One of the ‘Grok mantras: Spank’em when they’re wrong and thank’em when they’re right. Generally, it’s Kevin getting the latter and Sununu the former. However, after years of elected representatives doing the Hidden Tax Tango and sending our monies to ‘burn” in the Burgess Biopower plant (whichuses low-grade wood to fuel its boilers to generate electricity), three things are clear.
…Oh wait – a note from the NH GOP on what the Party believes in.
From the Platform:
- We, the people of the New Hampshire Republican Party, do stand united in our dedication to preserving freedom, limited government and unlimited opportunity for all.
- We believe, above all else, in the founding principle that all people are created equal, endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, unimpeded by intrusive government regulation and control.
- We believe that individual liberty is guaranteed under the Constitutions of the United States and New Hampshire, that the liberty of the people must be protected above the power of the government, and that it is only through an adherence to our founding documents that we will continue to grow as a free, Constitutional Republic.
- We believe in free people, free markets and free enterprise.
- We believe that economies flourish when all people retain as much of their hard earned income as possible, to spend and invest as they see fit.
- We believe that low taxes are the result of low spending; that government has a moral obligation to the people to be as cost effective as possible, to always limit spending and growth of government, and to cut spending and cost of government at every possible turn.
- We believe that local government should not be allowed to infringe on individual rights and that the state should ensure protections from such local government overreach.
- We, the people of the New Hampshire Republican Party, pledge to our neighbors across our great, beautiful and proud state, that we remain dedicated to maintaining a limited, affordable government, to lead with integrity, character and compassion, and to forever defend the freedom that has made the United States of America a beacon of hope for all people.
- That the present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of (special) interests…and in its general and unvarying abuse of the power intrusted to it by a confiding people…
I’ll have more to add about why I plucked those “sincere beliefs” in a bit but back to the plot. First up – WHY did NH State Senator Kevin Avard (R) say this in direct contradiction to the above (emphasis mine, reformatted:
It is accurate, to be sure. House Bill 142 passed the New Hampshire House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. But, this bill is more than just legislation both parties can agree on. After years of study by Republicans and Democrats, House Bill 142 represents the best of the legislative process: a solutions-based bill that preserves a critical baseload power producer and economic engine, while at the same time protecting ratepayers.
Governor Chris Sununu will have his say on House Bill 142 soon and I stand with dozens and dozens of my Republican and Democrat colleagues in encouraging him to sign this important legislation.
Further, Burgess BioPower supports more than 240 jobs statewide, generates more than $70 million in annual economic activity, and it has been the chief catalyst in reinvigorating the local economy in Berlin and throughout northern New Hampshire over the past decade. Still, some try to boil Burgess’ biopower down to cost. Doing so is short-sighted and completely misses the mark on both the value Burgess provides, and the way in which previous legislation impacts the plant.
Burgess sells its energy to Eversource at a fixed price under a long-term contract. When the plant first began operating, Eversource (then PSNH) used Burgess’ power for default service, the price most residential customers pay…
…Opponents say a veto of this bill would benefit ratepayers. That is just not accurate. If House Bill 142 fails, customers are not going to see lower electricity rates as a result, as costs associated with HB 142 have already been paid.
Let me address the points in the Platform and apply them to Kevin’s missive (to which I GREATLY disagree with):
- Opportunity does not translate to success. If you think that it should, you’ve strayed into the Progressive Democrat/Socialist territory of “equity” which translates as “everyone will have the same success as everyone else – and no more. We’ll use Government to make that happen – by force if need be”. Opportunity means the chance to succeed – and the equal chance to FAIL.
- Well, once again, we see the Republican Party (proxy by its elected State Reps and Senators) being rudely dismissive of its own philosophy by exacting “intrusive government regulation and control” by forcing all of NH citizens to support an otherwise failing entity. While Kevin praises his work, he really is trying to tell us “oh, trust us – we’ve done this same thing in the past so you should believe us when I tell you that it’s only for your own good that you are supporting a failing company. It’s isn’t Corporate Welfare or Crony Capitalism when we allow Burgess’s lobbyists / vendors to sway us from the Platform.
- “That the liberty of the people must be protected above the power of the government“…in this case, Kevin joined in by using the power of Government to force many of us to do what we otherwise wouldn’t have done. Government stepped in, with its Big Stick and with Republicans at the fore, to make the “free marketplace” bend to Government’s will. Choice was taken from us by the “power of the Government” and Kevin was really happy with that. Remember, part of Liberty includes OUR choices in where and to whom we send our dollars to. That choice was taken away.
