In an April 10th press release the NHDP bases its budget management prowess on the fact that Norm Major said, "I don’t see any exaggeration in the revenues at this point in time." Of course they leave out the part where he mentions that…(quoting from the same Union Leader Article)
But when he looks two years ahead, he gets nervous.
"This is the easy one," he said, estimating the 2010-2011 plan uses roughly $600 million in one-time money — federal stimulus, medical malpractice fund surplus, and other non-recurring funds.
I’m not suggesting he’s right to think that we can suffer any revenue estimate based on the idea that there is federal money shoring up parts of the budget, but the NHDP never goes there because it softens their argument. Here’s something else that softens it. They are taking a shot at one Republican out of hundreds on revenue estimates that were supported by hundreds of democrats.
And I’m not positive but I suspect that there were not too many nervous democrats, except when it came to not passing enough new tax burdens on the people of New Hampshire.
The thrust of the press release, if it even matters, is that based on a cautious generalization by one republican out of hundreds, in the rush to push a budget through, that all Republicans are hypocrites for complaining about revenue now? Well, no. Maybe Norm Major is, but is that all you’ve got?
What about the weeks of objections by republicans, or the rally outside the state house to object to the excessive spending and revenue estimates–a rally devoid of democrats; except for a handful the NHDP hired from out of state to parade around in chicken suits.
So yes I remember June 2009. Democrats increased spending, and raised taxes in the middle of a recession, and since then have had to back off on most of them because they miscalculated public outrage. The budget is still out of wack. The spending is still out of control. And it’s all a product of the the New Hampshire Desperation Party’s efforts to drive us into a broad-based tax by repeatedly busting the budget. No amount of spin can chage that
