YOUR COMMENTS

A short time ago, the UL posted this study by the Pew Charitable trusts to criticize the new "liberal" NH gov't. Now they're using our Executive council and Ms Kenyon to criticize the study by the "liberal" Pew Charitable trusts. So is the study a good report or a bad one? Somehow, I think I know the answer; whatever way helps to vilify liberal entities. If that means throwing Ms Kenyon under the bus next week, so be it.
- Breyer S., Manchester, NH

Here we go again. The local born and bred and even transplant seniors crying because of property taxes only after reaping the rewards of not having an one during the periods they worked. Stop complaining and vote no for obnoxious spending in your local communities. Stop buying off on the antiquated slogan "but it's for the children!"

The "greatest generation"....yeah right.
- Pete Versais, Concord NH

I will risk sounding selfish here, because I know that my wife and I are anything but. The frequqent references to needing to overhaul the tax structure seem to end up poiting towards fixed income residents. Well guess what? Maybe it is unrealistic for these fixed-income residents to live in properties that they cannot afford. There, I said it. It is not the responsibility of the state to balance an individuals personal equity. This is not a welfare state. People need to look at their means and make realistic decisions about what they can and can't afford to do. If the broadbased-tax fanatics were truthful, they would acknowledge that these same residents that have trouble paying their property tax will have trouble affording clothing or food once the sales tax starts pecking away at their fixed income from the other direction. Ah, but wait, the income tax--they won't have to pay that will be the counterargument--so their overall tax burden will have been reduced. Well guess what? MY overall tax burden will have been increased to make up the difference. That is a form of welfare. I am being punished for making intelligent fiscal decisions and living within my means. I will have none of that. People need to be held accountable and live within their means.
- JB, New Boston, NH

Thank goodness the UL is completely compromised and is right on this matter.

I would be suspicious of any group calling itself 'local' or 'grassroots' who really gets their ample funding from out of state entities. It stinks to high heaven and is telling of what this is really all about -- centralization and taking the power away from the the people as decision makers.
- Jane Aitken, Bedford

What a fascinating opinion by this economic consultant. Sounds to me much like going in to the doctor's office with your arm hanging by a string, blood spurting all over the floor and the doctor tells you that you're mistaken, nothing is really wrong that can't be fixed with a little aspirin. I am also an economic consultant as are you. I tell my wife and anyone else that will listen that property taxes are way too high and that they have a devastating effect on people with fixed incomes not in the two hundred thousand dollar range. Does she say back to me, no you're wrong, we have lots of money, it's just not in your wallet? No. That is some other economic consultant that says that. Probably a very rich one from the Bartlet Center who makes a living off of trying to keep things the same.
- Robert, Deerfield

It is easy to sit in your corporate owned chair, running your business in the corporate culture where antiquated processes are ousted as soon as practicable and modernization is key to maintaining a competitive edge. Yet you espouse the virtues of maintaining a governmental structure that does nothing more than cost NH taxpayers money through enough red tape to wrap around this planet. Why can't you understand that as long as the executive council is responsible for looking at minutia -- and must do so with little accuracy since it's a task no human could effectively undertake -- taxpayers are simply paying for red tape that yields no real benefit. The council should look at the big ticket items and really use that oversight to protect our interests. And a key part of the Pew Report that you conveniently fail to print is that the legislature likes to push off to tomorrow what it should have paid for yesterday. That's why the infrastructure is struggling, why the pension system looks like it's in dire straits (when it's really not), and why we've got old IT systems. Corporations in this state and the rich tourists that have 2nd homes on our lakeshores are the only ones reaping the benefit of our 'yankee' 'frugal' mentality in state government. They have a vested interested in maintaining the status quo...it's the rest of us that have to rise up and say enough is enough if we want to survive and maintain our quality of life here. And I am not a transplant...for the record!
- Diana, Laconia