News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
A few months back, the University of New Hampshire ran a poll showing that 86 percent of Vermonters found the state to be unaffordable and 64 percent of prime working-age folks 18-34 were actively planning to leave. Last week, the Fiscal Alliance Foundation followed up with another poll, this one asking (among other things) what would make someone change … Read more
During the past week, New Hampshire progressives have gleefully shared an internet post that ranks New Hampshire fourth in the nation in “lifetime taxes” paid. The analysis itself is, to use the technical term, bogus. The social media treatment of it is even worse. On social media, “lifetime taxes paid” very quickly morphed into “lifetime … Read more
We’ve talked a lot about Democrats and their liberal judges and prosecutors letting career criminals go free because of the color of their skin. There is an army of posts on GraniteGrok about Democrats and their mayors and Police forces letting criminal aliens go free, many of whom are violent or deranged criminals, some with … Read more
A third-party ad is circulating on streaming networks claiming that Chris Pappas is working to make housing more affordable. It implies that he’s the only one and that we need him to keep working on the problem. It is untrue that he’s the only one, and the messaging ignores that many of his proposals involve … Read more
Democrat-Socialist candidates aren’t new, but viable, advancing Democrat-Socialist of America candidates are, and they keep winning primaries and grabbing nominations for congressional and U.S. Senate races. If you don’t understand the problem, that’s a problem. The DSA agenda is about the destruction of America, free markets, separation of powers, and the Republic. You lose property … Read more
Before you vote in November, and you will vote (please), you need to understand something. I know, I’ve articulated a long list of things Democrats would do or will do if they get back in control of anything at any level of government. More crime, less enforcement, no detention of foreign criminals, ending fraud investigations- … Read more
Citing 1850 Constitutional Record Unavailable to the Claremont Courts. Windham taxpayer and former Windham School Board member and occasional ‘Grok contributor ‘ Tom Murray has filed a constitutional challenge to New Hampshire’s education property-tax structure. He argues that previously unconsidered constitutional history undermines the foundation of the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s landmark Claremont school-funding decisions … Read more
Today, on the Morning Update, Democrats have always promised all sorts of “free” things. They also claim they will tax the rich to pay for them. What they don’t tell you is that you, workaday Jane and Joe, are “The Rich” they’re talking about. Watch on the ‘Grok Rumble Channel if the Embedded Video does … Read more
Nashua taxpayers deserve full transparency, accuracy, and candor from their elected officials. Recent developments, however, raise serious concerns about how Mayor Jim Donchess and the Board of Aldermen are managing the City’s finances, and how residents are being informed about those decisions. The FY2026 budget initially presented to residents totaled $474,895,381. Yet the City now … Read more
In 2015, the year New Hampshire legislators began a series of business tax cuts, revenues from the state’s two primary business taxes were a combined $561.7 million. In the decade since, business tax revenues grew $3 billion in nominal dollars, or $2.5 billion in real dollars. From 2016-2025, the state collected $2.5 billion in new … Read more
Nashua taxpayers deserve public accountability, not silence, and the situation at 181 East Hollis Street makes that painfully clear. City records show: For a 12,000‑square‑foot commercial building, this level of inaction is unprecedented, and it raises serious questions about oversight, consistency, and fairness. I asked the Board of Aldermen, Mayor Donchess, Mr. Cummings and Ms. … Read more
Young people (18 to 34) apparently really don’t like Vermont. According to the recent University of New Hampshire Green Mountain State Poll, a whopping 64 percent of that demographic wants to very much or somewhat leave the Green Mountains for greener pastures. Less than half, just 45 percent, think Vermont is a “good place to … Read more
New Hampshire can and has bucked the national mid-term trend, but not always. Turnout, of course, is the thing that matters. Issues and debate are important, but turnout decides who wins. In the Granite State. Despite being saddled with useless left-wing tools in Congress, it has consistently preferred Republican Governors and Republican legislative leaders for … Read more
The Vermont Futures Project made something of a splash when it released a statistic showing that Vermont ranks 51st among 50 states (D.C. thrown in for giggles) for something they call “economic momentum.” This sounds really bad and, spoiler alert, it is. But, full confession, it’s not a statistic I was familiar with. Other organizations … Read more
Legislation was passed in my town of Kingston during the March election and recently at the NH State House offering “tax caps” as a solution to exploding town and school budgets. These measures – while tempting – resemble the “price controls” economists normally condemn. Economists routinely oppose price ceilings. The best outcomes are achieved when … Read more
Rural Vermont Rising clearly has the Left spooked. Rightly so. Any organization that goes from zero to nearly 16,000 followers in a matter of a few months and is organizing itself with town-based chapters aimed at rolling back big chunks of the Democratic Socialist (or progressive, or “woke,” or whatever you want to call it) … Read more
New Hampshire’s unique state tax structure is hard to understand, especially for people who don’t own a business. More than a third (36%) of the state General Fund and Education Trust Fund revenue comes from business taxes. The vast majority of that comes from the Business Profits Tax (BPT), but the lesser-known Business Enterprise Tax … Read more
In the years before 1763, the British Empire—although in theory a unified entity—was really a federation. The central government in London controlled foreign affairs and the imperial post office. It also regulated trade with foreign countries and among units of the empire. But otherwise, the 13 future American states were largely self-governing. In each, the … Read more
Nashua residents deserve a budget process grounded in accuracy, transparency, and accountability. Yet the FY2027 Budget Book, distributed publicly and posted on the city website, contains significant omissions and inconsistencies that materially distort the city’s financial picture. Whether these errors stem from oversight or mismanagement, the impact is the same: taxpayers are being presented with … Read more
The Vermont Senate Republicans dropped a post earlier this week outlining just how out of control state spending is and has been for a long time. Though they cite a figure for FY27 spending of $9.1 billion (projected) and a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase, where I see a $9.34 billion number coming out of the … Read more