With the elections only weeks away and the economy reeling, voters nationally are looking for candidates they can trust to bring back some stability. Here in New Hampshire, voters ought to be looking for candidates who understand how the state can make things better, not worse.
In the last two years, legislators and our allegedly frugal governor have acted as if the gravy train of a booming economy would never end. Though analysts and the leadership of the Republican minority in the Legislature warned the Democratic majority that its actions would lead to serious financial troubles, the Democrats spent the state into an extremely dangerous position.
They added $475 million in new spending to the state’s general fund budget, increasing it 17.5 percent. But they couldn’t pay for it. Despite raising taxes and fees on everything from cigarettes to hunting permits, they still outspent state revenues.
What this means for the average Granite Stater is that the state will be under intense pressure to raise taxes dramatically next year. If that happens, our economy would be sent even further south. The last thing New Hampshire businesses and citizens need is to have their taxes raised when the economy is tumbling downward.
If you haven’t paid attention to your state and local elections yet, now is the time. In many races, you will have a choice between a candidate who would solve our state budget crisis by making our precarious economic situation even worse or one who would make political sacrifices so you don’t have to make economic ones.
The New Hampshire Advantage Coalition has 110 candidate signatures on its pledge list. Those candidates have promised not to vote for or support any budget that raises spending beyond the rate of inflation. That is a good place to start.
Voters need to support candidates who will undo the excessive spending of the last legislative session rather than seek to tax their way out of the mess Gov. John Lynch and his Democratic majority have made for us.
Editor’s Note: We were never aware that the NHAC had a pledge list. CNHT does however.