It’s all about the SPENDING. Vote Tuesday for those who understand that…

Guest Post by State Senator Jeb Bradley  On Tuesday, October 27 the Republican Leadership in the New Hampshire House and Senate sponsored a SUMMIT ON SPENDING in Concord. There were three excellent presentations from Steve Norton of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, Charlie Arlinghaus of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy and … Read more

“They bomb each others’ mosques, funeral processions and even marketplaces crowded with other Muslims.”

 

Penance? Say three Allah Akbars and take two in the hat…

Islam is on its march of death on many fronts. A very dangerous front has been recently re-opened at the United Nations (UN) by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the largest group of nations within the UN, by introducing a new resolution.
 
The resolution under consideration—Defamation of Religions—aims to enlist the power and prestige of the UN in defense of religion by declaring religions to be immune from the general discourse practiced in non-religious domains.
 
The aim of the resolution is to impose a gag order on people against breathing a word that religionists may find defaming or offensive. Isn’t that a great idea, folks? Now, any crackpot, more than ever, can start a scheme and call it a religion. And by so doing, he can be under the protective umbrella of the UN, immune from any criticism and litigation. By contrast, any religious order can take any offender to court for offensive statements.
 
I can just see the legions of lawsuits that will be launched and financed by the petrodollar rich Islamists in an unrelenting effort to muzzle any and all people who might dare to point out the truth about Islam. The very expenses of litigation, even without convictions, can ruin any individual or organization.
 
And what happens to the First Amendment, freedom of speech, of inquiry and expression? Freedoms we have come to cherish and celebrate as priceless treasures for free people and societies?
 

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Michelle Bachmann on the Democrat health care plan

She drives the left nuts. George Will wrote about her in a recent column. What makes Michelle Bachmann catch peoples’ attention? She’s smart. She speaks in plain language. She doesn’t engage in doublespeak or pander. THAT is what people want in their politicians… The Washington News Observer had a chance to interview the Minnesota congresswoman … Read more

Smart Meters courtesy of Big Bro’

In their 1975 album, “Wish You Were Here,” Pink Floyd sang of an all-knowing machine: “Welcome my son, welcome to the machine. Where have you been? It’s alright we know where you’ve been. You’ve been in the pipeline, filling in time…” More recently, the band Velvet Revolver (featuring Slash of Guns n Roses fame on … Read more

BREAKING NEWS: Shea Porter gets nod from Pelosi to unveil Dem healthcare takeover plan

  If voting for Pelosi’s partisan agenda 97% of the time didn’t convince you that Carol Shea-Porter is Pelosi’s puppet, then today’s news should. Her partisan loyalty earned her a top spot in the unveiling of the Democrats’ trillion dollar healthcare legislation, a bill that cuts Medicare, raises taxes and forces millions of Americans to find … Read more

Pawlenty on the “opt-out” alternative: “It’s really a sham.”

I happened to catch Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on Greta Van Susteren last night and, once again, I couldn’t help but find myself groovin’ to what he had to say. On healthcare: what we know for sure is this. Government-run health care is a bad idea. I hope it gets killed. But now they’re offering … Read more

“STOP THE SPENDING” Summit Tuesday. Unlike “TAX SUMMIT” citizens will have a say

 Republicans Respond to Democrats’ “Income Tax Summit”With a Session to “Stop the Spending” OCTOBER 27 –  GRAPPONE CENTER in CONCORD ———————————————————————————————– Join fellow taxpayers from across New Hampshire as they descend onto Concord to discuss the current legislative budget spending priorities and the effects on our local taxes. WHEN: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 8:30 … Read more

Sen Bradley: “The rush of new spending and rash of higher taxes may well be eroding our competitive position before our eyes”

  

Guest Post by State Sen. Jeb Bradley 

Last week’s TAX SUMMIT organized by Representative Susan Almy reaffirmed that New Hampshire’s lack of a general income or sales tax has enhanced our competitive position compared to other states. But the SUMMIT also warned that business taxes are too high and may be hurting our ability to attract high tech jobs to the state.

Unfortunately the TAX SUMMIT focused exclusively on taxes with nary a question raised by the organizers about the other half of the equation — state spending. This isn’t surprising however, given that spending has increased from $9.36 billion to $11.49 over two budgets — a startling increase of 23%! And this is happening at a time when state spending around the nation has decreased over the last two years.

