Republican Report - Message from Dave - 4/25/08
I hope that you all had the opportunity to read the op-ed piece published this week in the Union Leader (Wed., 4/23). (see it after the jump) It was written by Charles Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in Concord. The essay titled, “Some thoughts on being an island in a sea of socialism,” clearly captures what we as Republicans have been confronted with since the Democrats took control of the legislature less than two years ago. Since that time, we have not only witnessed the state’s first $10 Billion budget—thanks to a 17.5% increase in spending—but we have also seen the further erosion of the New Hampshire Advantage that we have enjoyed within the region through inceased taxes and fees. As Mr. Arlinghaus pointed out, “government is getting larger but it’s also getting more intrusive.” If you have not yet read his piece, I urge you to do so.
It will be our job, over the weeks and months leading up to the fall election, to educate the voters of our state as to exactly what has been going on at the State House in Concord. We need to point out exactly why their taxes have increased, why fees have gone up, and why we are facing a potential $260M deficit in state government!
In order to regain control of the New Hampshire House, and begin the task of repairing the damage done by the Democrats, we must:
You will also notice an announcement in this newsletter about a Republican Campaign School that will be held in Nashua on May 17th. Over the next few months we will try and keep you informed of any program that may be helpful to candidates planning their campaign. To that end, we have recently been including campaign tips along with our Republican Report and we plan to continue this practice. I would like to thank Rep. Ken Weyler for helping to compile much of the information that we are sending out. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know and we will share them with the entire caucus.
Finally, I would like to thank the members of our caucus for supporting the motion to withdraw, without debate, the Bill of Address to remove Superior Court justice Patricia Coffee from office. With the resignation of Judge Coffey this week, the committee felt that a motion
to withdraw was in the best interest of the State of New Hampshire. It has been tabled, however should it be necessary it could be brought back again this session, but that is highly unlikely.
Our Republican caucus will be held at 11:30 AM on Wednesday in Rooms 305-307 of the LOB. This will give us a chance to go over the issues prior to lunch. If you have any concerns with legislation coming to the floor on Wednesday, please bring them to the caucus. We also invite all of you to join us for our Republican Caucus Spring Social following the House session on Wednesday at the Upham-Walker House. Food and beverages will be served and it will be a great opportunity for us to get together in a relaxed atmosphere following a long winter. I hope to see you all there!
It will be our job, over the weeks and months leading up to the fall election, to educate the voters of our state as to exactly what has been going on at the State House in Concord. We need to point out exactly why their taxes have increased, why fees have gone up, and why we are facing a potential $260M deficit in state government!
In order to regain control of the New Hampshire House, and begin the task of repairing the damage done by the Democrats, we must:
(1) present qualified candidates to the voter; andIf you know of someone in your district who would make a strong candidate, please have them contact both our office and the State Republican Party headquarters. If you are an incumbent and have made a decision as to whether nor not you intend to run for office again, please let us know. Paul Smith in our office has been compiling a list so we know in which districts we need to recruit additional candidates.
(2) make sure those candidates candidates are well versed on the facts.
You will also notice an announcement in this newsletter about a Republican Campaign School that will be held in Nashua on May 17th. Over the next few months we will try and keep you informed of any program that may be helpful to candidates planning their campaign. To that end, we have recently been including campaign tips along with our Republican Report and we plan to continue this practice. I would like to thank Rep. Ken Weyler for helping to compile much of the information that we are sending out. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know and we will share them with the entire caucus.
Finally, I would like to thank the members of our caucus for supporting the motion to withdraw, without debate, the Bill of Address to remove Superior Court justice Patricia Coffee from office. With the resignation of Judge Coffey this week, the committee felt that a motion
to withdraw was in the best interest of the State of New Hampshire. It has been tabled, however should it be necessary it could be brought back again this session, but that is highly unlikely.
Our Republican caucus will be held at 11:30 AM on Wednesday in Rooms 305-307 of the LOB. This will give us a chance to go over the issues prior to lunch. If you have any concerns with legislation coming to the floor on Wednesday, please bring them to the caucus. We also invite all of you to join us for our Republican Caucus Spring Social following the House session on Wednesday at the Upham-Walker House. Food and beverages will be served and it will be a great opportunity for us to get together in a relaxed atmosphere following a long winter. I hope to see you all there!
IS NEW HAMPSHIRE changing for good? For years New Hampshire was called an island of sanity in a sea of socialism, a free market holdout surrounded on all sides by a growing and more intrusive government. But the Old New Hampshire is increasingly being replaced by a larger more involved government moving us ever closer to Massachusetts.
To be fair, the mythological version of "Old New Hampshire" may have been exaggerated. The Granite State was not colonized by Milton Friedman and conservative economists didn't sit around pushing a free market agenda. Instead, in contrast to other exploding state governments, we just didn't grow as much.
Our taxes were low because we didn't raise them. When other states passed a sales tax and income tax, we said no. After Gov. Sherman Adams said government needed a broadbased tax, we resisted. Instead we turned to Gov. Hugh Gregg who said let's hold down government spending so we don't have to raise taxes.
As recently as 10 years ago, that attitude still prevailed. After the worst recession since the Great Depression, Gov. Steve Merrill used a large electoral majority to eliminate two taxes and cut others including a pro-growth cut in business taxes. His budget was the first in modern times to actually reduce spending. Like Gov. Gregg 40 years earlier, reducing spending to limit an average citizen's tax burden was the policy goal.
