Results tagged “Taxes” from Belknap County Republican Committee

By Lloyd Jones
Editor, Conway Daily Sun

Lloyd@conwaydailysun.com

[emphasis by Skip]

CONWAY — Former governor John H. Sununu, the head of the of New Hampshire Republican Committee, calls John Lynch the nicest governor in the history of the state — and the worst.

"He is the worst governor we've ever had because he cannot make a decision," Sununu said at a recent house party hosted by Maryann and Ray Shakir on Birch Hill in North Conway. "He's a great follower. He lets the radical left leadership of his House and Senate move things forward, but he will not give guidance, he will not tell them what he accepts or doesn't accept. He will not draw the line, he will not go back and cut spending, he will not be honest with what he is saying yet he still goes around smiling and yet is continually well-received around the state. We have to replace the governor."

Sununu served as New Hampshire's governor from 1983-89 and was White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. When he first took over as head of the New Hampshire Republican Party in January, he said he refrained from labeling Lynch the worst governor in the state's history because "he had such good political capital." However, "By St. Patrick's Day I was doing (former executive councilor) Bernie Streeter's roast where they raise money for charities in Nashua, and the governor and I were both speakers. He came in and made a couple of jokes about me calling him the worst governor in the history of the state. I got up and said, 'Governor, I've got to admit, you're the nicest governor we've ever had, but the fact is nicest and worst are not mutually incompatible.'"

Victoria A. Bonney, communications director for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, offered a response Wednesday, saying, "Mr. Sununu may yearn for his glory days as governor but the reality is our state is better today than it was yesterday. Under Governor Lynch’s leadership we’ve seen significant gains for education, the environment, clean energy, small business and an overall improved quality of life. That’s why Governor Lynch is not only the most popular governor New Hampshire has seen in decades, but the most popular governor in the nation.”

At the house party Friday, July 17, attended by approximately 55 staunch Republicans, Sununu talked about what brought him back into the world of politics as chairman of the N.H. Republican Committee.

"It really is important to understand that this state in particular and certainly the country as well is at a very critical crossroads," he continued. "We've had Democratic governors for 10 of the last 12 years. By the way, I am not running for anything, let's get that clear from the start. I am not going to run for anything. We have had Democratic governors for 10 of the last 12 years. With Lynch, the Democrats will now have it 12 out of the last 14 years. Over that period of time, what has happened to New Hampshire is horrible. It wasn't quite a tsunami but it was a tide so you may not have noticed the individual change, the incremental change. Over a period of time it piles up to make a healthy sandwich of problems for the state of New Hampshire."

Sununu said the rate of growth in New Hampshire has "virtually disappeared" over the last 12 years.

"We're down to about a half of a percent per year over the past few years," he said. "Last year, for the first time in almost 50 years, more people moved out of the state than moved in. Investment has stopped coming to New Hampshire. Jobs have stopped coming to New Hampshire. Our economic structure is deteriorating because we have adopted principles that are anti-job, anti-family, anti-business and anti-growth. We used to be rated in terms of a business environment in the top five, six, seven states. We are now rated in the 40s."

Sununu continued blasting away at Lynch.

"We have had in this last session 38 increases in taxes and fees and new taxes imposed on us," Sununu said. "We have a governor that has no sense that this is not the way to go.  We have a governor who has no capacity to lead or to stand up or to communicate to the legislature what he will or won't accept. Instead he sits there and waits for them to send him whatever they want to send him and 99 percent out of a 100 he signs the garbage they present to him. The Democrats are ruining the state of New Hampshire."

Sununu is attending a number of house parties across the state this summer looking to rally Republicans. He told the enthusiastic audience two weeks ago the political ball is essentially in their court.

"It's up to us to talk to our friends and our neighbors; the people who work for us; the people that we work with; the people that we meet at our post-retirement parties," Sununu said. "It is only by us communicating what has really happened that people will get angry enough to fix what has to fixed in 2010."

