tourism is New Hampshire’s second largest industry, generating more than $5 billion of economic activity per year in the state.

‘Magine that – $5 billion.  Not a small sum at all.  And what is it that they are kvetching about and showing that, in fact, taxpayers “owe them”:

The Legislature has suspended this law to cut $3.77 million, almost half of the division’s total budget

Gosh – a tremendous amount, they would have us think.  Now, I may be a simple man, but that looks like the cut in government spending, percentage-wise, is a humungous 0.0754% of the $5 billion that McLear and Ray boast about.

Sidenote: Er, and guys? Get used to having your “dedicated funds” stolen for other purposes.  No, they shouldn’t but it is kismet at one level: what some politicians gave you (a free advertising budget), another set of politicians is now taking from you.  That’s what they do.  Live, die, sword and all that.

And while this column is full of facts showing the good of tourism which I do not dispute, it also shows the indignant response of these two very well off gentlemen in having their taxpayer funded shiny bauble taken away. And yet, the question that is being begged is this:

What, your industry can’t support itself? That it couldn’t handle that $3.77 million itself?

Now, I’m not just picking on them (although having stuck their heads well above the ramparts, they made themselves a good target).  I don’t know about McLear, but Ray is a one who generously funds Liberal projects and people – perhaps it’s that Collectivism that showing here (and there are plenty of Republicans that are all too willing to participate in Crony Capitalism as well).   While writ small it may look like it, writ large, we see people trying to distort the marketplace for their own gain.  Why SHOULD that taxpayer money go to them – remember, there is the opportunity cost in that money not directed to something else – perhaps to some of our developmentally challenged NH residents?

I stand by my statement – if the tourism industry is that robust for $5Billion, raising their own ante for that 0.0754% for their own self interest should be an absolute no-brainer.

Except in getting it out of someone else’s pocket.

 

Another View — Rusty McLear and Alex Ray: State tourism promotion is vital for the NH economy

WHEN the House of Representatives voted to cut New Hampshire’s tourism marketing budget, it put at risk revenue from tourism, one of the cornerstones of the state’s economy and of the state’s tax base.

Tourism is New Hampshire’s second largest industry, generating more than $5 billion of economic activity per year in the state. In 2014, the tourism industry supported 68,000 jobs in New Hampshire.

The number of visitors to the state has been growing steadily, tied to the growth in promotion by New Hampshire’s Division of Travel and Tourism Development (DTTD). In 2014, 4.7 percent more visitors came to the state than in 2013, and their total spending increased by 6.9 percent.

In 2009, the Legislature passed a law dedicating 3.15 percent of revenue from the rooms and meals tax to tourism promotion. The Legislature has suspended this law to cut $3.77 million, almost half of the division’s total budget, from DTTD’s Tourism Development Fund.

Most states, including nearby Maine and Massachusetts, spend more than New Hampshire currently spends on tourism promotion. With cuts of this magnitude, New Hampshire will have one of the weakest tourism promotion budgets in the country.

Remember that old adage your Mom kept saying: if your buds were jumping off a bridge…

What happens to tourism after a state stops promoting? When Colorado cut its tourism marketing budget from $12 million to zero in 1992, the state lost 30 percent of its market share within a two-year interval. After Colorado reinstated its promotional spending, it took 11 years to regain the market share it lost.

A reduction in tourism to New Hampshire would be devastating to our economy, and it would severely diminish tax revenue for our state government. A study by The Institute for New Hampshire Studies at Plymouth State University has determined that DTTD’s promotional activities generate at least $585 million in tourism spending annually. Losing that amount of spending would result in a loss of $53 million in net tax revenue to the state.

Hmm, so which is it: $585 million or $5 billion?  Which one is being boasted, or how are we be roasted?

We understand that legislators face many tough choices as they decide on the state budget for the next two years. However, cutting promotion for tourism is short-sighted and fiscally irresponsible.

And cuts into their own profits as well.  Again, I have no problem in earning a profit – but not by cajoling our easily swayed politico.

In fact, we would argue that an increase in the tourism budget is the more logical path to solving our financial problems. In Fiscal Year 2014, state and local governments took in $9.23 of tax revenue for every dollar invested in tourism promotion.

And more profits for us!!!  And we have no problem in having the State Government spend even MORE money from other people if more of it ends up lining their pockets.

Remember, both Occupy Wall Street and the TEA Party believed that Crony Capitalism was one of the things that is helping to destroy our Republic.  I still believe my remedy was far superior to Occupy’s (which was to make Big Government even bigger to “control” Big Government).  You see, just making Big Government Bigger just means creating even more nooks, crannies, and Dark Corners in which evil collaboration love.  No, my remedy is to make Big Government much smaller – and in this case, eliminate that free advertising altogether.

Yup!  Zero, nade, nope, diddly squat.  No money.  That would put the burden back on the industry (Mr. McLear & Ray) to spend their own money.  After all, we all know the old saw:

  1. I spending my own money do the best
  2. My friend spending my money does worse
  3. Some unknown bureaucrat spending other unknown peoples’ money does the worst of all

If Messiers Ray & McLear were to limit themselves to their own resources, just maybe we’d have a wee bit more left in our pockets to spend on OUR best self-interest. So with this last bit, I have a suggestion:

Joined by members of the N.H. Travel Council and others in the tourism industry, we urge the Legislature to approve a budget that continues to fund tourism promotion at its previous level. It’s an investment that benefits all New Hampshire residents.

Ah yes, it is always about the Collectivists.  So, when do I get my free meals and nights so I could actually profit on your’s.  After all, you make the case of what’s mine should be spent for you – what’s wrong in giving ALL NH residents such a benefit.

After all, I’m betting it would cost WAY less than $5 billion

Rusty McLear is co-owner and president of Mill Falls at the Lake in Meredith. Alex Ray is owner and founder of The Common Man family of restaurants. Together, they are the principals of Granite State Hospitality, the company building the new state welcome centers on I-93 in Hooksett.

 

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