It’s Friday – August 26, 2011 – Claremont is experiencing another perfect summer day. It’s hard to believe the weather reports about approaching Hurricane Irene and how we in the Connecticut River Valley are at risk. All around town, people are securing equipment that might fly away, and storing lawn furniture. The preparation could easily be overkill but we have all heard stories and seen what damage these storms can cause – so best to be prepared.
Actually, I can’t remember the last major hurricane to hit Claremont – although I did grow up hearing stories about the “Big One” – the Hurricane of ’38 and how it cut a swath through New England. My parents were newly married and living on Spofford Street and how the storm was so severe, the wind actually blew the entire roof off the house, forcing them to escape down the street to stay with relatives. My dad owned a small gas station across from where the Stone Arch Bakery is today and I recall his telling me how difficult it was to just get from Main Street to where they were living. Of course this was all before national weather gathering information and regional/state preparedness. Actually, it is because of such natural (as well as manmade) disasters that has generated an integrated emergency response system that includes NOAA and FEMA on the federal level; the NH Division of Emergency Preparedness and our local safety services such as Fire, Police, and DOT. Over the years, since the big one of ’38, each of these emergency systems have been called upon to work collaboratively and respond to such things as hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms etc… And of course let us not forget how this year is the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the attacks by terrorists where emergency services were put to the ultimate test.
Now compare this long term commitment of preparedness and public safety with the behavior and policy demonstrated this past year by the NH House of Representatives that has focused on the dismantling of government services through budget cuts and eliminating safety regulations that will down shift costs to local governments. This has resulted in behavior where political leaders have publically called firefighters thugs because they dare voice concern about cuts to their retirement benefits and infringements on their right to collective bargaining.
The assumption that NH Government is too fat and wasteful is ludicrous. I doubt there is any state in the nation more frugal, bordering on cheap, than we in the granite state. For example – about twenty years ago as a state employee, I was one of 10,000 plus workers – interestingly, this past year prior to the budget cuts there were 11,875 authorized positions but only 10,683 filled positions – hardly out of control unmanaged growth! Note: that now – after the recent budget – there are 9,814 workers.
It is interesting that these anti-public employee voices have the audacity to claim that they are doing this so people can be freer and be “liberated” from the state! Yes – those firemen who run into burning buildings; teachers who educate our youth, highway workers who keep roads and bridges safe and police who risk their lives are somehow the problem!
I am convinced that there are outside forces attempting to dismantle and turn New Hampshire into some type of libertarian anarchistic entity where everyone will be on their own. Their mantra is cut taxes; however they forget to make the link that taxes pay for public services. A little known fact is that thanks to the present legislature – we now have a 28 year paving cycle for all our state highways. Yes that means state highways will be re-paved every twenty-eight years! Perhaps you are aware that these same champions of liberty lowered this past session the tax on cigarettes. Their argument is this will increase the sale of cigarettes hence bring in added revenue. Unfortunately, the concept of fostering long term health care costs to both the individual and community did not matter. Interestingly, according to sources, in Concord, revenues for the budget just passed are about 4 million dollars short for the month of July. This 4 million dollar shortfall is about the same amount that was projected had the cigarette tax not been cut. It’s an interesting game of cutting revenue then saying – we wish we could do more but look there’s no money available!
This past spring – a member of Leadership actually stated on the House Floor that fire sprinklers are tyranny! The argument pro and con is complex however; to equate fire sprinklers to tyranny and imply the state is imposing itself on the freedoms of people is a bit much!
Now – I do not know what will happen with Hurricane Irene – and I do hope we all are spared its devastation, but knowing that an integrated national, state, and local public safety response is in place does make it more re-assuring, especially the knowledge that we are not alone.
Monday, August 29, 2011
IRENE – LET’S HOPE YOU’RE ONLY IN OUR DREAMS!
It’s Friday – August 26, 2011 – Claremont is experiencing another perfect summer day. It’s hard to believe the weather reports about approaching Hurricane Irene and how we in the Connecticut River Valley are at risk. All around town, people are securing equipment that might fly away, and storing lawn furniture. The preparation could easily be overkill but we have all heard stories and seen what damage these storms can cause – so best to be prepared.
