January 27, 2008
Union Leader
Gov. John Lynch will not rule out raising taxes this year. Why not?
Citing a hole in the state budget he says will be as large as $50 million, Lynch has twice warned legislators he won’t support any new spending or new state jobs. But so far he has refused to give the same warning against new taxes.
Lynch has to know that his $50 million shortfall estimate is on the small side. The total shortfall for the two-year budget could be four times that. Maybe that’s why he has kept mum on tax hikes. He wants to keep the option open.
He should know by now that keeping the option open guarantees that legislators will take it. It was Lynch’s advocacy of tax increases last year that prompted lawmakers to raise taxes, fees and spending as high as they did. Absence of a no-new-taxes pledge this year will only encourage them to do the same.
Gov. Craig Benson’s firm resolve to oppose all tax hikes was the only reason we had none during his term. Legislators quickly realized that he meant it when he said he’d veto any new taxes. They didn’t want that showdown, so they acquiesced.
Lynch campaigned against Benson as a fiscal conservative. Voters chose him because they thought he’d be an ethical Craig Benson. He is a nice guy, but he’s no Craig Benson. And the proof of that is in the state budget.
Lynch has not held the line on spending or tax increases. And this year, when the pressure to raise taxes will be as great as, if not greater than, last year, he stays completely silent on the subject. Legislators will take that as the governor’s OK for tax hikes.
The state approved $475 million in spending over this year and next. It can fill the budget hole by trimming back that figure. There is no need for tax increases. Why won’t the governor do the right thing and rule them out?
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Update: Looks like the deficit may be closer to $500 M not $50 M.