 

—P. J. O’Rourke

At 1:05 a.m. on Friday, June 19th, following several days of wrangling over the state budget, the Committee of Conference on HB1 and HB2 finally arrived at a budget—but not before creating a lot of heartache for the people of our state in the way of some serious tax increases. At one point early in the day on Thursday, the deficit had grown to as much $197.7M thanks to additional spending that had even exceeded spending in the Senate version of the budget. But after revising the revenue estimates, raising several taxes, and instituting a handful of cuts, the conferees came to an agreement on an $11.6B budget.

The state budget does not include a tax on refinancing mortgages, a much-publicized entertainment tax, a capital gains tax, an estate tax, or an attempt to eliminate the BET credit against the BPT. But what the budget DOES include—and perhaps the most devastating aspect of it all—is more than $600M in one-time money that simply will not be there when the legislature crafts the next budget in two years. According to Rep. Norm Major, one of our alternate conferees, in order to offset the reliance on the one-time money, the committee should have looked toward as much as a 10% cut in spending, or $500M over the next two biennium.

When we return to the majority in two years, we will face a gargantuan task in trying to balance a budget that relied heavily on one-time money and in undoing the many wrongs of the previous four years. When our constituents or the members of the state’s business community face a reduction in income, they do not expand their business or increase family spending, they cut back — and the State of New Hampshire should have done the same! The budget will go to the Senate first, on Wednesday, before we get the opportunity to vote up or down on both HB1 and HB2. Given the increase in taxes, the use of one-time money and the lack of serious spending cuts, we will OPPOSE the budget as written and we ask you to vote no.

We have included some of the major points of this budget and, of course, we will have much more information for you at the forum on Tuesday (see box). We will also hold a Republican caucus at 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday as usual, prior to the House session.

Rooms and Meals Tax—raised to 9%, even higher that the House and Senate versions and now includes camp grounds, who alone will be taxed over $9M!

School Building Aid—For the second biennium in a row, the Democrat majority has bonded school building aid ($90M), once again passing on operating costs to the credit card, leaving our children’s children picking up the tab. This is an unnecessary and aggressive approach given the current economic climate.

Boat Fees—Fees for all boats have been doubled for what is supposed to be six years, at which time they would return to their current levels—but we all know that sunsets are actually repealed in one line item in subsequent bills.

Limited Liability Corporations (LLC)—They will take a big hit in this budget by being subject to the Interest and Dividends tax, regardless of whether or not they have transferable shares.

Gambling winnings—The conference committee reinserted the 10% tax on gambling winnings, collected inside or outside New Hampshire. We will be taking a further look at this tax because of the fact that non-profits in the state will have to become tax collectors for NH.

Retirement system—The system remains on the verge of bankruptcy, this time by having new state employees contribute more to their share of retirement, while teachers and Group II members do not—ensuring continued disputes and financial insolvency for our fledgling system.

Tobacco Tax—They increased the tobacco tax by another $.48 per pack, the fourth increase in five years, bringing the total tax to $1.78 per pack.

Registration fees—They increased registration fees by $30-$75, depending upon the weight of the vehicle. This tax hurts the elderly who may only occasionally use their vehicles.

Charter Schools—While they were funded at Senate levels, an amendment was adopted by the committee which would ask the commissioner of DOE to find a way to see how enrollment laws could be changed without risking federal dollars—the conference committee all week discussed its dismay over having to increase enrollment at public charter schools and did discuss ways to eventually roll back the enrollment once the stimulus dollars disappear.

Spending reductions—Republicans on the committee offered several spending reductions over the week of negotiations, some of which were adopted and some not, including: cutting USNH budget, reducing HHS incentive funds, reducing judicial branch, reducing the state’s share of municipal retirement contributions, ordering additional layoffs or cuts to personnel related costs, reduce family resource center, cutting the CCSNH budget by $1.5M a year and several others.

Concealed Weapons—They increased the fee for out-of-state concealed weapon permits from $20 to $100. One final note to be aware of, a lawsuit has been filed by a coalition of more than 200 health care agencies and doctors who have been insured by the state Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) seeking to stop the state from taking more than $100M of the $150M held in the state-established medical malpractice fund for use in balancing the budget.

If there is an injunction forthcoming that prevents the state from using that money in its budget, it could be back to square one. We will keep a close eye on this story.