Actually, I can’t remember the last major hurricane to hit Claremont – although I did grow up hearing stories about the “Big One” – the Hurricane of ’38 and how it cut a swath through New England. My parents were newly married and living on Spofford Street and how the storm was so severe, the wind actually blew the entire roof off the house, forcing them to escape down the street to stay with relatives. My dad owned a small gas station across from where the Stone Arch Bakery is today and I recall his telling me how difficult it was to just get from Main Street to where they were living. Of course this was all before national weather gathering information and regional/state preparedness. Actually, it is because of such natural (as well as manmade) disasters that has generated an integrated emergency response system that includes NOAA and FEMA on the federal level; the NH Division of Emergency Preparedness and our local safety services such as Fire, Police, and DOT. Over the years, since the big one of ’38, each of these emergency systems have been called upon to work collaboratively and respond to such things as hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms etc… And of course let us not forget how this year is the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the attacks by terrorists where emergency services were put to the ultimate test.
Now compare this long term commitment of preparedness and public safety with the behavior and policy demonstrated this past year by the NH House of Representatives that has focused on the dismantling of government services through budget cuts and eliminating safety regulations that will down shift costs to local governments. This has resulted in behavior where political leaders have publically called firefighters thugs because they dare voice concern about cuts to their retirement benefits and infringements on their right to collective bargaining.
The assumption that NH Government is too fat and wasteful is ludicrous. I doubt there is any state in the nation more frugal, bordering on cheap, than we in the granite state. For example – about twenty years ago as a state employee, I was one of 10,000 plus workers – interestingly, this past year prior to the budget cuts there were 11,875 authorized positions but only 10,683 filled positions – hardly out of control unmanaged growth! Note: that now – after the recent budget – there are 9,814 workers.
It is interesting that these anti-public employee voices have the audacity to claim that they are doing this so people can be freer and be “liberated” from the state! Yes – those firemen who run into burning buildings; teachers who educate our youth, highway workers who keep roads and bridges safe and police who risk their lives are somehow the problem!
I am convinced that there are outside forces attempting to dismantle and turn New Hampshire into some type of libertarian anarchistic entity where everyone will be on their own. Their mantra is cut taxes; however they forget to make the link that taxes pay for public services. A little known fact is that thanks to the present legislature – we now have a 28 year paving cycle for all our state highways. Yes that means state highways will be re-paved every twenty-eight years! Perhaps you are aware that these same champions of liberty lowered this past session the tax on cigarettes. Their argument is this will increase the sale of cigarettes hence bring in added revenue. Unfortunately, the concept of fostering long term health care costs to both the individual and community did not matter. Interestingly, according to sources, in Concord, revenues for the budget just passed are about 4 million dollars short for the month of July. This 4 million dollar shortfall is about the same amount that was projected had the cigarette tax not been cut. It’s an interesting game of cutting revenue then saying – we wish we could do more but look there’s no money available!
This past spring – a member of Leadership actually stated on the House Floor that fire sprinklers are tyranny! The argument pro and con is complex however; to equate fire sprinklers to tyranny and imply the state is imposing itself on the freedoms of people is a bit much!
Now – I do not know what will happen with Hurricane Irene – and I do hope we all are spared its devastation, but knowing that an integrated national, state, and local public safety response is in place does make it more re-assuring, especially the knowledge that we are not alone.
Actually, I can’t remember the last major hurricane to hit Claremont – although I did grow up hearing stories about the “Big One” – the Hurricane of ’38 and how it cut a swath through New England. My parents were newly married and living on Spofford Street and how the storm was so severe, the wind actually blew the entire roof off the house, forcing them to escape down the street to stay with relatives. My dad owned a small gas station across from where the Stone Arch Bakery is today and I recall his telling me how difficult it was to just get from Main Street to where they were living. Of course this was all before national weather gathering information and regional/state preparedness. Actually, it is because of such natural (as well as manmade) disasters that has generated an integrated emergency response system that includes NOAA and FEMA on the federal level; the NH Division of Emergency Preparedness and our local safety services such as Fire, Police, and DOT. Over the years, since the big one of ’38, each of these emergency systems have been called upon to work collaboratively and respond to such things as hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms etc… And of course let us not forget how this year is the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the attacks by terrorists where emergency services were put to the ultimate test.
Now compare this long term commitment of preparedness and public safety with the behavior and policy demonstrated this past year by the NH House of Representatives that has focused on the dismantling of government services through budget cuts and eliminating safety regulations that will down shift costs to local governments. This has resulted in behavior where political leaders have publically called firefighters thugs because they dare voice concern about cuts to their retirement benefits and infringements on their right to collective bargaining.