In that same time period, a selectman famously refused to sign his town's bid for federal emergency relief funds after a snowstorm. He announced sensibly that snow was neither unexpected nor a disaster in northern New Hampshire.
Slowly but surely, however, New Hampshire is changing. We're not changing all at once but it is gradual and steady. Steve Merrill's great budget spent $1.7 billion. The most recent two-year budget will spend about $3.2 billion, an 88 percent increase. In the same time period, inflation will be about 38 percent. With education funding, the total paid for with state taxes is $5 billion or 193 percent more than we had to tax 12 years ago.
Government is getting larger but it's also getting more intrusive. On the smallest issues and the biggest issues, the impulse of the Legislature is to pass more laws and regulate more things. Last year, the House of Representatives passed a new balloon tax. It was a silly $250 fine for releasing a balloon. The bill was ultimately killed by the Senate, but it's a symbol of the new impulse to regulate.
The state decided to ban smoking in all restaurants. Never mind that many restaurants chose to do so on their own for marketing reasons. Smoking sections in a minority of restaurants weren't enough. Smoking is a legal if unhealthy act but you can't do it in a bar. Even a modest bill this year to allow cigar bars is likely to die. Smoke at home if you want, but we can't allow people to smoke together and have a drink at the same time.
Each year we add new rules to health insurance. You can't buy basic coverage, there are more and more mandates that drive up the cost so that New Hampshire, the healthiest state in the country, has the highest health insurance. This year, we intend to move from government dictating some of the rules of insurance to government actually designing the product.
The state will require every private insurance company in the state to offer a wellness plan designed not by their own professionals but by regulatory officials of the government. That seems to take us most of the way to having state government itself get into the business and eliminate the need for these pesky insurance companies.
Each step along the way is well-intentioned. A fund for preserving barns? We all like old barns. A system of price supports for producers of milk? I don't want to see the state without dairy farms. While we're at it, we might also subsidize those cute little soft serve ice cream stands too, everyone likes those.
The problem isn't one action, it's the cumulative value and the mindset. What other businesses should we provide price supports for? If the state can design insurance plans better than the company can, what other businesses can we run better?
Charles M. Arlinghaus is president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in Concord.
To be fair, the mythological version of "Old New Hampshire" may have been exaggerated. The Granite State was not colonized by Milton Friedman and conservative economists didn't sit around pushing a free market agenda. Instead, in contrast to other exploding state governments, we just didn't grow as much.
Our taxes were low because we didn't raise them. When other states passed a sales tax and income tax, we said no. After Gov. Sherman Adams said government needed a broadbased tax, we resisted. Instead we turned to Gov. Hugh Gregg who said let's hold down government spending so we don't have to raise taxes.
As recently as 10 years ago, that attitude still prevailed. After the worst recession since the Great Depression, Gov. Steve Merrill used a large electoral majority to eliminate two taxes and cut others including a pro-growth cut in business taxes. His budget was the first in modern times to actually reduce spending. Like Gov. Gregg 40 years earlier, reducing spending to limit an average citizen's tax burden was the policy goal.
In that same time period, a selectman famously refused to sign his town's bid for federal emergency relief funds after a snowstorm. He announced sensibly that snow was neither unexpected nor a disaster in northern New Hampshire.
Slowly but surely, however, New Hampshire is changing. We're not changing all at once but it is gradual and steady. Steve Merrill's great budget spent $1.7 billion. The most recent two-year budget will spend about $3.2 billion, an 88 percent increase. In the same time period, inflation will be about 38 percent. With education funding, the total paid for with state taxes is $5 billion or 193 percent more than we had to tax 12 years ago.
Government is getting larger but it's also getting more intrusive. On the smallest issues and the biggest issues, the impulse of the Legislature is to pass more laws and regulate more things. Last year, the House of Representatives passed a new balloon tax. It was a silly $250 fine for releasing a balloon. The bill was ultimately killed by the Senate, but it's a symbol of the new impulse to regulate.
The state decided to ban smoking in all restaurants. Never mind that many restaurants chose to do so on their own for marketing reasons. Smoking sections in a minority of restaurants weren't enough. Smoking is a legal if unhealthy act but you can't do it in a bar. Even a modest bill this year to allow cigar bars is likely to die. Smoke at home if you want, but we can't allow people to smoke together and have a drink at the same time.
Each year we add new rules to health insurance. You can't buy basic coverage, there are more and more mandates that drive up the cost so that New Hampshire, the healthiest state in the country, has the highest health insurance. This year, we intend to move from government dictating some of the rules of insurance to government actually designing the product.
The state will require every private insurance company in the state to offer a wellness plan designed not by their own professionals but by regulatory officials of the government. That seems to take us most of the way to having state government itself get into the business and eliminate the need for these pesky insurance companies.
Each step along the way is well-intentioned. A fund for preserving barns? We all like old barns. A system of price supports for producers of milk? I don't want to see the state without dairy farms. While we're at it, we might also subsidize those cute little soft serve ice cream stands too, everyone likes those.
The problem isn't one action, it's the cumulative value and the mindset. What other businesses should we provide price supports for? If the state can design insurance plans better than the company can, what other businesses can we run better?
Charles M. Arlinghaus is president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in Concord.
