News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Andrew Cline 
Granite Staters are often told that our low taxes are a liability and that copying the other New England states’ higher-tax, higher-spending model would improve affordability and the overall quality of life. New polling from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center suggests that the exact opposite is true. A series of UNH surveys released … Read more
In 1776, Josiah Bartlett really could’ve used a good cell phone plan. Stuck in sweltering Philadelphia as July crawled ever closer on the calendar, the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy’s namesake Founding Father was getting nervous. New Hampshire’s lead delegate to the Continental Congress, Bartlett was a passionate patriot. His first year as a … Read more
On March 21, Laconia launched New England’s first social district, a designated area where drinking is allowed in public under tightly regulated conditions. With Motorcycle Week looming, critics on social media mockingly predicted disaster. A week later, Joia Hughes, Laconia’s economic development and housing director, summed up the damage. “No problems,” she said. Mayor Mike … Read more
At the request of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department has paused a proposed increase in fishing and hunting license fees. Department officials say the increases are needed to shore up the budget. The last fee increase took effect in 2016. A decade’s worth of inflation has eroded the value of … Read more
New Hampshire’s unique state tax structure is hard to understand, especially for people who don’t own a business. More than a third (36%) of the state General Fund and Education Trust Fund revenue comes from business taxes. The vast majority of that comes from the Business Profits Tax (BPT), but the lesser-known Business Enterprise Tax … Read more
As the 2026 legislative session wound down, it looked as though Republicans wouldn’t be able to agree on one of the party’s signature issues: cutting business taxes. During committee of conference negotiations last week, word spread (and was even reported in the news) that a House-passed Business Enterprise Tax cut was dead. House and Senate … Read more
The New Hampshire Turnpike System facilitates tourism and commuting in the Granite State. The three toll roads slash travel times in key corridors, which improves quality of life and helps the state’s economy grow. Turnpike users pay a small fee for the convenience of using these roads vs. more congested and slower local roads, essentially trading cash … Read more
Remote work, flex time, and independent contracting have reshaped the American workforce, creating new opportunities for both employers and employees. But in some states, including New Hampshire, outdated labor laws create obstacles to innovation, lost opportunities for employees, and unnecessary costs for employers. To modernize New Hampshire labor laws, legislators are addressing two outdated statutory … Read more
New Hampshire public school enrollment continues to decline at a faster rate than teacher employment, a Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy analysis of state data shows. Over the last 15 years, public schools in New Hampshire lost students at nearly three times the rate at which they lost teachers. From the 2011-2012 school year … Read more
Movers from Massachusetts to New Hampshire brought with them $5.95 billion in net adjusted gross income (AGI) from 2012-2023, IRS data show, representing a massive transfer of wealth from the high-tax Bay State to low-tax New Hampshire. New Hampshire’s net personal income gain from Massachusetts movers grew tenfold from 2012-2019, then suddenly doubled to a … Read more
Massachusetts lost an estimated 145,000 residents to New Hampshire over the last 20 years, a Josiah Bartlett Center analysis of U.S. Census migration data shows. For scale, that number of people living in one place would be Massachusetts’ fourth-largest city, larger than Cambridge and slightly smaller than Springfield. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 369,368 … Read more
New England state renewable energy mandates will double energy costs, cause rolling blackouts, while NH policies reduce regional costs With New England state governments committed to reducing their carbon emissions at least 80% by 2050, residents and businesses can expect electricity rates to double, along with rolling blackouts, according to a new joint report completed … Read more
New Hampshire led the American colonies 250 years ago by adopting a constitution that created an independent government before anyone else. So it’s fitting that in 2026, New Hampshire could achieve another first for independence. Like all Americans, government employees have the constitutional right to free speech and free association. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme … Read more
“Whatever the State identifies as comprising constitutional adequacy it must pay for.” — N.H. Supreme Court, Londonderry School District SAU #12 v. State of New Hampshire, 2006 Since the state lost its first Claremont education funding case in 1993, legislators and governors (including Democratic Gov. John Lynch in 2011-2012) tried to undo the decision with … Read more
A bill to create universal open enrollment for New Hampshire public schools is already prompting school boards to consider marketing their districts to families. And the bill hasn’t passed either chamber of the Legislature yet. Senate Bill 101, sponsored by Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, would require all school districts to “establish an open enrollment policy … Read more
By replacing mandated renewable energy with nuclear and natural gas New Englanders would save hundreds of billions of dollars and avoid deadly power blackouts by replacing state-mandated renewable energy projects with nuclear and natural gas power, a study released today by a coalition of New England think tanks finds. Alternatives to New England’s Affordability Crisis, … Read more
If U.S. states were companies that traded on the stock market, the only New England state with a “buy” rating would probably be New Hampshire. Massachusetts could be called “Big Blue,” the tradition-bound leader cruising on its prior reputation, but falling behind smaller upstarts that have embraced innovation and rapid growth. New Hampshire would be … Read more
New Hampshire ranks as the freest state in North America, as measured in this year’s Economic Freedom of North America report, released today by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute. For the 24th time, New Hampshire is the freest state among all U.S. states, having scored 8.34 out of 10 … Read more
4th Highest Per-Pupil Spending Growth As New Hampshire’s K-12 public schools experienced the largest enrollment decline of any state this century, they enjoyed the fourth-highest increase in per-pupil spending, according to a new analysis from the Reason Foundation’s K-12 Education Spending Spotlight. Per-pupil public education spending in New Hampshire grew by 60.5% from 2002-2023, the fourth-highest … Read more
According to national media reports, Pennsylvania’s 2025 budget deal caused the state to “exit” RGGI. Media coverage also used the words “leave,” “quit” and “pull out” to describe Pennsylvania’s abandonment of RGGI. Pennsylvania, though, wasn’t actually a member of RGGI. In 2019, then-Gov. Tom Wolf issued an executive order for his administration to adopt regulations consistent with … Read more