The assumption that NH Government is too fat and wasteful is ludicrous. I doubt there is any state in the nation more frugal, bordering on cheap, than we in the granite state. For example – about twenty years ago as a state employee, I was one of 10,000 plus workers – interestingly, this past year prior to the budget cuts there were 11,875 authorized positions but only 10,683 filled positions – hardly out of control unmanaged growth! Note: that now – after the recent budget – there are 9,814 workers.
It is interesting that these anti-public employee voices have the audacity to claim that they are doing this so people can be freer and be “liberated” from the state! Yes – those firemen who run into burning buildings; teachers who educate our youth, highway workers who keep roads and bridges safe and police who risk their lives are somehow the problem!
I am convinced that there are outside forces attempting to dismantle and turn New Hampshire into some type of libertarian anarchistic entity where everyone will be on their own. Their mantra is cut taxes; however they forget to make the link that taxes pay for public services. A little known fact is that thanks to the present legislature – we now have a 28 year paving cycle for all our state highways. Yes that means state highways will be re-paved every twenty-eight years! Perhaps you are aware that these same champions of liberty lowered this past session the tax on cigarettes. Their argument is this will increase the sale of cigarettes hence bring in added revenue. Unfortunately, the concept of fostering long term health care costs to both the individual and community did not matter. Interestingly, according to sources, in Concord, revenues for the budget just passed are about 4 million dollars short for the month of July. This 4 million dollar shortfall is about the same amount that was projected had the cigarette tax not been cut. It’s an interesting game of cutting revenue then saying – we wish we could do more but look there’s no money available!
This past spring – a member of Leadership actually stated on the House Floor that fire sprinklers are tyranny! The argument pro and con is complex however; to equate fire sprinklers to tyranny and imply the state is imposing itself on the freedoms of people is a bit much!
Now – I do not know what will happen with Hurricane Irene – and I do hope we all are spared its devastation, but knowing that an integrated national, state, and local public safety response is in place does make it more re-assuring, especially the knowledge that we are not alone.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Good Neighbors = Fewer Fences
In this age of Tea Partiers and Free Staters working to dismantle government both in Washington and Concord, it was especially refreshing to spend time last week focusing on ideas dealing with solving problems and how the US and Canadian economies can be more seamless and efficient. The aim is that with technology, planning and standard policies we will collectively become more effective in the transportation of goods, and provide services that will translate into better jobs and an improved standard of living. So, with apologies to Robert Frost, the title good neighbors equal fewer fences.
Last week I had the privilege to be in Halifax Nova Scotia and represent the New Hampshire House and the NH-Canada Trade Council at the 52nd Annual Council of State Governments Conference. Their focus, on how states and provinces can better work together as well as engage their federal counterparts in the process, is a novel approach of everyone pulling in the same direction!
These yearly conferences provide an excellent opportunity for policy makers from different political parties to come together and discuss the challenging issues currently facing state and provincial governments. Two unique aspects of the Council of State Governments are that it includes the legislative and executive branches of government, as well as the participation of Canadian Provinces as full members. The rationale being that in this day of international supply chains and inter-connected economies a positive and collaborative relationship between states and the Canadian provinces is sound policy.
I had long known of our shared history and culture and that 30% of NH residents are of French Canadian ancestry. However, it was an eye opener to learn how our two economies are so intertwined – for example a car built in Detroit, crosses the border in some shape or fashion eight times before completion! The Canadian Government provided a sampling of statistics that demonstrated this economic marriage. For example, I learned that more than 8 million U.S. jobs depend on USA/CAN trade; Canada is the top export destination for 35 states, and the total USA/CAN merchandise trade is $481 billion dollars. Also, Canada is the United States largest and most secure supplier of energy (oil, natural gas, electricity and nuclear fuel).
Specifically as it applies to the Granite State – last year there were 471,700 Canadians who visited NH and 179,000 granite staters visited Canada – with 59 million dollars spent in the process! NH exports 493 million dollars in goods to Canada yearly, while we import $5.8 billion in goods from Canada. Furthermore, there are forty six Canadian owned companies in New Hampshire that employs 5,116 people. Estimates are that 37,700 jobs in NH depend on Canada-US trade. Locally, a good example of this economic connection is Structal Steel – a key Claremont employer providing quality jobs, but owned by the Canam Group from Boucherville Québec. Needless to say this all helps explain why our neighbors to the north are concerned about our economy and fear we may let politics get in the way of mature decision making.
