Do you consider this a major issue that has to be addressed by the FSP or the liberty candidates or can it be kind of pushed under the table, as they say, at least for now? Not all democrats are major socialists. Most that I know want fairness, but don't really want the gov't in their business and don't like being taxed. But, they will pay taxes for much needed things, like fire, police, infrastructure, schools, etc. If they can be shown another way of funding these things w/o a sales/income tax, that would be good. I thought the system in NH of property tax going to these things was working, cause it's such a small state. Is it not working?? I don't recall anyone mentioning a ballot measure to start an income or sales tax. Is there a group trying to get this to occur in the future?
Many of the Democrat candidates were running on a platform of "fiscal responsibility" and doing something about excessive property taxes. Both of those probably are code words for the state-wide sales or income tax, but you'll only see it that way if you are particularly attuned to this issue.
I see this issue uniting the Teacher's Union lobby, who wants state funding so as to centralize the control over education, and the retired-taxpayer, who resent having to pay property taxes and interest-and-dividend income taxes, while they see those with incomes (thus, more able to pay) as getting a free ride on their back. We lost votes from hard-core conservatives because we ran on the "No income tax" pledge. I know this because they told me so. Combine the lobbying strength and funding of these two groups, and you've got a lot of political power.
Once the state budget gets to the breaking point, this coalition will bring on the parents-with-kids-in-the-public-schools, who are concerned about "underfunding" the schools and the resulting decline in quality (as fictional as that may be) and the average person concerned about their high property taxes, and who see most of that local money going to the school system, instead of to fire, police, infrastructure, where they want it to go.
Most voters will agree with the statement that "property taxes are too high." And as property values decline, town budgets are going to be squeezed. Any way to get money from "outside the town" is going to look really attractive to a lot of people.
Again, the Democrats don't run on a platform of "higher taxes." In NH, that would be a non-starter. They run on a platform of managing budgets to keep costs down, while maintaining the things that we all "need." And on the revenue side, they push the seeking of alternate sources of revenue. Federal grants are the best, because that comes from a big, nebulous "somewhere else." But state money is really good too, because people see that as directly cutting their own, individual property taxes.
Another way of looking at it is something I heard during some campaign training:
New Hampshire has a "structural deficit." That is, if left alone spending will grow faster than revenues. In some ways, this is a good thing. It means we have to be ever vigilant with costs, constantly cutting just to stay even. However, what that means is that being "anti tax" means you are always going to have to come out against one government program or another, and advocate eliminating government programs that some people want.
The socialist side simply argues that we need these things, and we will just have to be smart, work together, and do what it takes to find a way to pay for it.
It's a seductive argument. I think it is eventually going to be used as a way to save the schools while preventing property taxes from going through the roof. More money from the state, funded by a state-wide income tax on the "rich."
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Topic: NH Voters are New and Blue (Read 14585 times)