- “We believe in free people, free markets and free enterprise.” And Kevin decided that we wouldn’t be free in this regard, that Government control of the marketplace was imperative, and that Burgess effectively became an agent/agency of the State. After all, without the State’s “taxation by proxy”, Burgess would have shut down years ago. Now, it most like will. And that, too, is part of the Free Marketplace. Been there, done that: Government did bail out Honeywell Information Systems, Wang Laboratories, and Digital Equipment Corp, all billion dollar behemoths, when I was a mere programmer. Why should Government now bail out loggers?
- “..retain as much of their hard earned income as possible, to spend and invest as they see fit.” If HB142 had been put into Law, THOSE platitudes would have gone by the wayside, wouldn’t they? And the Central Planners of Industry smiled…
- “growth of government” – Certainly, when Government strays out of its lane, or in this case, deliberately crosses the lines, to get involved in matters that it shouldn’t, it grows. And having done it once, it will do it again. And then the Theory of the Slippery Slide comes in – precedent was set long ago and Kevin and company are whizzing along like they were at Cranmore (don’t get me started on THAT issue).
- “…that the state should ensure protections from such local government overreach.” NOW do “from such
localState government overreach. - So, is supporting a Special Interest that has actively been doing the “Rent-seeking Shuffle” for our money for years “to lead with integrity, character and compassion”?
And lastly:
…Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of (special) interests
Well, well. Do I REALLY need to say any more? Oh yes, yes, I do:
Hypocrites all. All of you.
Republicans decided to send money, that wasn’t theirs, to an entity that became a parasite on Government. I predict that, as many entities before, it will become part of the “Creative Destruction” that gave us our leading economy. Well, it’s leading for the moment but as the Republicans join in with the Socialists-formerly-known-as-Democrats, that will continue to wither away – “slowly at first…” than what Xi is doing to China’s as he is injecting more and more Communistic control over its State enterprises and private entities.
Until it becomes “…and then suddenly”.
Of Course! Three of my County Reps voted FOR continued Government involvement in the marketplace just like almost all the Democrats in throwing away free market principles:
- Steven Bogert (not surprised at all)
- Juliet Harvey-Bolia
- Tom Ploszaj (WHAT got into HIM on this??)
Winners and losers. Government should NEVER be in that position, but here we are. And this is just the small piece. Remember, Kevin mentioned the most damning part of winners and losers NH Government Policy:
That changed a few years into the contract, when the Legislature determined that Eversource should stop generating power and begin a competitive bidding process for default service.
And THAT result sent our electricity skyrocketing this summer in doubling as Eversource now had no control over the price it paid. And the Southern Poverty Law Center wonders why GraniteGrok is anti-[Big]Government? Yes, we happily earn that badge. After all, it was Government, as Kevin points out, did it to us all.
By continuing to demand subsidies from Concord, Burgess shows that for all of the chest-thumping on its website, it can’t compete on its own. Instead, it resorted, time after time, to not making itself better but relying on Crony Capitalism.
So when I saw that Sununu had done the RIGHT thing that should have happened from the get go:
Sununu vetoes continued taxpayer subsidies for Berlin biomass plant
Declaring “Enough is Enough,” Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed legislation to extend ratepayer subsidies for the Burgess Biopower Plant in Berlin, the region’s largest renewable energy project. In a highly critical veto message, Sununu said he has signed two state laws and given project owners five years to find a sustainable financial model to continue operating the plant, which produces energy from wood chips.
“To sign this bill (HB 142) would continue to allow Burgess Biopower to collect millions of dollars in ratepayer subsidies every month with no hope of a solution and wipe out their debt obligation to our ratepayers,” Sununu wrote.
“After a decade of continuous government support with nothing to show for it, such an ask is unconscionable. To sign this bill would violate my obligation to protect the consumers of New Hampshire from perpetual adverse financial investments. This company has failed the city of Berlin, the region, and the ratepayers of New Hampshire. Enough is Enough!”
The decision sets up a competitive veto fight when the Legislature returns in January. The project has a lot of bipartisan support, starting with Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, who helped broker the original deal.
Bradley hasn’t met an industry he didn’t like meddling in. If you REALLY want to point fingers, he’s the reason for the “electrical mess” that has roiled NH for years.
The veto should stand.