The idea of New England working collaboratively with Maritime Canada is nothing new and goes back to our colonial past. However, the participation on the federal level is especially interesting. Last February Prime Minister Harper and President Obama announced a new perimeter security agreement called “Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness” which established a partnership to accelerate the legitimate flows of people and goods between the two countries. They identified four areas of cooperation: addressing threats early; trade facilitation, economic growth and jobs; integrated cross border law enforcement; and critical infrastructure and cyber security.
Specifically, we learned that this will translate into increased investments in modern infrastructure and technology at our busiest land ports of entry. Also, as part of this initiative, Nova Scotia is building a deep water container port at Cape Breton to accommodate large container ships unable to access the Panama Canal. This means goods will be transported quicker to New England via a short sea shipping service from Nova Scotia to Boston. We also learned that rail service is vital to the plan thus the need for high speed rail. The Amtrak Vermonter, which stops in Claremont, is projected to resume service to Montreal with fewer delays. Apparently, New York, Vermont, and Quebec are working closely with the feds to make this happen by 2013.
Both Vermont’s Governor and Nova Scotia’s Premier stressed that not only do we need sound budgets, but we should use growth as a way to get out of our economic doldrums. They both contend that the green energy being produced by Canadian hydro, wind, and tidal projects will provide New England and industrial Canada with cheap reliable energy. They stressed that not only will this eliminate our dependency on fossil fuel, but have an economic impact greater than the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.
So again with apologies to Robert Frost, I somewhat disagree that good fences make good neighbors – in regards to the future of the region. Maybe the motto should be good neighbors equal fewer fences.
Last week I had the privilege to be in Halifax Nova Scotia and represent the New Hampshire House and the NH-Canada Trade Council at the 52nd Annual Council of State Governments Conference. Their focus, on how states and provinces can better work together as well as engage their federal counterparts in the process, is a novel approach of everyone pulling in the same direction!
These yearly conferences provide an excellent opportunity for policy makers from different political parties to come together and discuss the challenging issues currently facing state and provincial governments. Two unique aspects of the Council of State Governments are that it includes the legislative and executive branches of government, as well as the participation of Canadian Provinces as full members. The rationale being that in this day of international supply chains and inter-connected economies a positive and collaborative relationship between states and the Canadian provinces is sound policy.
I had long known of our shared history and culture and that 30% of NH residents are of French Canadian ancestry. However, it was an eye opener to learn how our two economies are so intertwined – for example a car built in Detroit, crosses the border in some shape or fashion eight times before completion! The Canadian Government provided a sampling of statistics that demonstrated this economic marriage. For example, I learned that more than 8 million U.S. jobs depend on USA/CAN trade; Canada is the top export destination for 35 states, and the total USA/CAN merchandise trade is $481 billion dollars. Also, Canada is the United States largest and most secure supplier of energy (oil, natural gas, electricity and nuclear fuel).
Specifically as it applies to the Granite State – last year there were 471,700 Canadians who visited NH and 179,000 granite staters visited Canada – with 59 million dollars spent in the process! NH exports 493 million dollars in goods to Canada yearly, while we import $5.8 billion in goods from Canada. Furthermore, there are forty six Canadian owned companies in New Hampshire that employs 5,116 people. Estimates are that 37,700 jobs in NH depend on Canada-US trade. Locally, a good example of this economic connection is Structal Steel – a key Claremont employer providing quality jobs, but owned by the Canam Group from Boucherville Québec. Needless to say this all helps explain why our neighbors to the north are concerned about our economy and fear we may let politics get in the way of mature decision making.
The idea of New England working collaboratively with Maritime Canada is nothing new and goes back to our colonial past. However, the participation on the federal level is especially interesting. Last February Prime Minister Harper and President Obama announced a new perimeter security agreement called “Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness” which established a partnership to accelerate the legitimate flows of people and goods between the two countries. They identified four areas of cooperation: addressing threats early; trade facilitation, economic growth and jobs; integrated cross border law enforcement; and critical infrastructure and cyber security.