I would also like to remind everyone that the NH State Republican Committee will host Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi for a fund-raiser on Wednesday, June 24, from 5:30 p.m.until 7 p.m.at C.R. Sparks in Bedford. Contact the state committee at 225-9341 for details.

Have a great weekend. I look forward to seeing you at the Budget Forum.

-Sherm

The committee of conference on the budget finally finished up it's business for the day at about 11PM last night.  While everything is still on the table until the final document is voted on, here is an update of what they acted upon last evening:
 

1. The conferees said "NO" to allowing expanded gambling in New Hampshire
2. They rejected a plan to implement a Capital Gains tax.
3. The voted "NO" on the Estate Tax.
4. They tentatively decided to bond $87M worth of school building aid.
5. They raised the cost for out-of-staters to get a 4-year concealed pistol permit from $20 to $100.
6. The voted no on putting a hold on the reduction of the Insurance Premium Tax.

 
Earlier in the day, the conferees also:

1. Voted to increase the cigarette tax by $.45 to $1.78 per pack.
2. They voted to double the cost of boat registrations
3. Compromised on the plan to reduce the budgets on the Status of  Women.  They cut the commission's budget in half for 2010 and gave it a grant of $1 in 2011.
4. They voted to allow LCHIP about 75% of the $4.5M the fee is expected to raise over the biennium.

The governor appeared briefly before the committee and told them that projected revenue figures for 2010 are LESS that the figures of 2004 and 10% less than 2008.   Rumors circulated throughout the evening that he would propose a 9% Entertainment Tax, but that never transpired.  But it is still "in the wind," along with a proposal to boost the Rooms and Meals Tax to 9%.
 
Once again, we will have the committee of conference staffed today and will keep you up to date as to what is happening.  As those of you who have been around for a number of years know, this is an extremely fluid situation.  Things that may have been voted down yesterday can suddenly re-appear again.  Once they figure out what kind of "hole" they have created with their spending, they are going to have to look for a  large revenue source somewhere or agree to considerable cuts in spending.  As of yesterday afternoon, though, they had actually raised spending by $3.7M over what the Senate had already spent!
 
Once gambling was defeated last night, Sen. D'Allesandro responded by blocking any effort to bring forward the estate tax and a capital gains tax by claiming that, "we should not be increasing tax during a recession!" (must be his Republican roots).  It is pretty clear that  Sen. D'Allesandro will not let go of the gambling issue without a fight.  Today should be interesting.
 
Stay tuned.  We will hold an informational forum on the final product next Tuesday at 9 AM in  Rooms 305-307 of the LOB.  I hope to see you all there.
 
Thanks
 
Sherm

We have been closely watching the Committee of Conference on HB1 and HB2 for the past couple of days and can tell you that the progress has been extremely slow, as you would expect.   This purpose of this email is to bring you up to date as much as possible as to where we currently stand---as of Wednesday afternoon.
 
HB 1, at this point, while mostly completed, still has a few major issues still to resolve.  Unfortunately, much of the Senate position has carried the day today, with additional increases having been added for Health and Human Services and the  Commission on the Status of women and men.  LCHP monies have been restored--fully in the first year with only half their dollars transferred to the General  Fund in FY11.
 
As you may have heard from yesterday's committee of conference session, the biggest blow was suffered by NH drivers who will witness a doubling in their fees.  As of this point in the discussions in HB2, the House has agreed to the Senate's tobacco tax rate.  As of 4PM this afternoon, in between the many recesses that the conferees have taken, we are waiting for the more controversial proposals in the budget--namely gambling, the re-finance tax, capital gains, the BET credit deferral and who knows what else to appear.  They still must answer the biggest question of all, "Where is all the money going to come from?"
 
Of course, the situation is extremely fluid. We will have members of our staff and leadership in attendance throughout the evening and will keep you posted.
 
Sherm

             

 

  New Hampshire Senate Republicans

                    News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Contact: Senator Peter Bragdon

April 15, 2009                                                                                    (603) 271 - 2675                                                                                           

Senate Republicans Applaud Efforts to Rein

in Excessive Taxes and Spending in NH

Concord, NH – Today Senate Minority Leader Peter Bragdon (R-Milford) released the following statement:

“On a day where Americans everywhere are protesting oppressive taxation by our federal government, we have a chance to push against that tide here in New Hampshire.  As we begin the budget process in the Senate, we have the opportunity to balance the state budget without doing so on the backs of hardworking families in the midst of a recession.  Republicans will be working to do just that.”

