New Hampshire: Using State Power to Shape Your Behavior

by
Steve MacDonald

If you missed the bad news, a majority Democrat legislative committee in Concord wants to cram an unconstitutional 200 million dollar mandate down on the towns and cities of New Hampshire.

Related: The Water Will Be Fine, You Need to Worry About the Democrat Policy “Poison”

Compliance with new standards for allowable limits of certain chemicals in drinking water will cost NH municipalities across the state a minimum of 200 million dollars. The science is sketchy. The rule is arbitrary. The mandate is unconstitutional.

Until today I’ve not dropped much ‘ink’ on that point. But Skip’s eulogy yesterday for the oaths of office over feminine care products set the splinter in my mind’s eye. Can or will someone challenge this ruling because it modifies a program that “necessitate additional local expenditures” not funded by the state?

It also rang another bell. Given the lack of evidence for such a standard and the likelihood of a constitutional challenge, why do it?

Because They Think They Should

The same sort of people who back both socialism and scientism are drawn to positions of power in government. Bureaucrats at environmental agencies and the politicians who aid and abet them have a familiar modus Operandi. Use the power of the state to shape human behavior.

The entire environmental movement is about changing economies and shaping human behavior. They scare people with apocalyptic broadsides. Denounce heretics. Have legal and media inquisitions. And systematically tweaking policy and regulatory standards.

Forcing folks to “use less” is not a secret ingredient in this recipe. They’re quite open about it. So, here we are.

The new proposed PFOA and PFOS 5 ppb standard is not based on any solid science. The repetitious use of the term forever chemicals is fearmongering. There’s no consensus. No hard evidence. But it will encourage silent acceptance of an unscientific gray area. And impose a standard that will advance a separate goal. Force you to use less water.

The policy change is not at its root about health or safety. It is about control and the environmental agenda. Remember, “the dose makes the poison?‘ It’s the basis behind the science of exposure to anything and everything.”

In the right does, almost anything can harm us. But understanding exposure rates and physiology, with an unbiased eye at the science we can live in and around all manner of useful things without incident.

And, why are they making, the entire state must pay forever for what may be very specific contaminations whose actual impact could be less than negligible?

The cost to comply with this arbitrary demand is high. And what is ironic is that the so-called party of the downtrodden have kicked them down again. The wealthy and well connected won’t notice their water bills or taxes rise. They’ll continue to use water, maybe even more so, without a thought. Everyone else will see their earnings diverted to offset the rising costs of this new tax. Money you won’t be able to spend on anything else.

But hey, unconstitutional mandate or not you’ll have to tighten your belt a bit, but it’ll probably change your behavior. And that’s what really matters.

One more point. Have Well Water? They’ll get to you soon enough. 

Author

  • Steve MacDonald

    Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, blogger, and a member of the Board of directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor of GraniteGrok.com, a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

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