Specifically, we learned that this will translate into increased investments in modern infrastructure and technology at our busiest land ports of entry. Also, as part of this initiative, Nova Scotia is building a deep water container port at Cape Breton to accommodate large container ships unable to access the Panama Canal. This means goods will be transported quicker to New England via a short sea shipping service from Nova Scotia to Boston. We also learned that rail service is vital to the plan thus the need for high speed rail. The Amtrak Vermonter, which stops in Claremont, is projected to resume service to Montreal with fewer delays. Apparently, New York, Vermont, and Quebec are working closely with the feds to make this happen by 2013.
Both Vermont’s Governor and Nova Scotia’s Premier stressed that not only do we need sound budgets, but we should use growth as a way to get out of our economic doldrums. They both contend that the green energy being produced by Canadian hydro, wind, and tidal projects will provide New England and industrial Canada with cheap reliable energy. They stressed that not only will this eliminate our dependency on fossil fuel, but have an economic impact greater than the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.
So again with apologies to Robert Frost, I somewhat disagree that good fences make good neighbors – in regards to the future of the region. Maybe the motto should be good neighbors equal fewer fences.
Monday, August 15, 2011
ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
We appear to have dodged a bullet regarding the debt ceiling and going into default on our bills and avoiding a worldwide Depression. Consequently this has resulted in my thinking about the impact of government on our daily lives. Basically, the system is set up so we do not always recognize the cause/effect, or the entity responsible. This led me to the recently passed State Budget and its impact locally. During the NH legislative session, I worried about the budget’s affect on the ‘least among us’, and local government and area agencies’ ability to respond and pick up the pieces. Here’s a sampling of what I learned.
As the parent of a recent college graduate – tuition & school loans are especially sensitive and high on my radar screen. The legislature cut UNH’s budget by nearly 50%, so I was not surprised to learn that this $33 million dollar loss has caused a $650 dollar increase in tuition. Area students and parents will now pay this increase on top of previous increases raising the cost of attending UNH by 8.7 percent. This puts UNH among the costliest of any land grant university nationally. Interestingly, UNH was established by the Legislature to provide a quality, affordable education for NH youth to compete on the national and world stage.
I next focused on the impact to the City & School District, especially in light of the concern that costs would be downshifted to the locals resulting in increased property taxes. Feedback appears to be primarily speculation and concern over the unknown resulting in planning for the worst. The State has informed the City that road maintenance, especially this winter, will operate under different criteria thus potentially impact public safety, not to say anything about wear and tear on personal vehicles.
Among the big issues are increased retirement costs to the city, school district as well as individual public sector workers. According to Mr. Allan Damren, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, the increased retirement rates enacted this year by the legislature has spawned a law suit – so until everything is settled – no one knows what will happen – thus the challenge is this great unknown! When asked how you run a school system that way – his response was you have to plan for the worse and be ready to hold back and not fill vacant positions. Note that six collective bargaining contracts will be negotiated this fall for the following year – so in light of these real budget constraints the public should expect intense negotiations. Related to increased retirement costs, many towns are expecting a mass retirement exodus of workers (police, firefighters and teachers) that will cause a chain reaction resulting in workers jockeying statewide for the more lucrative positions.
Next on my journey was Hospitals – the state is now taxing hospitals 5.5% on net patient revenues while reducing payments for care to the poor. Hospitals estimate they will be taxed $250 million over the two-year budget. Nearby Dartmouth-Hitchcock estimates it will be assessed $40 million this year alone and could pay more to care for Medicaid patients than it gets in reimbursements. Since this decision affects the larger hospitals, the ten largest are suing New Hampshire in Federal Court. Services that could be closed or suspended to Medicaid patients include neonatal intensive care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Children's Hospital and possibly the helicopter rescue program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Needless to say – stay tuned.
My informal sampling next queried the status of children services in Sullivan County and led to Ellie Tsetsi, director of Good Beginnings. This is an agency recognized in NH and New England as being in the forefront of child health services – innovation and creativity is their trade mark. Unfortunately, the budget eliminated the infrastructure for Family Centers and cuts to Good Beginnings represent a loss of $130,000 dollars. Since their total budget is only $700,000, this is substantial! Specifically that translates into closing their visitation center since prevention funds were also eliminated. Sadly, according to feedback from the NH Department of Health & Human Services, more cuts are projected in January regarding Medicaid and child health services. This could limit services to only first time moms. Consensus statewide among children service providers is that NH is in such disarray – it is scary what will happen to children at risk. However, always the professionals, the staff at Good Beginnings are exploring how they can continue to manage in the least harmful manner as possible? Our conversation ended with her saying “children don’t have a voice, as they don’t vote, so we will have to be their voice.”