Background:

The state budget passed by the New Hampshire House and sent to the Senate contains the following taxes:

• NEW capital gains income tax
• NEW death tax
• NEW tax on gambling winnings
• Doubles the gas tax
• Increases the rooms and meals tax
• Increases the cigarette tax for the fourth time in 5 years
• Suspension of the insurance tax reduction

           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CONTACT: Ryan Williams
           April 10, 2009                                                                    (603)225-9341

MARTIN FINALLY ADMITS SUPPORT FOR

RADICAL DEMOCRAT AGENDA

Martin Openly Supports Same-Sex Marriage, Opposes Death Penalty

 

CONCORD – Ending weeks of silence, Democrat State Senate candidate Willard “Bud” Martin today finally admitted his support for the radical Democrat agenda advancing through the Legislature. In an interview in today’s Fosters Daily Democrat,  Mr. Martin came out in support of same-sex marriage and revealed his staunch, long-held opposition to the death penalty.

 

His admissions come at a time when the State Senate is set to consider a slew of radical bills passed by the House including legislation that will establish same-sex marriage and repeal the death penalty.

 

At the same time that Mr. Martin was discussing his support for the Democrats radical agenda, the Democrat State Committee was trying to mislead voters into believing that Martin was still considering the issues. In a story in today’s Conway Daily Sun, Democrat Executive Director Mike Brunelle deceptively claimed that Mr. Martin’s position on the death penalty and same-sex marriage “will be decided down the line.”

 

Martin also revealed that he has been an opponent of the death penalty “since he was a teenager” – despite the fact that he recently told WMUR-TV (3/29/09) that he had “absolutely not” made up his mind on the issue.

 

“Today, Bud Martin confirmed what everybody already knew – that he is a far-left politician who supports the radical Democrat agenda advancing through the legislature. Mr. Martin has deliberately tried to mislead the public by obscuring his actual positions on some of the key issues in this campaign,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Communications Director Ryan Williams. “It’s now obvious that Bud Martin is willing to do and say anything to get elected, and that he lacks the credibility required to effectively represent District 3 in Concord.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Willard “Bud” Martin Has Claimed That He Didn’t Have A Position On Same-Sex Marriage Or A Repeal Of The Death Penalty:

 

Sean McDonald: So you haven’t made any final decision on [same-sex marriage and the death penalty]? (4/9/08)

 

Willard “Bud” Martin: Absolutely Not. (WMUR, 4/9/08)

 

 

He Said It Would Be “Presumptuous” To Give A Position On The Issues:

 

Sean McDonald: Let me get your reaction this week to the House saying no to the death penalty, wanting to repeal that and saying yes to gay marriage. These are possible issues that you might face if you are selected for the senate. Give me your take on these things.

 

Willard “Bud” Martin: Here’s my take on that Sean. It’s very important that the voters know that they are sending somebody down who is going to listen and be accessible and then really do the responsible thing in a focused way and on these very important issues to the constituents out there, that’s my pledge. I’m not going to send out a postcard in advance on everything I am going to do, because that’s presumptuous. How should I make a decision on these critical issues without hearing from everybody? So we will have a hearing process - hearing rooms.

 

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF BUD MARTIN DODGING QUESTIONS

 

 

Today, Willard “Bud” Martin Told Fosters Daily Democrat That He Supports Same-Sex Marriage And Opposes The Death Penalty:

 

Fosters Daily Democrat: “The Democrat in the special Senate election was talking Thursday like the fiscal conservative he says he is while coming down against the death penalty and for gay marriage.” (4/10/09)

 

 

But On The Same Day, The Democrat State Committee Told The Conway Daily Sun He Wasn’t Going To Take A Position On Social Issues:

 

Conway Daily Sun: “Bud is going to ensure he listens to his constituents,’ Brunelle said of social issues. ‘And that all will be decided down the line.’” (4/10/09)