Nevertheless the SUMMIT was instructive. To her credit, Almy, an income tax supporter, insured that witnesses represented a wide variety of viewpoints including opposition to an income or sales tax.

Naturally several speakers supported adopting a sales or income tax. Jeff McLynch of the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy argued for an income tax based primarily on the need for additional revenue and equity. Laurel Redden of the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition argued for unspecified new taxes to mitigate rising property taxes.   No one likes the property tax and most people believe the fairest tax of all is the tax someone else pays! If our tax system is so unfair – why does NH continually rank at or near the top of nationwide surveys that rank states’ livability conditions?

Two of the most compelling witnesses drew clear distinctions between New Hampshire’s tax policy and those of other states. Scott Hodge, President of the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, stated that most states garner the majority of their revenue through general income taxes, sales taxes and business income taxes which he termed a “three legged stool.” Without either tax, New Hampshire relies heavily on an 8.5% business profits taxes and a .75% payroll tax paid by employers. Hodge warned that enacting an income tax would be a “huge mistake.” He made the emphatic point that “states that are in the biggest financial trouble are the three legged stool states such as New York, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Connecticut.”

 

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A Little Good News, Some Mixed News But Even More Bad News in Concord

Guest Post by State Senator Jeb Bradley 

The recent release of New Hampshire’s revenue receipts simultaneously offers glimmers of hope while raising even more concerns about the State Budget enacted in June.

First the good news: The “Rainy Day Fund” which is the State’s hedge against economic downturns ended the fiscal year with $56 million more of a cushion than anticipated. Governor Lynch froze new hiring, deferred equipment purchases, and curtailed out of state travel to produce these savings. 

Despite the fact that Governor Lynch and Democratic Legislators approved an overall spending increase in 2007 of 11.17% and in 2009 of 10.48%, the Governor’s executive orders curbed the worst excesses of the Legislature’s spending blitz that has increased expenditures from $9.36 billion to $11.5 billion during that time.

This $56 million in the Rainy Day Fund will be a critical one-time buffer if the State loses its NH Supreme Court appeal of the JUA (Joint Underwriting Association) lawsuit. This lawsuit comes from a budget provision attempting to simply “take” $110 million from a fund designed to keep a lid on physician’s medical liability insurance costs. The State’s attempted money grab has already been ruled in violation of both the State and Federal Constitutions by the Superior Court.

The mixed news is that business tax revenues were only 4% lower than expectations. While it is preposterous to call any shortfall good news, in comparison to last year’s business tax receipts that were off by 25%, being 4% below expectations is a slim glimmer of hope. However, it’s also a warning that if the trend continues the State will face a nasty budget deficit.

Despite the good and the mixed news, NH is far from out of the budget woe woods as the bad news dwarfs the good. Other revenue sources are badly underperforming, despite many taxes being increased in the budget. Receipts from the rooms and meals tax, communication tax, and real estate tax are all down by about 9%. The interest and dividend tax is down a whopping 25%. Even tobacco taxes are down slightly.  In the three months since the budget was enacted revenues are down a total of $26 million or 6.4%. Should this trend continue the deficit will only grow.

Now that the state employees union has rejected the proposed contract that would have implemented 19 furlough days, Governor Lynch must begin a series of layoffs to save a mandated $25 million. Whether he will run into roadblocks if the union files a grievance for each position eliminated or political roadblocks from his allies in the Legislature – these savings may be questionable. 

So with all these budget monkey wrenches, it is certainly understandable that its authors are quick to claim that the national economy is to blame and that revenues are likely to rebound when the economy turns around. But that is a cavalier attitude based on wishful thinking rather than rational evidence.

 

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With “recoveries” like this, who needs [more] “stimulus?”

Stimulating Misery
Guest Post by Robert Romano

The White House is prepared to unleash another so-called “stimulus” upon the U.S. economy, according to Yahoo! News. Only, they do not want to admit it’s a “stimulus”. According to White House spokeswoman, Jennifer Psaki, "The fact is that this is a word game.”

It could add up to over $100 billion in tax funds when all is said and done. Which may help explain why the White House dare not use the “s” word.

