Taxes

As we face uncertain economic times here in New Hampshire, there is one politician that stands head and shoulders above all others: Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta. Unlike many of his fellow elected Republicans who have apparently hunkered down, not wishing to make too many "waves" headed into an election year, Guinta is providing the type of leadership that sets him apart from the rest. Oh sure, many Republicans pay lip service to the old GOP mantra of smaller government, less taxes, and less regulation, but those who actually work to turn such notions into reality are few and far between.  

Most Granite Staters that pay attention to the news know that Mayor Guinta and his budget team are working to reduce spending in an effort to keep property taxes in check, taking into account the economy and the taxpayers ability to pay. Let me say that again: Mayor Guinta is seeking to keep taxes from increasing by, (gasp!)

REDUCING SPENDING!!!!

When was the last time you heard a politician say that, and actually MEAN IT? Regular readers know that here in Belknap County, it is REPUBLICANS that run the show lock, stock, and barrel. Unlike Guinta, the local GOP, led by phoney conservatives like Convention member Representative Fran Wedleboe and Commission Chair Phil "Buddy" Daigneault, claims that, when it comes to county finance, “The problem with the budget is not spending. We just don’t have the revenue to support our expenses.” And of course their solution is to simply raise our taxes. These clowns could do well to look to Mayor Guinta for some guidance and a refresher on what it means to be a Republican.

Oh sure, it’s not always easy. The big spenders do not give up without a fight. The attacks and threats that assuredly follow any cutback proposal, whether large or small, are not for the faint of heart. Case in point is the reaction of the various characters within Manchester’s public school system. For several weeks we’ve been hearing the whining and moaning as the Mayor rolls out the proposed spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. And naturally, the overarching theme is one of gloom and doom… according to the Chicken Littles of the public school system,

THE SKY IS ABOUT TO FALL!

Color me unsurprised. Today’s New Hampshire Sunday News has the latest prediction of catastrophe in what will undoubtedly a refrain we’ll hear again and again:

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In another example of Republicans showing some fight by stepping out front and center on issues at the local level that will hopefully resonate with regular folks the next time they vote for their leaders, the Manchester Republican Committee has weighed in on that city’s budget situation. As I noted in GOP Rising Part 1, there is much work that needs to be done to restore the notion that for good government, we need the GOP in charge. In order for that, we must reconnect with ordinary people. Taking a meaningful stand against spending-driven tax increases has long been one of the good ways to do so.

Manchester Republicans this week have done just that with this hard-hitting press release laying out facts about that city’s growing school budget that need little explanation:

Manchester Republican Committee to School District: It is time to live within your means

MSD expenditures have grown by 50% in just ten short years

Manchester- Manchester is facing a $13 million dollar decline in expected revenues and we have 1,500 less students in our school system then just 4 short years ago. Every Manchester resident is facing a higher cost of living and is being forced to make tough decisions to make ends meet. The Manchester Republican Committee is calling on the Manchester School administration to stop playing politics and support Mayor Guinta’s reasonable budget reductions.  We have attached a graph that shows just how much our school budget has grown over the past ten years.

 

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Swimming away in the Merrimack following the deed?

Most of you reading this have undoubtedly come to terms with the commonplace liberal bias of most of the bigger media organs. Fortunately in today’s world, there are now many choices and options available to simply bypass most of it and instead seek out the actual truth– i.e. blogs, etc. Generally, the response to the bias is to put forth the truth in another form and outlet and just ignore the slanted "journalism" altogether. As time moves forward, more and more people are gravitating away from those formerly holding a lock on mass communication, thus hastening their ultimate demise.

I’m not sure if the Hippo Press— a once-a-week Manchester paper– qualifies as ever having held any real impact, or if they are in fact considered part of the new wave of media (although with no letters provision or capability to post reader comments, it’s doubtful)– but it doesn’t really matter, because the old-style bias pattern is quite evident. The "hipsters" at the Hippo, based on a cursory read over the various editorials, are nothing more than yesterday’s big government cheerleaders slightly repackaged. I have no problem with this, as it is a free country and those that own the paper have a right to say whatever they want, just like we do here at the ‘Grok. What I do take offense from, however, is when in-depth reporting presented as news/fact reflects this same bias– and includes blatant untruths. Such is the case with the cover story of this week’s Hippo about the state of NH’s so-called anti-income tax pledge.

