Granite Staters entering the job market often face government-imposed barriers to entry. State-required licenses can come with onerous fees, arduous training requirements and a lack of reciprocity for individuals already licensed by another state in their field of practice. Gov. Chris Sununu has proposed a major overhaul of New Hampshire’s occupational licensing bureaucracy. The governor’s […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_464199170-scaled.jpg17062560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-04-06 12:57:432023-04-06 12:57:43Join us for a beer & a conversation about licensing on April 11
The big story of the 2024-25 state budget has lurked just below the surface of most media coverage. It’s not the $99.6 million in employee pay raises, the increase in adequate education aid or the shifting of some Education Trust Fund line items to the General Fund. The big story is that lawmakers and the […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_2190032065-scaled.jpg17252560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-04-04 21:14:502023-04-04 21:14:50State budget on track for a large double-digit increase in 2024-25
“Very heavy taxes, are hurtful, because they lessen the increase of population by making the means of subsistence, more difficult.” — John Adams, 1780 Last November, Massachusetts voters approved a so-called “millionaire’s tax.” It raises the state income tax from 5% to 9% for incomes of $1 million or more, an 80% tax increase. Four […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_2282930791.jpg10241024Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-03-31 15:24:012023-03-31 15:41:45The rich folks are coming! The rich folks are coming!
As Gov. Chris Sununu moves to undo the state’s overly burdensome occupational licensing regime, legislators are trying to add more licenses. On Wednesday, March 22, the House voted 210-166 to require a state license for the practice of music therapy. Why? Health insurance. Supporters said New Hampshire needs to license music therapists to ensure that […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_2279600859.jpg10241024Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-03-24 13:02:152023-03-24 13:02:15N.H. could become first New England state to license music therapists
At Reason.com, Jacob Grier noticed that Massachusetts’ ban on flavored tobacco products has, predictably, created a black market in flavored cigarettes. The smuggling is so prevalent that law enforcement is running out of places to store seized products. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue reports conducting more than 300 seizures in FY 2022, compared to 170 […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.png00Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-03-14 16:42:162023-03-14 16:42:16As predicted, Massachusetts’ flavored tobacco ban is creating a black market
A surefire way to suppress already low levels of youth employment is to raise the cost of employing younger workers. Some proposals in the Legislature would do that, in the name of helping these same workers. One proposal, House Bill 125, would make it illegal to employ 16-and 17-year-olds after 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and after […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_1477483484-scaled.jpg17072560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-03-14 16:23:342023-03-14 17:18:26How to crush youth employment? Make it more costly to hire young people
“Healthy market competition is fundamental to a well-functioning U.S. economy. Basic economic theory demonstrates that when firms have to compete for customers, it leads to lower prices, higher quality goods and services, greater variety, and more innovation.” — Heather Boushey and Helen Knudsen, “The Importance of Competition for the American Economy,” The White House, July […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_1416491012-scaled.jpg18632560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-03-08 14:44:442023-03-08 14:45:02Why universal school choice would help all N.H. students — and the public schools
The January, 2023, draft of the state’s Capital Corridor commuter rail study contains nothing that commuter rail boosters should like. The financial analysis, prepared for the state Department of Transportation by AECOM Technical Services Inc. of Manchester, envisions a nearly $800 million railroad serving fewer than 100 Manchester commuters per trip, at an operating cost […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_1784114054-scaled.jpg12092560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-02-28 13:47:132023-03-08 13:45:51Boondoggle: State study shows soaring costs, plunging ridership for commuter rail
As legislators consider more proposals to expand Medicaid eligibility or services to specific populations, they ought to consider that Medicaid is both like and unlike the universe. Like the universe, Medicaid is expanding faster than it should be. Unlike the universe, there’s no scientific possibility of Medicaid expanding forever. (Maybe the universe can’t either.) Two bills […]
In the midst of an acute labor shortage that has pushed wages to new highs, a few legislators have opted to introduce another bill to raise New Hampshire’s minimum wage. House Bill 57 would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, then tie it to the inflation rate, ensuring regular, automatic increases. […]
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_1293468235-scaled.jpg18712560Andrew Clinehttps://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white_v1_360x70.pngAndrew Cline2023-02-21 18:03:202023-02-21 18:03:20As legislators debate minimum wage hikes, the market is pushing wages higher on its own
Join us for a beer & a conversation about licensing on April 11
BLOG, FEATUREDGranite Staters entering the job market often face government-imposed barriers to entry. State-required licenses can come with onerous fees, arduous training requirements and a lack of reciprocity for individuals already licensed by another state in their field of practice. Gov. Chris Sununu has proposed a major overhaul of New Hampshire’s occupational licensing bureaucracy. The governor’s […]
State budget on track for a large double-digit increase in 2024-25
BUDGET, FEATUREDThe big story of the 2024-25 state budget has lurked just below the surface of most media coverage. It’s not the $99.6 million in employee pay raises, the increase in adequate education aid or the shifting of some Education Trust Fund line items to the General Fund. The big story is that lawmakers and the […]
The rich folks are coming! The rich folks are coming!
