Remembering Democrat Rule

Remembering Democrat Rule – “Look To The Sky…”

Marjorie Smith NH Democrat — “Look to the sky when estimating revenue – we need the money.”

“Look to the sky when you do revenue estimates because we need the money.”

-Marjorie Smith (D- Durham) Chair House Finance Committee 2007

One month after the supposed start of the ‘Great Recession™’ and just a few months after New Hampshire Democrats historic spending spree, a partisan vote of the General Court’s Joint Facilities Committee increased pay and benefits for 145 members of the legislative staff. The hike added almost a million dollars on the backs of taxpayers at the beginning of an economic downturn. More spending without concern for how we’d pay for it. A trend New Hampshire Democrats would continue into the next session. An attitude Marjorie Smith (D- Durham), the chair of the House finance committee, would frame with the words “Look to they sky when you do revenue because we need the money.”

Hang on a moment while I add a line to my check register that says I made an extra million dollars this year. Oh look, time to go shopping! Shall we proceed?

Remembering Democrat Rule In New Hampshire – In The Beginning…

by Steve MacDonald

In the 2006 Elections Democrats took control of the New Hampshire House for the first time in 95 years (giving them complete control of State government for what would end up being four years). What happened after that must not be forgotten, for it is the doom of men that they forget.

They forget that the House Democrats first move was to turn budget policy on its head. Instead of estimating realistic revenues so that the governor could have a guideline for his budget, they would let the governor request a 14% expansion of state government in February of 2007, to which they would pad or add their spending spree agenda items before figuring out how to tax New Hampshire citizens to pay for their wish list.

Remembering Democrat Rule Part 2

by Steve MacDonald

If New Hampshire Democrats were ever again allowed to run the State legislature we already know the first thing they would do. They would overestimate revenue to justify spending for the purpose of driving us into a broad based tax. They did it during a recession, with unemployment skyrocketing, embarking on one of the most massive modern day expansions of New Hampshire state government. What’s to stop them doing it again under any other condition? Republicans. Barring that, nothing. It’s who they are.

Spending was and always is the Democrats first priority and Governor Lynch’s most recent budget was just another example. Even without a Democrat legislature he wanted to spend 4.731 billion on General and Education funds, almost 300 million more than the current Republican Budget; a budget 6% less than that of Governor Lynch; a Republican budget that is almost exactly in line with actual revenue. (That means it spent what they estimated they would take in.)

But left unchecked by Republicans Democrat Governor Lynch would have got his budget and then some, and added another 300 million dollar hole that the taxpayers of New Hampshire would have had to fill because there wasn’t another $300 million plus to spend without raising some more taxes in this lousy economy.

(Repost-Flashback!) Seth Marshall Discovers Property Taxes

by Steve MacDonald

As part of Remembering Democrat Rule – another post from the past…

Seth Marshall Discovers Property Taxes

Originally posted Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 09:04PM

Hat tip out of the gate to fellow NHI front pager Richard Olsen Jr. for this fine bit or wordsmithing on Democrat Rep Seth Marshall’s brief letter to the Nashua Telegraph about a pamphlet on the burden of property taxes. Mr. Marshall (it appears) feels blessed as if the contents of said pamphlet revealed the answer to a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma (which he discovered in the shadow of some penumbra no doubt.) What’s the revelation? That New Hampshire relies more heavily on property taxes.

That’s quite a discovery for a General Court lurker from the Fish and Game committee whose been a rep for four years. Just figured that out Seth? Oh, but not by himself–he’s got a pamphlet. Hard to believe it hasn’t come to his attention sooner. Seems to me it would be all the rage on the left wing. So I guess Nashua Rep Brian Poznanski doesn’t invite him to the House parties–where it probably comes up all the time. You know, the deal, drinking with minors, writing laws to get minors off if they get caught drinking, talking about property taxes. Did you know New Hampshire apparently relies heavily on them? (Property taxes, not drunk underage State Reps–well, actually have you seen the budget?) Did you also know that New Hampshire still has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country because it relies more heavily on property taxes? It’s true. That wasn’t in the pamphlet was it?

Want to know why?

(Re-Post FlashBack!) Introducing Rep Kevin Hodges (D-Awesome Cool)

by Steve MacDonald

(Originally posted April 20th, 2010, this is–I think–one of my classic rants and worthy of a re-post)

Introducing Rep Kevin Hodges (D-Awesome Cool)

Ah, the arrogance of youth. Not long ago it was Brian “I have an LSR to get minors off for getting busted for possession of alcohol” Poznanski who was the whelp–having then gotten himself busted as a minor in possession of alcohol in front of a house full of minors and his LSR subsequently pulled. That was fun, and illegal, but so five months ago. Now we have Kevin Hodges (Hillsborough7) who hasn’t done anything illegal that we know of, but based on a chance encounter documented below I think we can draw a pretty picture of Mr. Hodges.

I’m just guessing but I bet Kev-Bo is wicked sick when it comes to the general court, and he’ll probably tell you as much. But when you look up his voting record, he’s really just another BORG wired into Norelli’s hive. He’s a big spender (No spending caps HB 1522), wants to make sure he can tax you as much as he needs to after he spends your money (Killed CACR 26) he’s not interested in the constitutionality of the general courts activities (voted to ITL HB 1343), and he seems more than willing to let the facilities committee pass judgement on things of a decidedly constitutional nature like banning guns from places (voted to kill HB1693) even though when given the chance to ban them legislatively he voted against it. (HB 1654). Afraid to vote for it, but you’ll let them paper push it into existence, I see how you are. And I didn’t look, but I bet he’s against parental rights. Most young healthy men his age are.

What attracted my interest in Kevin–if you are wondering–was a recent encounter between Mr. Hodges and a new voter, (She’ll be 18 before November) documented in a letter to the editor of the Goffstown News.

Remembering Democrat Rule In New Hampshire – Part 1

by Steve MacDonald

In the now infamous shout heard round the State House, Democrat House leader Dan Eaton would later condense the entire four year budget strategy of the New Hampshire left into one sentence.

‘It makes sense to know how much you’re spending before you decide how much money to raise.’

Now that might just make sense for a school trip or new band uniforms but this wasn’t a fundraiser. Eaton was talking about using the force of law and the power of the state to extract juice from the fruits of other peoples labors based on the whimsy of big government legislators with little or no regard for its affect on the state, our economy, or the people who would be paying, and that was exactly how the Democrats would govern.