News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
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
As Housing bills designed to chisel away at local decision making continue to and through their 2nd chamber of the legislature, my thoughts have returned to the skilled salesman’s mantra. Know your customer. Housing bill madness is a product presented as a solution to an imaginary crisis that’s been sold to its supporters, who range … Read more
Where’s The Liberty In That? If you want to start a fight online in the Granite State, and probably your state too, pick a side on the so-called housing-crisis debate. It might be worse than mentioning abortion at whatever passes for your watercooler. Numerous factors have made housing expensive. Some say there is an inventory … Read more
Julie Smith recently wrote a piece for Granite Grok about my white paper for AIER entitled “Unbundling Zoning.” She badly misinterpreted the paper, made false accusations, and even got the main thesis exactly backwards. Here’s the proof. Smith: “Sorens calls zoning useless, unjust, and irrational and explains why.” FALSE. These are the claims I’m responding … Read more
Hollis Dunkin Donuts is unlike other locations in many ways. It’s in a repurposed building multiple times its age, it doesn’t have the usual bright orange and pink signs and it doesn’t have a drive-thru despite it being a former site of a bank with one. While I can’t speak intelligently to the finer details … Read more
Zoning is an institution often misunderstood by many, myself included, so let’s delve into a 22-page treatise written by the founder of the Free State Project. To use Ray Guarino’s favorite word, ACRIMONIOUS, as many recent discussions, both online and in person, have been just that, so it’s important to say that I mean zero … Read more
If asked about some issue, “Should the Towns decide or should the State decide?” many people would answer that the Towns should decide. But for many issues that is the wrong question. The right question is “Should the Towns decide or should individuals decide for themselves?” Should Towns decide what firearms you might possess? NO! … Read more
Let’s first briefly mention the Underwood book, Stop Lying About ESAs, after which I named this article. I encourage everyone to read it, not only because of the controversy and misunderstandings involved regarding EFAs, but also because the polarization and vitriol present among everyone who’s not a Democrat are very similar. One institution controversy (EFAs) … Read more
On April 16, 2024, the UL published an op-ed by Rep. Len Turcotte of Strafford County. It has never been more applicable than it is today, with dozens of bills proposed by those attempting to remove local control of zoning with ‘death by a thousand cuts’. Turcotte compared this to Chairman Mao Zedong’s attempt to … Read more
My recent article on Housing Bill Madness was published while Nurse Terese and Keith Hanson had Senator Murphy and a few other guests on the air for a ‘polite’ discussion. When time was up, it was definitely a “to be continued” situation, though both chambers are set to meet today. That means some of what … Read more
A battle is brewing. It has been brewing for years, or even decades. It is a battle over property rights and it may not be what you think it is. It isn’t a battle between the State and the Towns. It is a battle between Towns and property owners. The NH Constitution states, “All men … Read more
Expanding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) I personally believe strongly in private property rights, I live on 34 acres with the closest house ¼ mile away for a reason, love my privacy. However, I do NOT believe politicians and bureaucrats should use central-planning and state mandates to remove the property rights of the many for the … 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
Last year 68 so-called “Republicans” voted with 152 Dems to pass HB 1291. Fortunately we knew who they were because it was a roll call vote. Thankfully one Senator killed it when it crossed over. On the 13th of March “Republican” anarchists pushed through a number of damaging House bills on voice votes. Is there … Read more
Concurrently with the development of a global consortium of corporations targeting population growth through food supplies, parallel UN and other conferences and organizations have advocated for increased public land ownership as a necessary precursor to preventing climate change, famine, biodiversity loss, etc. The reverberations of Kissinger’s creepy 1974 Population Report are visible in the UN’s … Read more
A recent J.P. Morgan Report that undocumented immigrants may be ramping up US housing demand dovetails ironically with claims in “sanctuary states” that more illegal immigrants are necessary to construct more houses. This dragon-eating-its-tail spiral of higher living costs is particularly evident in rural Vermont, which faces one of the nation’s toughest housing crunches even as progressives … Read more
America and Americans are the most generous on Earth. The government is generous on our behalf, spreading our tax dollars around the globe, and thousands of churches and charities rely on the generosity of giving Americans. Over 170 countries receive more than $70 billion every year, and this is from an America that is in … Read more
On Monday, a young woman from New Hampshire was featured prominently in a front-page Wall Street Journal story. She didn’t found a company or create a valuable new product. Quite the opposite; she spent the summer canvassing for the Democratic Socialists of America in New York City, where she hopes to get socialist Zohran Mamdani … Read more
By Artis Shepherd | Mises.org Political analysis is often pointless, given the utter dishonesty with which politicians spew nonsense, especially during an election year. Despite that, I want to zero in specifically on the housing proposals made recently by Kamala Harris—the left’s latest political avatar and presidential candidate. In building the narrative of her candidacy, Kamala has … Read more
“Housing” has been quite the buzzword for the past few years, so much so that I often roll my eyes and shake my head, depending on whose mouth I hear it from. There is a gentleman in a western suburb that I will call “J.” He was all over SB 400 two years ago and … Read more