           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CONTACT: Ryan Williams
           April 8, 2009                                                                    (603)225-9341



CONCORD - Today, former New Hampshire Governor and Republican State Committee Chairman John H. Sununu released the following statement on Willard “Bud” Martin’s desperate attempt to distance himself from the Democrat imposed rooms and meals tax:

“On the rooms and meals tax, Bud is ‘pulling a Buco.’ Mr. Martin is attempting to obscure his support for his Party’s radical agenda because he knows how politically unpopular the Democrat’s rooms and meals tax is in District 3. Although he may pretend to be against this tax, everybody knows that Bud Martin would be another rubber stamp vote for the Democrat’s disastrous 10% rooms and meals tax increase if he ever got elected to the State Senate.”

BACKGROUND:

Representative Tom Buco (D-Conway) Flip-Flopped On His Pledge To Fight The Democrat’s Disastrous Rooms And Meals Tax And Voted For it:

Conway Daily Sun: “State Rep. Tom Buco voted for a Democratic-dominated budget he has admitted would saddle the local tourism industry with burdensome tax hikes, days after the Conway Democrat vowed to fight it.” (4/6/09)

Now The Democrat State Committee Is Trying To Fool Voters Into Believing That Willard “Bud” Martin Is Against The Democrat Imposed Rooms And Meals Tax Increase:

Democrat State Committee: “He does not support an increase in the rooms and meals tax…” (Conway Daily Sun, 4/8/09)

           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CONTACT: Ryan Williams
           April 6, 2009                                                                    (603)225-9341

Buco And Martin Support Higher Taxes Despite Concerns From Conway Area Residents And Small Businesses

 

CONCORD – The New Hampshire Republican Party today blasted Representative Tom Buco’s (D-Conway) flip-flop on the disastrous rooms and meals tax and State Senate candidate Willard “Bud” Martin’s support for higher taxes.

 

“Tom Buco’s flip-flop on the rooms and meals tax and Bud Martin’s support for higher taxes shows how out of touch the Democrat Party is with the concerns of New Hampshire voters. The last thing we should do during a recession is to raise taxes and shift the burden of our state budget crisis onto the backs of local taxpayers,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Communications Director Ryan Williams. “Politicians like Tom Buco and Bud Martin would rather appease the liberal Democrat leadership in Concord instead of standing up for the values and priorities of District 3. During these tough economic times working families simply can’t afford these ‘Bud & Buco’ tax hikes.”

The Conway Daily Sun reports today that Representative Buco voted for a nearly 10% hike in the rooms and meals tax only days after pledging to fight it. Buco supported the devastating tax even though he conceded that it would “saddle the local tourism industry” with a damaging burden. Local businesses had pleaded with him to oppose the tax, citing it’s adverse effects on the local economy.

 

Buco also supported the liberal Democrat leadership’s plans to implement a 5% capital gains tax and an 8% death tax that will hurt the middle class.

 

During his campaign for State Senate Bud Martin has claimed that state government should "get the horse before the cart" by imposing tax hikes on working families during a recession. Mr. Martin's pledged support for higher taxes comes at a time when the State Senate is set to consider legislation passed by the House that will establish a 5% capital gains tax, an 8% death tax and a nearly 10% hike in the rooms and meals tax.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Representative Tom Buco Flip-Flopped On His Pledge To Fight The Disastrous Rooms And Meals Tax And Voted For it:

 

Conway Daily Sun: “State Rep. Tom Buco voted for a Democratic-dominated budget he has admitted would saddle the local tourism industry with burdensome tax hikes, days after the Conway Democrat vowed to fight it.” (4/6/09)

Willard "Bud" Martin Has Discussed His Support For Higher Taxes During His Campaign For State Senate:

 

Martin: It isn't really about if we want this tax or that tax we have to start with what are the services - get the "horse before the cart." (WMUR-TV, 4/2/09)

           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CONTACT: Ryan Williams
           March 30, 2009                                                            (603)225-9341


                                                                                                                              
CONCORD – In an interview with WMUR TV yesterday, Democrat State Senate candidate Willard “Bud” Martin refused to provide his positions on same-sex marriage and the death penalty and then praised higher taxes. Mr. Martin’s dodges come at a time when the State Senate is considering bills passed by the House last week that will legalize same-sex marriage and repeal the death penalty. The House is also set to vote next week on legislation that will impose a 5% capital gains tax and an 8% death tax that will devastate New Hampshire’s economy.