The piece in question is entitled "Is The Pledge starting to crumble? New Hampshire might just be ready to consider a different income tax". It is without a doubt one of the most stunningly one-sided pieces of reporting I have read in quite some time. While purporting to have delved into great detail on the question of the silly "anti-taxpayer pledge" question that appeared on some 88 annual town warrants here in the Granite State courtesy of the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition (GSFTC)– a front organization seeking to destroy the NH Advantage through broad-based taxes– the story in fact does nothing more than regurgitate the proponents’ talking points. I should know– I appeared on Arnie Arnesen’s Political Chowder TV show with the executive director of the GSFTC, Paul Henle, and heard it all first hand, pie chart and all. What is in the Hippo piece is pretty much what Paul had to say on the program.

As I stated at the top of the post, I would normally not get all that uptight about what gets printed in some left-leaning rag that I would never read anyway, so you might be wondering why I’m even writing about this at all. And actually, some of you are probably wondering why I even wasted more than a nanosecond looking at the Hippo anyway– as CNHT’s Jane Aitken said in an email, "It’s the Hippo- what did you expect?" Well, when somebody takes a shot at me or mine, I take notice. Buried within the lopsided propaganda piece was this:

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Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

[NOTE: This was originally posted on February 25th. We are bumping this back up to the top as a reminder for those who are participating in today’s elections in towns across the Granite State not to be fooled by this thinly-veiled attempt at paving the way for broad-based taxes and the destruction of the New Hampshire Advantage.]

Our friend Jane Aitken of the Coalition of NH Taxpayers (CNHT) sends the following article in order to help Granite Grok readers further understand who’s really behind the "anti-pledge" warrant articles appearing on some 88 towns here in NH. As it is an underhanded attempt to chip away at our New Hampshire Advantage, we are doing everything we can to expose this group for who they are and what they are trying to do to our beloved Granite State… 

Once again it’s the time of year when NH residents will attend town meetings, school meetings, and deliberative sessions, to decide how  their tax dollars will be spent. They will make decisions about the education of their children.  Since we in NH cherish local control, I present to you some infiltrators to be wary of during these discussions.

There will likely be present operatives from a group by the name of "Granite State Fair Tax Coalition". They may be offering any number  of "resolutions" for approval in the form of citizens petitioned warrant articles.

These articles may contain resolutions calling for our candidates for  State Representative, State Senator, and Governor to reject the local  "Taxpayer Protection Pledge".

This is merely an attempt to demonize those taking the Pledge as well as an attack on the Pledge itself. Taking the Pledge simply means that fiscally responsible legislators promise to reject any broad-based new tax such as a sales or income tax. Along with the goal of getting candidates to reject the Pledge, the articles may even be amended to specifically state the consideration of an income or sales tax.

The reasoning behind this non-binding action seems purely psychological and intended to convince taxpayers that  somehow, a new broad-based tax will lower property taxes. However, freedom of speech dictates that one’s right to take the Pledge cannot be legislated away. Candidates can and will continue to take the Pledge if they expect to be elected.

 

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Republicans ‘destroying’ Belknap County… (and themselves, in the process)

Fans of the various Superman incarnations might recall the minor character, Bizarro, failed clone of Superman. After being hit by a meteor, Bizarro’s “powers” were the reverse of Superman’s. Leaving Earth, the evil clone moved to a world known as “Htrae” with “Bizarro-Lois,” creating “Bizarro World.” According to the Wikipedia

In the Bizarro world, a cube-shaped planet known as ‘Htrae’ (Earth spelled backward), society is ruled by the Bizarro Code, which states that it is a crime to do anything well or to make anything perfect or beautiful. In one episode, for example, a salesman is doing a brisk trade selling ‘Bizarro bonds. Guaranteed to lose money for you.’