First off, this would be the third such so-called “stimulus.” The first occurred in 2008 under President George Bush totaling some $152 billion. The second occurred earlier this year, costing the taxpayers $787 billion. And that’s without even calculating interest that will be owed by future generations for what amounts to record-level deficit-spending, borrowing and printing cash designed to prevent the economy from sliding—but actually further pushing it—into the Abyss.

Put together with $300 billion for foreclosure “prevention” in 2008, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, $200 billion to nationalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, over $300 billion in FDIC liquidity guarantees, the Federal Reserve’s $300 billion committed to purchase treasuries, and other initiatives, the federal government has kicked out more than $4 trillion to “rescue” the economy. And it has pledged as much as $12.8 trillion as “necessary.”

That’s over 3.58 times what the federal government collected in individual income taxes in 2007, some $1.115 trillion. Put another way, the government could grant a three-year moratorium on income taxes, and it would still not equal the amount of money that the government has put on the table in its failed attempt since 2007 to “stimulate” the economy.

In addition, the Federal Reserve has had the money spigots on high, more than doubling the money supply since last year. And it has left the federal funds rate near zero.

But to no avail. The stark fact is, the real reason the White House would rather not call its new plans “stimulus” is because, to date, the previous efforts have not achieved their stated aims. And the American people full well know it. The economy is still in recession. In fact, the Gross Domestic Product has shrunk for the past four economic quarters at about 2.7 percent.

All the while, the Administration has insisted the American economy is in “recovery.”

 

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The Road to an Income Tax in NH

Guest Post by Rep. David Hess Years from now if the citizens of New Hampshire are seeing income taxes taken out of their paychecks, they will be able look back to the week of October 19, 2009 in “tax history” as the turning point—a time when the foundation for a broad based tax was laid.  … Read more

TAX SUMMIT PROTEST RALLY WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY

  On Wednesday and Thursday this week, Oct 21-22, there will be a chance to show your concern with the Tax and Spend crowd in Concord. What is a "Tax Summit?"  Tax and spend proponents who have salivated for broad-based taxes in NH for years want to try to sell all the reasons why they … Read more

“Thank you America. You WERE the beacon of freedom for the world.”

About that United Nations Climate Change Treaty Obama most likely will sign in Copenhagen this coming December… The Minnesota Majority, the creators of this Youtube, write, On October 14, Lord Christopher Monckton gave a presentation in St. Paul, MN on the subject of global warming. In this 4-minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a … Read more

MTNP Radio. Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. MTNP Radio. Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm.

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am!  As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and Now!Hampshire.com brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here for … Read more

Obama’s great middle class betrayal: It’s the taxes, stupid!

 Obama taxes middle class

Guest Post by Howard Rich 

As much as the Beltway chattering class refuses to admit it, Barack Obama’s electoral victory last year had nothing to do with his oft-repeated, generic pledge to bring “hope and change” to Washington, D.C. Sure it sounded good at the time, but Americans have always voted based on their wallets and pocketbooks – not lofty-sounding campaign promises or rhetorical flourishes.

The real key to Obama’s victory a year ago – indeed his “signature” issue – was his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class.

“You will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime,” Obama promised tens of millions of Americans making $250,000 or less. In fact, candidate Obama promised the middle class billions of dollars in tax cuts, part of his whole “spread the wealth around” plan.

“If you’re a family that’s making $250,000 a year or less, you will see no increase in your taxes,” Obama promised. “Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your personal gains tax, not any of your taxes.”

Never mind the fact that Obama’s plan would have hit income and payroll providers especially hard, rendering “middle class tax relief” irrelevant to the millions of workers heading toward already-crowded unemployment lines.

No matter how you look at it, though, what a difference a year makes.

 

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Carol Shea Porter. NOW she wants feedback?!

Guest Post by Ray Cardello  I received Representative Porter’s Healthcare Reform mailing yesterday and I do not know if I am more insulted with its purpose or the fact that she clearly indicated on the piece that it was prepared and sent at the taxpayer’s expense. I sent her at least three requests for a … Read more

Report: Democrat Health Plan to Cost NH Businesses Hundreds of Millions

  STEWARD STUDY: HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL PLANS INCLUDE HIDDEN COSTS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY Economists’ Report Tells Granite State Businesses to Brace for Hundreds of Millions in New Taxes CONCORD, NH – New Hampshire businesses would have to pay as much as $229 million to comply with Democrat plans to overhaul America’s health care … Read more

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