When asked to respond to the House’s approval of same-sex marriage and attempts to abolish capital punishment, Mr. Martin flatly refused to take a stand on the issues, instead saying that he wasn’t going to “send a postcard out in advance on everything [he] was going to do,” if elected to the Senate.

“Bud Martin needs to stop dodging the issues and answer questions about his support for the radical bills coming through the legislature. Instead of reciting his carefully scripted and intentionally deceptive talking points, he needs to start being upfront and honest with the voters about his liberal agenda,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Communications Director Ryan Williams.

Mr. Martin also praised higher taxes, calling them “collective” community efforts by citizens. He lamented that the word “taxes” has become what he called a “pejorative term.”

“Mr. Martin’s views on taxes show how out of touch he is with the values and concerns of District 3. He obviously doesn’t understand that during these tough economic times the last thing we should do is raise taxes. Working families simply can’t afford Bud Martin’s disastrous ‘tax and spend’ agenda.” concluded Williams.

BACKGROUND:

On WMUR’S Close Up This Weekend, Democrat State Senate Candidate Willard “Bud” Martin Refused To Answer Questions About His Position On Same-Sex Marriage And The Death Penalty:

Sean McDonald: Let me get your reaction this week to the House saying no to the death penalty, wanting to repeal that and saying yes to gay marriage. These are possible issues that you might face if you are selected for the senate. Give me your take on these things.

Willard “Bud” Martin: Here’s my take on that Sean. It’s very important that the voters know that they are sending somebody down who is going to listen and be accessible and then really do the responsible thing in a focused way and on these very important issues to the constituents out there, that’s my pledge. I’m not going to send out a postcard in advance on everything I am going to do, because that’s presumptuous. How should I make a decision on these critical issues without hearing from everybody. So we will have a hearing process - hearing rooms.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF BUD MARTIN DODGING QUESTIONS


Mr. Martin Also Praised Taxes As “Collective” Community Efforts And Lamented That The Word “Taxes” Has Become A “Pejorative Term”:

Sean McDonald: Let me get a reaction on a quote from you “It’s misleading to ask if you are for or against a tax. The correct question is how do we fairly pay for our reasonable services for our citizens.”

Willard “Bud” Martin: I mean that, to frame a question to a political or a governmental leader, “are you for this tax or are you against this tax”, gets the cart before the horse. The first question is do we want to fix the potholes? Do we want to take care of our bridges so they are safe? And if we do, at what level do we want to do that? And then how do we fairly pay for that? Taxes has become a pejorative term. We all pay for what we feel we need in one way or another. Taxes is just a term that we use when we collectively get together and say you know what? We are going to get together and do something about the potholes, we are going to do something about the lack of mental health treatment out in the field, and that’s where I am coming from.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF BUD MARTIN PRAISING TAXES

 
 
CONCORD -- Today, former New Hampshire Governor and Republican State Committee Chairman John H. Sununu released the following statement on the Democrats’ gas tax proposal:
 
“This week the ‘tax and spend’ Democratic leadership in the New Hampshire House passed a 15-cent per gallon tax increase. This action by those Democrats illustrates Governor Lynch’s inability to get the members of his own party to follow his agenda in the Legislature.
 
During his first bid for re-election in 2006, the Governor made his opposition to a gas tax increase one of centerpiece the issues of his campaign. Yet despite his pledge to stand firm against any attempt to raise the tax, Governor Lynch was either unwilling or unable to stop the House Democrats from passing this disastrous legislation.
 
It important for the Governor to urge Democrats in the New Hampshire Senate to join the Republicans in stopping this tax increase which he himself opposes. The last thing the legislature should be considering during these tough economic times is raising taxes. Any discussion about addressing the financial standing of the state highway fund should focus on reforms and cost saving strategies – not increasing revenues on the backs of the taxpayers.”
 

