New Hampshire has had and continues to have a problem with administrative tax increases. Taxes, the removal of your money from you by force of law, is a fairly aggressive governmental act and should only take place through legislation debated openly and acted upon by elected officials directly accountable at election time. Unfortunately, administrators are sometimes encouraged, directly or indirectly, to act so that legislators don’t have to.
00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-07-31 11:45:352018-08-28 06:18:39Taxation Can Only Happen With Representation
Newspapers and publishers are rarely themselves the subject of newspaper articles. However, today I want to take the opportunity to write about Joe McQuaid, publisher of this newspaper, and the importance of newspapers in general to a healthy public life and discussion. Newspapers at their core are the foundation of all the other freedoms we have the luxury of taking for granted in a society so open and free that we don’t seem to notice anymore.
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.png00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-07-23 11:43:382018-08-28 18:35:19The Importance of Newspapers and Joe McQuaid
It is easy to become cynical about politics and partisanship and any other p word we aren’t supposed to like. The list of difficulties with modern politics is long and not that different from the supposedly but not actually noble past. The problem is that politics is practiced by people who are all too human, self-important, unaware of their own deviation from the typical, interested in ease not work, and a bit too excitable. In short, Pogo was right. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.png00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-07-16 11:42:212018-08-28 18:35:29The Problem with Politics is Us
In the last year, the state didn’t have a tax problem but it had a large spending problem. The government collected taxes from us in almost exactly the amount predicted but it appears to have spent significantly more than the budget allowed it to do. The result is a budget hole the precise size of which is still unknown in Concord. The problem is not a shift in the economy or any circumstance beyond our control. Rather, it was an inexplicable failure to manage according to the financial rules laid down a year ago.
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.png00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-07-09 11:40:022018-08-28 06:18:39Does Concord Have a Big Spending Problem?
Please forgive me for returning once again -on the heels of last week’s column with the epic headline-to the subject of jobs in the Granite State, but the issue of jobs is more important than any other issue we face and is an area in which we continue to fail. No one wants a future in which New Hampshire is a lackluster economic backwater but that’s the track we’re on.
00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-07-07 11:16:422018-08-28 18:35:41Helping Businesses Make a Rational Choice For New Hampshire
When did New Hampshire stop being New Hampshire? Whether one describes New Hampshire’s economy as mediocre, stagnant, or lackluster there is no denying that the latest economic news shows that we are no longer leading any economic charges but instead content to hope some crumbs drop from the tables of others. Once the envy of our neighbors, we may now be stuck as an economic backwater, another nondescript pea in the New England pod.
00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-06-26 08:58:572018-08-28 18:36:53New Hampshire is Comfortably Mediocre
The return of warm weather to our state seems the right time for me to wax poetic about Canada again. To the chagrin of many, I hold up “the true North proud and free” as an example to be emulated south of the border. Bear with me and see if you don’t agree that the United States should be more like Canada.
00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-06-20 16:42:552018-08-28 18:37:07I Wish We Could Be More Like Canada
DRED Commissioner Jeff Rose made a strong plea last week for his economic development bailiwick. His rationale, however sensible, minimizes a very real problem and is an accidental example of the problem state government faces. The state faces a real problem, one they know about even when denying it, and can’t fix it without a team pulling on each and every oar, not with selective paddling.
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.png00Charles M. Arlinghaushttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngCharles M. Arlinghaus2014-06-13 08:35:202018-08-28 06:18:39Budget Problem About Teamwork and Turkey
As reported in the Nashua Telegraph, a Legislative audit of the Division of Economic Development, within the Department of Resources and Economic Development found that in 2011 and 2012, $875,750 was improperly given out as tax credits, while an additional $121,000 worth of tax credits were not given to business that were eligible to receive them.
“Each state has its own reduction goal, reached through a complex calculation based on current energy production sources and possible policy choices. For New Hampshire to comply with these rules, the state would need to reduce emissions from fossil fuel fired plants by more than 46% by 2030.”
