What are some other indicators?
From the FSP state data page:
How about low dependence on the federal government? NH is #1 among the states we are considering.
How about smallest total government sector? NH is #1 among the states we are considering.
How about smallest state and local government sector? NH is #1 among the states we are considering.
How about density of current LP members in each state. NH is #1 in the nation (Sept. 30, 2002 figures):
State / Rank against 50 / density
NH / #1 / 202.5
AK / #2 / 184.3
VT / #3 / 164.7
WY / #9 / 123.4
ME / #14 / 105.7
ID / #17 / 103
MT / #18 / 96.2
DE / #27 / 76.6
ND / #43 / 52
SD / #44 / 48.9
What about a history of rejecting laws restrictive of personal freedom just to get federal highway dollars? Again, NH comes out ahead:
Least restrictive helmet laws in the nation:
http://usff.com/hldl/frames/50state.htmlLeast restrictive seatbelt laws in the nation:
http://www.iihs.org/safety_facts/state_laws/restrain.htm How about some of the lowest taxes in the nation? NH comes out on top (SD looks good here too):
Taxes as a percentage of gross personal income:
#1 NH 4.54% - 1st in nation
#2 SD 5.05% - 2nd in nation
#3 MT 7.26% - 28th in nation
#4 WY 7.61% - 31st in nation
#5 ND 7.94% - 34th in nation
#6 AK 8.04% - 36th in nation
#7 ID 8.32% - 39th in nation
#8 ME 8.63% - 43rd in nation
#9 DE 9.19% - 47th in nation
#10 VT 9.57% - 48th in nation
State taxes per capita:
#1 SD $1226/person - 1st in nation
#2 NH $1372/person - 4th in nation
#3 MT $1564/person - 9th in nation
#4 ND $1826/person - 25th in nation
#5 ID $1837/person - 28th in nation
#6 WY $1952/person - 34th in nation
#7 ME $2087/person - 37th in nation
#8 AK $2270/person - 41st in nation
#9 VT $2416/person - 44th in nation
#10 DE $2721/person - 48th in nation
How about $s spent per citizen (state budget / state citizens). NH comes out on top:
This is a calculation that was done by Keith Murray and posted on the e-list, I'm posting the top 5.
New Hampshire
2985.95
South Dakota
3323.87
Idaho
3505.54
North Dakota
3920.90
Montana
4022.41
How about highest # of elected Libertarians? NH comes out on top:
http://www.lp.org/organization/states.htmlNH - 26
VT - 18
ME - 7
ID - 3
DE - 2
SD - 1
WY - 1
AK - 1
MT - 0
ND - 0
So - these are the reasons that I am supporting New Hampshire as the #1 choice for the FSP. While I also believe that liveability factors will play a major role in our ultimate success (and I believe I made a very strong argument for why NH comes out on top when calculating these factors also in my NH report at
http://www.freestateproject.com/newhampshire2.htm) I feel that these indicators of "current libertarian-ness = native support" are the most critical of them all.
I am 100% convinced that FSP will succeed in New Hampshire.