Just trying to catch up on some things that I didn't have to put up when I ran across them.  This from Betsy's Page is one of them:

Incredibly this man is one of the leaders of our nation. Watch this video of Harry Reid explaining over and over and over again that the United States has a voluntary tax system. Libertarian interview, Jan Helfeld tried to ask Reid about how people feel when their money is forcibly taken away from them to pay for welfare for others, but Reid refuses to accept the premise of the question because, as he repeats several times, the government doesn't force people to pay taxes and that we have a voluntary system. He can't claim that he misspoke since he is quite forceful in his repetition that our system is voluntary. His explanation is that we have deductions for mortgages and medical costs and so the entire system is voluntary. Imagine that.

Remember this as you are filling out your tax forms. The Senate Majority Leader insists that the system is voluntary.

Amazing.

When the Democrats try to demonize John McCain for his ignorance on economics, I hope that the Republicans will blanket the media with this video.

Well, we're trying!

I commented earlier that the Democrats are not worried at all with what they wrought with the latest State budget ("The senator insisted that “new” spending measures added up to “barely 3-percent”, with the rest of the increase caused by “things we had no control over”).

Well, in the same article (Daily Sun, P20), an NH House Democrat candidate was quoted this way:

"Ellen McLung of Gilford — a candidate in House District 5 – got off the best one-liner of the day, saying she was interested in mass transit issues but her home state’s only real example to date is ski lifts."

The problem with her statement is that it may well be true that, indeed, the only places that mass transit may be needed is at the area's ski lifts. Mass Transit systems only work where the population is high density (think large urban areas like Boston and New York City). Even with that as a given, Mass Transit systems are not self sustaining - they continue to operate only with massive taxpayer subsidies that yield a "reasonable" fare per rider.  Thus, many are dinged for the few.

Looking around the Lakes Region, it is clear that this fundamental necessity for success, high population density,  is missing.  In fact, even the Winnipesaukee Transit System own numbers shows that taxpayers might as well give each rider almost $26 each time they get on one of those always empty buses.  It would probably be more cost effective to give out taxi vouchers and let the private sector provide that service more efficiently. 

From the Coordinated Transit Study Final Report:

• A budget of $194,077 per year
• A ridership of 7,566 people per year
• This breaks down to $25.65 / rider - trip
  
• Given an 8 hour operational day, that is only 21 riders / day, or if you prefer 2.5 riders per hour.
• That is out of a possible ridership (as estimated in 2000) of 15,500 living with 1/4 mile of all the stops.

No way that this could be judged to be a successful program (unless you are one of the very few riders that WTS  does have).  It could be said that all that the WTS seems to provide is jobs for the bus drivers and their  management.  And just think of all the carbon offsets that are needed to compensate for burning all that gas / diesel while running empty the vast majority of the time.

The Downeaster, running down from Portland to Boston still requires a taxpayer subsidy of pretty much $20 / rider / trip.  We are talking millions in subsidies!

Once again, Democrats seem willing to provide a solution for which there is no problem.  Once again, they are willing to spend lots of other peoples' money to benefit very few.

By Rep. DAVID HESS
For the Monitor
July 13, 2008 - 12:00 am

No matter how hard they try, Democrats in Concord just can't sugarcoat their tax, borrow and spend policies of the last two years. A case in point is the recent opinion piece authored by House Speaker Terie Norelli ("Republicans left costly problems for us to solve," Monitor Forum, June 25).

Despite the harsh accusations, half-truths and just plain misstatements, she can't turn this year's budget disaster into an M&M chocolate.

Let's look at the facts. First, state spending. In the 2006-07 biennium, general fund appropriations totaled $2.71 billion. Under the leadership of the Democrats this session, that figure jumped to $3.19 billion; that's an increase of $475 million, or 17.5 percent. This money is raised from taxes and fees paid by you, the taxpayers of New Hampshire.

So how are the Democrats planning to pay for this? First they raised no less than 15 taxes and fees, including a second increase in the cigarette tax in two years. They also found new things to tax, such as charitable games of chance, cigars, registry of deed filings, court filings and many more.

But that wasn't enough to correct the deficit, so they decided to bond $90.5 million to pay the state's current expenses. They did that in a single, hurry up "special" legislative session that ended at midnight June 5 - all without referral to a committee, without a public hearing and with inaccurate information and misrepresentations
on the House floor.

