News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Andrew Cline 
“I find more and more that dependency from [upon] the will of others is always some diminution of human happiness, principally to a man accustom’d to follow his own will uncontrolled.” – Jan Ingenhousz to Ben Franklin, 1777 During the two weeks since Americans celebrated the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, political discourse in … Read more
…district public schools spend $1.25 billion more on 54,000 fewer students Average per-pupil spending in New Hampshire district public schools has nearly doubled this century, as student enrollment declined sharply and reading and math assessment scores fell, a new Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy study finds. Total public school district spending in New Hampshire … Read more
Though expanding Education Freedom Accounts to all New Hampshire students is a top Republican Party priority for this legislative session, differences between three competing plans produced an impasse. For weeks, doubts grew about Republicans’ ability to expand the program even though they controlled the governor’s office and both legislative chambers. On Wednesday, the House Finance … Read more
After years of making little progress on housing affordability, the Legislature finally is moving forward in large strides. As significant reforms near the finish line, a surge of advocacy has emerged for an old, failed method of addressing the state’s housing shortage: government subsidies. New Hampshire’s primary method of addressing housing affordability has long been … Read more
Every time legislators propose ending New Hampshire’s annual auto inspection mandate, opponents allege that inspections are common in Northern states because cold weather hazards (road salt, frost heaves) make them necessary. In fact, most cold-weather states, like most states overall, don’t require annual auto inspections. Mapping the states that require annual inspections reveals that culture … Read more
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week and Granite Staters are again being subjected to the claim that teachers here earn less than they should because legislators are stingy. Given current market conditions, average teacher pay in New Hampshire is lower than it should be to recruit the best candidates. But the state’s contribution isn’t the reason. The … Read more
The movement to shift public school funding from local governments to the state is driven by a core belief that the shift will bring more funding. But that assumption is almost certainly wrong. The National Education Association’s latest annual report on public school data drew media coverage this week for its finding that New Hampshire’s … Read more
New Hampshire legislators have devised various schemes over the years to protect the logging industry from market forces. The latest scheme comes in House Bill 123, as amended. Promoted as “closing a loophole” in the state’s Timber Tax, HB 123 in fact creates a new tax on revenues generated from sales of carbon credits. The new … Read more
The House, Senate, and governor are divided over the very foundation of the state budget. (No, not liquor outlet ghost drops.) Revenue estimates. Including adjustments for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025, the gap between the governor’s and House’s revenue estimates exceeds $800 million (with all revenue adjustments, including the House’s removal of lottery revenue … Read more
K-12 public school spending rises every year, whether enrollment increases or decreases. In this century, K-12 district public school enrollment in New Hampshire has fallen by more than 50,000 students, but spending is up by more than $1 billion, adjusted for inflation. How does this happen? The short answer is that local voters prefer to … Read more
On Thursday, decades’ worth of aged, decrepit talking points died in the New Hampshire House. Opponents of parental choice in education say the purpose of creating such choice is to “defund,” “privatize,” or “destroy” public schools. Public money should stay entirely in public schools, they say. This year, House Education Policy and Administration Chairman Glenn … Read more
In many areas of New Hampshire it is literally illegal for shop owners, employees and customers to live in an apartment above or next to a business. Yet places that do allow such mixed uses are among the most vibrant and desired areas in the state, for both businesses and residents. As state and local … Read more
New Hampshire’s housing shortage, and the price spike that it created, has made housing the No. 1 problem facing the state, according to University of New Hampshire polling. Fixing the state’s housing shortage is such a priority for voters that a 2024 UNH poll found more than 1/3 of voters rating it as the top problem, … Read more
In 2025, the public appetite for cutting unnecessary government expenses, improving efficiency and reducing taxpayer liabilities is enormous. Inflation put tremendous stress on household finances as COVID-era regulatory and spending decisions tanked Americans’ trust in government management. In New Hampshire, policymakers are looking for new ways to deliver core services at lower costs. One reform … Read more
The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, in partnership with EdChoice, has released an analysis of the fiscal effects of two Education Freedom Account expansion proposals, one presented by Gov. Kelly Ayotte in her budget and the other in House Bill 115, representing the House leadership plan. At the state level, the fiscal effects range … Read more
In a cost-cutting move, New Jersey ended its annual auto safety inspections in 2010. State officials cited a lack of evidence that inspections improved public safety. “If we’re going to invest millions of taxpayer dollars year after year in a program, then it is essential that we be able to justify the expense and effectiveness … Read more
Imagine that you’ve just graduated high school or college, you’ve landed an entry-level job, and you need a car. What’s on your car shopping list? It’s your first job, so you’re probably looking for a cheap car, and smaller cars are cheaper to buy and maintain than larger ones. So you start shopping. To your … Read more
Two years ago this week, we warned legislators that a day of reckoning was coming for Medicaid. “Any discussion of expanding Medicaid coverage or eligibility should start with the understanding that current spending levels are unsustainable, and increasing those levels just accelerates the date of reckoning,” we wrote. With Congress looking to make $2 trillion in … Read more
The American Prohibition Museum is not in Chicago but tucked into an old brick building in Savannah, Ga., just off Congress Street. A $29.91 ticket to the museum comes with a drink at the adjacent speakeasy. In most American cities, that would be a perfect finish to a trip through the Prohibition era. Not in … Read more
In her proposed budget, Gov. Kelly Ayotte opens New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program to all students who’ve been enrolled in a New Hampshire public school (including chartered public schools) for at least a full academic year, the Josiah Bartlett Center has confirmed. The expansion would take effect July 1, 2026. Students who currently have … Read more