HELP! Democrats are destroying my state!

[tenguzero]

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/...ap6504850.html

Unlike the US legislature, NH still has a lot of solid Republicans with BACKBONES that want to fight this stuff. Unfortunately, they're being smothered by both a governor who ran on a moderate platform, but is now showing his lefty colors, and Democratic house and senate majorities put into power by a rash of ignorant voters (I'm looking at you, college kids) and transplanted Massholes who destroyed their state long ago, then high-tailed it north in their Obama bumper-stickered SUVs to ruin my state.

Ugh. With the last bastion of NH falling (or maybe it's already fallen) has all of New England cast aside its yankee roots for spineless, pandering, tax-crazy liberal politics?

[MagicRat]

Don't take this article too seriously. A brief blurb by Forbes cannot sum up the very complex budget process they are facing. Tough economic times like ours means decreased state revenues at a time when state spending must be maintained... thus a budget deficit looms.

Forbes knows some of these tax proposals will be unpopular, which is why they reported on them. It's, in part, sensationalism, and helps sell newspapers (or website hits)

The key, imo, is how the government perform once the good times are back. Will they use the increase in tax revenue to pay down the debt... or just spend it on pork-barreling to get re-elected again?

FWIW some of the proposals are dopey. I oppose legal gambling of any kind because it sucks vast amounts of money out of the local economy that are better spent on other things... like groceries.....

Also, taxes on refinancing mortgages are idiocy. People refinance mortgages often because they have financial needs. Such taxes simply take money from people who need the dough, and such taxes may simply increase the foreclosure of homes.

Capital gains taxes are common, but if they are made to be too high, it stifles investment in the state economy.

[tenguzero]

Agreed MagicRat -- there are budget crisis issues going on across the country, and it seems EVERYONE is feeling the pinch. But it's not just a Forbes article -- local newspapers and media outlets are covering this issue as well, as this is a record setting budget for NH (something like almost $2B above what was anticipated) and a lot of people are being caught off guard by some of Gov. Lynch's latest policy stances (compared to the platform he ran on.)

Why is it that they're attempting to get a LARGER budget approved during these tough economic times? It's exactly what our federal government is doing. I ask these people: HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT TO SPEND YOUR WAY OUT OF A RECESSION? Don't get me wrong -- I'm not talking about investing our way towards a solution. I'm bashing blatant spending. And how does taxing anyone MORE make the situation better? Simply put: what justifies a $2B budget INCREASE for NH in this recession? Our state has usually fared pretty well in downturns, and our unemployment has only just recently crept above the 5% mark. But it just feels like we're taking a lot of turns lately that follow our neighbors -- and they're ALL doing worse than we are in almost every respect.

My state is turning into what everyone runs to it to get away from. When the hell will people wake up?

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by tenguzero

: HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT TO SPEND YOUR WAY OUT OF A RECESSION? Don't get me wrong -- I'm not talking about investing our way towards a solution. I'm bashing blatant spending.

Good economic theory states that it is the function of a government (and the central bank) to use monetary policy (gov. spending, taxation, interest rates, money supply, tariffs etc) to moderate economic cycles.

This means, spend less, tax more (if necessary) and pay down debt during good times, and spend more during bad times. This reduces the severity of depressions and reduces the risk of runaway inflation during good times.

It is appropriate and effective to spend your way out of a recession..... so long as your monetary policy is effective and coordinated with other areas of the economy. So the issue is not spending per se, but it's level of effectiveness.

The Governors real mistake IMO is taxation (including government-taxed gambling). Increasing taxes in a recession is often bad. Raising taxes to create spending often will not stimulate an economy overall. It may help certain sectors, but, all things being equal, it will not help the recession.

Finally, I am deeply disturbed by your Govornor's recent legalization of same-sex marriage.
My home town, Toronto, established legal, valid same-sex marriage some years ago and attracted thousands of American gay and lesbian tourists. It boosted our local economy.

But now, with 6 states allowing this, our local tourism industry is suffering.

[wafrederick]

Same with the state of MI,our worthless governor Jennifer Granholm is pushing an use tax on used car dealers running on dealer plates.New car dealers do not have to pay this tax which is very unfair.