Bonding school building aid

The history of this issue is particularly disturbing. In early May, the governor proposed bonding $80 million in school construction aid to help pay for the budget deficit. After a hearing before a joint House-Senate committee, this proposal was unanimously rejected - with the House Democratic leadership leading the charge. Then, barely three weeks later, during our midnight special session, and without a word of explanation or justification, the Democratic leadership did a 180-degree turnaround and passed this bonding on a straight party- line vote.

Not only that, but they threw in another $20 million in bonding to boot, all with no public hearing or any public input whatsoever. So much for the democratic process.

And what about some of the other misleading comments in Speaker Norelli's piece? Yes, indeed, the State House roof was leaking in the spring of 2007, but it was the previous Republican House that passed the appropriations to fix it.

As for the vaunted retirement plan fix, the House did - unanimously, and on a voice vote - pass an excellent bill that was fair to retirees, current employees, employers and taxpayers alike, only to see the big public employees' unions dismantle it in the Senate. In the face of extreme union pressure during the committee of conference, the House Democratic leadership backed down on virtually every major point. So we will be back trying to fix this again next year.

10-year highway plan

Finally, the 10-year highway plan. The Democrats didn't fully fund that either. In fact, when Commissioner Charles O'Leary presented the plan, he realistically asked for a six-year plan, which was unanimously endorsed by committee Republicans because it was fully funded, honest and straightforward in its design. Again, the Democrats chose smoke-and-mirrors legislation.

Maybe if Speaker Norelli and House Democrats were less concerned with blaming Republicans and appeasing the governor, but instead concentrated on doing the work of the people, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in today.

(Rep. David Hess of Hooksett is the deputy House Republican leader.)

For Immediate Release                                                                           Contact: House Republican Office   

May 1,2008                                                                                            603-271-3665

Today Governor Lynch announced a plan to raise more money for the general fund, but in doing so he ignored a pledge he made just months ago not to raise taxes or impose new fees on the citizens of New Hampshire.

The Lynch plan calls for increasing the tobacco tax by 25 cents, imposing a new tax at a rate of 10% on Texas hold’em winnings, raiding dedicated funds in the amount of $1 million, imposing additional costs on business owners by reducing the discount on alcohol they buy to 10%, and forcing lapses of $2.2 million on Home-Community Based health Care (HCBC) and nursing services programs.  This plan would theoretically bring in approximately $45 million for the year, according to Rep. Norm Major (Plaistow), former Ways & Means Chairman.  The governor also proposed to bond $40 million of school building aid, which will free up an additional $40 million in general fund revenues.  

House Deputy Republican Leader David Hess (Hooksett) stated, “I am frankly disappointed that the governor has not kept his pledge to the citizens of New Hampshire. But I am not surprised.” 

“Ronald Reagan famously stated in Washington in the 1980s that ‘we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.’  That is exactly the case in New Hampshire in 2008.  Rather than looking for reasonable places to reduce the bloated budget passed last year and bring it into line with our rising revenues, the Governor and the Democratic leaders of both the House and Senate want to raise still more taxes and fees.  If we had passed a reasonable budget, with an increase in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), we would not be where we are now,” added Rep. Hess.  “While our projected deficit for this fiscal year is $45 million, revenues are actually up $72 million, or 3.7 percent above last year,” stated Rep. Major, who serves on the Ways and Means committee.

Republican Policy Leader Rep Gene Chandler (Bartlett) said, “This plan is going to hurt more than help our citizens.  Reducing the discount for small business owners to 10% for alcohol, threatening our hospitality industry; it is outrageous to think that either consumers will pay more or small business owners make less at a time when our economy is in trouble.  These businesses are the backbone of tourism for our state economy; we can not and must not do anything to endanger that.  By bonding $40 million in school building aid, we’re mortgaging the future rather than paying our obligations as they come due.  We also should have learned our lesson from last year when we increased the tobacco tax and revenues dropped off.  Here we go again with an additional tax burden to our citizens; it is irresponsible and not in the best traditions of doing what is right for New Hampshire.”