BLOG, ECONOMY, FEATURED, TAXATION“Very heavy taxes, are hurtful, because they lessen the increase of population by making the means of subsistence, more difficult.” — John Adams, 1780 Last November, Massachusetts voters approved a so-called “millionaire’s tax.” It raises the state income tax from 5% to 9% for incomes of $1 million or more, an 80% tax increase. Four […]
N.H. could become first New England state to license music therapists
BLOG, FEATURED, REGULATIONAs Gov. Chris Sununu moves to undo the state’s overly burdensome occupational licensing regime, legislators are trying to add more licenses. On Wednesday, March 22, the House voted 210-166 to require a state license for the practice of music therapy. Why? Health insurance. Supporters said New Hampshire needs to license music therapists to ensure that […]
As predicted, Massachusetts’ flavored tobacco ban is creating a black market
BLOGAt Reason.com, Jacob Grier noticed that Massachusetts’ ban on flavored tobacco products has, predictably, created a black market in flavored cigarettes. The smuggling is so prevalent that law enforcement is running out of places to store seized products. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue reports conducting more than 300 seizures in FY 2022, compared to 170 […]
How to crush youth employment? Make it more costly to hire young people
BLOG, ECONOMY, FEATURED, REGULATION, UncategorizedA surefire way to suppress already low levels of youth employment is to raise the cost of employing younger workers. Some proposals in the Legislature would do that, in the name of helping these same workers. One proposal, House Bill 125, would make it illegal to employ 16-and 17-year-olds after 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and after […]
Why universal school choice would help all N.H. students — and the public schools
BLOG, EDUCATION, FEATURED“Healthy market competition is fundamental to a well-functioning U.S. economy. Basic economic theory demonstrates that when firms have to compete for customers, it leads to lower prices, higher quality goods and services, greater variety, and more innovation.” — Heather Boushey and Helen Knudsen, “The Importance of Competition for the American Economy,” The White House, July […]
Boondoggle: State study shows soaring costs, plunging ridership for commuter rail
FEATURED, TRANSPORTATIONThe January, 2023, draft of the state’s Capital Corridor commuter rail study contains nothing that commuter rail boosters should like. The financial analysis, prepared for the state Department of Transportation by AECOM Technical Services Inc. of Manchester, envisions a nearly $800 million railroad serving fewer than 100 Manchester commuters per trip, at an operating cost […]
Medicaid can’t continue expanding forever
BLOG, BUDGET, FEATURED, HEALTH CAREAs legislators consider more proposals to expand Medicaid eligibility or services to specific populations, they ought to consider that Medicaid is both like and unlike the universe. Like the universe, Medicaid is expanding faster than it should be. Unlike the universe, there’s no scientific possibility of Medicaid expanding forever. (Maybe the universe can’t either.) Two bills […]
As legislators debate minimum wage hikes, the market is pushing wages higher on its own
BLOG, ECONOMY, FEATURED, REGULATIONIn the midst of an acute labor shortage that has pushed wages to new highs, a few legislators have opted to introduce another bill to raise New Hampshire’s minimum wage. House Bill 57 would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, then tie it to the inflation rate, ensuring regular, automatic increases. […]