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.png00Joshua Elliott-Traficantehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngJoshua Elliott-Traficante2014-06-06 12:40:442014-06-06 12:40:44New Hampshire and the Proposed EPA Rules for Powerplants
Taxation Can Only Happen With Representation
BUDGETNew Hampshire has had and continues to have a problem with administrative tax increases. Taxes, the removal of your money from you by force of law, is a fairly aggressive governmental act and should only take place through legislation debated openly and acted upon by elected officials directly accountable at election time. Unfortunately, administrators are sometimes encouraged, directly or indirectly, to act so that legislators don’t have to.
The Importance of Newspapers and Joe McQuaid
BETTER GOVERNMENTNewspapers and publishers are rarely themselves the subject of newspaper articles. However, today I want to take the opportunity to write about Joe McQuaid, publisher of this newspaper, and the importance of newspapers in general to a healthy public life and discussion. Newspapers at their core are the foundation of all the other freedoms we have the luxury of taking for granted in a society so open and free that we don’t seem to notice anymore.
The Problem with Politics is Us
BETTER GOVERNMENTIt is easy to become cynical about politics and partisanship and any other p word we aren’t supposed to like. The list of difficulties with modern politics is long and not that different from the supposedly but not actually noble past. The problem is that politics is practiced by people who are all too human, self-important, unaware of their own deviation from the typical, interested in ease not work, and a bit too excitable. In short, Pogo was right. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Does Concord Have a Big Spending Problem?
BUDGETIn the last year, the state didn’t have a tax problem but it had a large spending problem. The government collected taxes from us in almost exactly the amount predicted but it appears to have spent significantly more than the budget allowed it to do. The result is a budget hole the precise size of which is still unknown in Concord. The problem is not a shift in the economy or any circumstance beyond our control. Rather, it was an inexplicable failure to manage according to the financial rules laid down a year ago.
Helping Businesses Make a Rational Choice For New Hampshire
BETTER GOVERNMENT, BUDGETPlease forgive me for returning once again -on the heels of last week’s column with the epic headline-to the subject of jobs in the Granite State, but the issue of jobs is more important than any other issue we face and is an area in which we continue to fail. No one wants a future in which New Hampshire is a lackluster economic backwater but that’s the track we’re on.
New Hampshire is Comfortably Mediocre
BETTER GOVERNMENT, BUDGETWhen did New Hampshire stop being New Hampshire? Whether one describes New Hampshire’s economy as mediocre, stagnant, or lackluster there is no denying that the latest economic news shows that we are no longer leading any economic charges but instead content to hope some crumbs drop from the tables of others. Once the envy of our neighbors, we may now be stuck as an economic backwater, another nondescript pea in the New England pod.
I Wish We Could Be More Like Canada
BETTER GOVERNMENTThe return of warm weather to our state seems the right time for me to wax poetic about Canada again. To the chagrin of many, I hold up “the true North proud and free” as an example to be emulated south of the border. Bear with me and see if you don’t agree that the United States should be more like Canada.
Budget Problem About Teamwork and Turkey
BUDGETDRED Commissioner Jeff Rose made a strong plea last week for his economic development bailiwick. His rationale, however sensible, minimizes a very real problem and is an accidental example of the problem state government faces. The state faces a real problem, one they know about even when denying it, and can’t fix it without a team pulling on each and every oar, not with selective paddling.
Legislative Audit Finds Nearly $1 Million Worth of Mismanaged Tax Credits
BUDGET, TAXATIONAs reported in the Nashua Telegraph, a Legislative audit of the Division of Economic Development, within the Department of Resources and Economic Development found that in 2011 and 2012, $875,750 was improperly given out as tax credits, while an additional $121,000 worth of tax credits were not given to business that were eligible to receive them.
New Hampshire and the Proposed EPA Rules for Powerplants
ENERGY“Each state has its own reduction goal, reached through a complex calculation based on current energy production sources and possible policy choices. For New Hampshire to comply with these rules, the state would need to reduce emissions from fossil fuel fired plants by more than 46% by 2030.”