Simply put- it is a world where up is down and in is out and good is bad. Come with me as I pay a visit to “Bizarro World…”

Writing in a post at our local blog, GilfordGrok, I noted that here in the Granite State, it is the job of the County Convention– comprised of the county’s delegation of NH house representatives– to review and approve the county budget that is proposed to them by the members of the County Commission. The Convention has much the same power and function as a municipal budget committee, with one difference: Unlike a municipal budget committee’s decisions, which are subjected to one final layer of checks and balances– the voters, who get the last word, the Convention’s vote is the ultimate and final authority. As our elected representatives, the Convention members form a purely republican (small “r”) form of government, in that we completely rely on them to act on our behalf. They are the eyes and ears of the taxpayers of the county. Let me repeat what I wrote last week at GilfordGrok: “Based upon my recent observations, they have failed us miserably.” After what I witnessed this past Tuesday night, I stand pat by that observation.

It is no secret that fiscal matters at all levels of government are facing extra scrutiny lately. With a slowing economy, and rising costs of energy and other necessary items of life, taxpayers are getting pinched, and are looking for relief wherever possible. In Laconia, the citizens have enacted a tax cap, vowing to live within their means. The practical result is that the city is now choosing how it spends its resources carefully, in some cases going without—much like any average family. Dittoes for neighboring Gilford, where the Selectmen, the School Board, and the Budget Committee have all worked to lighten the load on the taxpayers. Not so for the County. Over there, it’s “taxpayers be damned, business as usual.”

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[Note: This is the first of a 2 part posting on the call. The detail and amount of material, while seemingly mundane budgetary matters, has ramifications of great consequence for all of us. More people need to become aware of the alarm bells being sounded by Senator Gregg.]

This week I had the opportunity to participate in a Blogger’s conference call with NH’s senior Senator Judd Gregg, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee. I have to say that when it comes to discussing the federal budget… WOW! Senator Gregg greatly impressed me with his knowledge of the process and the current and future spending proposals coming down the pike. Additionally, he was filled with fire and passion– something I’ve never really greatly associated with Sen. Gregg. Unfortunately, Judd’s efforts notwithstanding, unless we can derail what the majority Democrats have in mind, we will all pay the price for their government largesse with increased taxes. He started with his assessment of the Democrats’ budgetary practices, now with some history as proof:

"Last year was the first time the Democratic Congress produced a budget in 12 years. They had the benefit of the doubt. When they said they were going to control spending, people gave them the benefit of the doubt. When they said they were going to address the problems which we confront with entitlements because of the baby boom generation and the cost that is going to be put on our children, people gave them the benefit of the doubt. When they said they were going to use pay-go rules—this motherhood term—to discipline spending around here, people gave them the benefit of the doubt. When they said they weren’t going to raise the national debt any more than the President was, people gave them the benefit of the doubt. When they said they weren’t going to raise taxes on the American people, that they were going to find revenues by simply collecting taxes that were already owed, people gave them the benefit of the doubt."

As he then told us,

• "They didn’t control spending."
• "They didn’t keep taxes down."
• "They’ve created more entitlement concerns."
• "They violated "PAYGO"- their OWN rule!"

"Democrat Kent Conrad says the ‘debt is the threat.’"

"Obama-rama"

This, he said

"will add 300 billion dollars of new spending annually!"

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Revenue on Track for $75 Million Shortfall

By Charles M. Arlinghaus

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Not enough money and too many promises sums up the sad state of New Hampshire’s 10-year highway plan, says Transportation Commissioner Charles O’Leary.

One of my long time pet peeves has been the gobs of gas-tax and other tax-funded monies wasted on certain public transportation systems. I certainly support and appreciate public transportation systems in urban areas- where they are cost-effective (for the most part) and heavily used. It is when attempts are made to bring widespread service to rural areas that it becomes a costly, underutilized proposition- which I have a problem with.

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