Understanding and Explaining New Hampshire’s Budget
for candidates and observers of all philosophies
and political parties
and political parties
Budget Basics
A free seminar explaining the basic elements and structure of New Hampshire’s
budget for office-holders and candidates of all parties and philosophies
This seminar is not about what should or should not happen or any one perspective but rather an explanation of the nuts and bolts of budget information and how to find it, sort it, and make sense of it before making philosophical decisions.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
New Hampshire Technical Institute, Concord
The finances of state government don’t have to complicated or full of inaccessible jargon. Every candidate and office holder should have access to the same information. This seminar will be free of debates and opinions.
- What’s the difference between the total budget and the general operating budget?
- What is the “education trust fund?”
- Does New Hampshire have a balanced budget law?
- What is the “Rainy Day” Fund?
- How many separate funds are there?
- How do we pay for highways?
- How many different taxes are there?
- Are there official sources for budget information?
email Charlie Arlinghaus at Arlinghaus@jbartlett.org
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State Revenue Deteriorating by Charles M. Arlinghaus | ||
| In each of the last four months, state revenues have fallen further and further behind the amount needed for the state budget. Revenues will end the year at least $91 million behind the budget – and even higher if business taxes also deteriorate. The two year budget shortfall will be between $205 and $258 million. | |||
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Revenue On Track for $75 Million Shortfall by Charles M. Arlinghaus | ||
| New Hampshire State revenues are currently on a track to produce a shortfall of more than $75 million in the fiscal year ending June 2008. That shortfall could be reduced by a strong economic performance over the next months but will likely grow larger as corporate profits growth slows after the explosive growth of recent years. | |||
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INTERSTATE 93: An Opportunity to Demonstrate a Sustainable Future for New Hampshire's Transportation and Information Infrastructure by J. Mark Lennon | ||
| Lenon argues that the $500 million to be spent on widening I-93 would have greater impact if it were available to be spent on a variety of methods to reduce the traffic on the road rather than making more room for it. | |||
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Chronic Care Management and The Cost of Health Care by Charles M. Arlinghaus | ||
| We spend a lot of money as a society on perhaps the best health care system in the world. A less desirable way to reduce those costs is to ration care by one system or another. A better solution will focus on a growth strategy to improve health and eliminate complications by managing the chronic conditions and health risks that drive almost all the system costs. | |||
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Tax Hikes on the Horizon The Hole in the Budget That Can't Be Ignored by Charles M. Arlinghaus | ||
| There is a growing hole in the New Hampshire State budget. The revenue shortfall alone would require tax increases that would cause undue economic damage. Couple with a planned but undefined increase in education spending, the amount will be too large to close with small changes to our current tax structure. By one calculation, the hole will approach $200 million. But when the planned off-budget spending increases are added in, the shortfall will be between $800 million and $1 billion. | |||
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School Choice Today How Choice Can Change Children's Lives | ||
| A series published jointly with The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. Our third issue includes John Mitchell's moving essay about how school choice changed his son's life and the economics of who currently exercises school choice. Changing Lives by Choosing Schools |
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© 2008 The Josiah Bartlett for Public Policy. The Center is committed to publishing a range of viewpoints and ideas.
The views expressed herein represent the author’s and not necessarily those of the staff or Board of Directors.