I could go on about Mental Health, Private Nursing Homes, Highways, City Welfare and Seniors, but hopefully you get the picture. Robert Reich, the noted economist, recently voiced concern how “Americas wealthy are now taking home a larger share of total income and wealth, and their tax rates are lower than they have been in 80 years.” He is concerned about the impact to the nation’s safety nets and how public investments are on the chopping block – perhaps he should come here and see the future firsthand.
As the parent of a recent college graduate – tuition & school loans are especially sensitive and high on my radar screen. The legislature cut UNH’s budget by nearly 50%, so I was not surprised to learn that this $33 million dollar loss has caused a $650 dollar increase in tuition. Area students and parents will now pay this increase on top of previous increases raising the cost of attending UNH by 8.7 percent. This puts UNH among the costliest of any land grant university nationally. Interestingly, UNH was established by the Legislature to provide a quality, affordable education for NH youth to compete on the national and world stage.
I next focused on the impact to the City & School District, especially in light of the concern that costs would be downshifted to the locals resulting in increased property taxes. Feedback appears to be primarily speculation and concern over the unknown resulting in planning for the worst. The State has informed the City that road maintenance, especially this winter, will operate under different criteria thus potentially impact public safety, not to say anything about wear and tear on personal vehicles.
Among the big issues are increased retirement costs to the city, school district as well as individual public sector workers. According to Mr. Allan Damren, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, the increased retirement rates enacted this year by the legislature has spawned a law suit – so until everything is settled – no one knows what will happen – thus the challenge is this great unknown! When asked how you run a school system that way – his response was you have to plan for the worse and be ready to hold back and not fill vacant positions. Note that six collective bargaining contracts will be negotiated this fall for the following year – so in light of these real budget constraints the public should expect intense negotiations. Related to increased retirement costs, many towns are expecting a mass retirement exodus of workers (police, firefighters and teachers) that will cause a chain reaction resulting in workers jockeying statewide for the more lucrative positions.
Next on my journey was Hospitals – the state is now taxing hospitals 5.5% on net patient revenues while reducing payments for care to the poor. Hospitals estimate they will be taxed $250 million over the two-year budget. Nearby Dartmouth-Hitchcock estimates it will be assessed $40 million this year alone and could pay more to care for Medicaid patients than it gets in reimbursements. Since this decision affects the larger hospitals, the ten largest are suing New Hampshire in Federal Court. Services that could be closed or suspended to Medicaid patients include neonatal intensive care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Children's Hospital and possibly the helicopter rescue program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Needless to say – stay tuned.
My informal sampling next queried the status of children services in Sullivan County and led to Ellie Tsetsi, director of Good Beginnings. This is an agency recognized in NH and New England as being in the forefront of child health services – innovation and creativity is their trade mark. Unfortunately, the budget eliminated the infrastructure for Family Centers and cuts to Good Beginnings represent a loss of $130,000 dollars. Since their total budget is only $700,000, this is substantial! Specifically that translates into closing their visitation center since prevention funds were also eliminated. Sadly, according to feedback from the NH Department of Health & Human Services, more cuts are projected in January regarding Medicaid and child health services. This could limit services to only first time moms. Consensus statewide among children service providers is that NH is in such disarray – it is scary what will happen to children at risk. However, always the professionals, the staff at Good Beginnings are exploring how they can continue to manage in the least harmful manner as possible? Our conversation ended with her saying “children don’t have a voice, as they don’t vote, so we will have to be their voice.”
I could go on about Mental Health, Private Nursing Homes, Highways, City Welfare and Seniors, but hopefully you get the picture. Robert Reich, the noted economist, recently voiced concern how “Americas wealthy are now taking home a larger share of total income and wealth, and their tax rates are lower than they have been in 80 years.” He is concerned about the impact to the nation’s safety nets and how public investments are on the chopping block – perhaps he should come here and see the future firsthand.
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Debt Ceiling: A National Crisis Not A Game of Chicken
After a long and contentious legislative season in Concord where many legislators seem more concerned about dismantling government than making fair and just laws to improve New Hampshire’s quality of life, I was especially looking forward to a summer of routine household tasks and “honey do’s”. However, in light of the national debt crisis – the idea of putting behind me libertarian madness in exchange for the luxury of mowing lawns and trimming hedges has turned out be just an illusion.
Unfortunately, I along with everyone have had to deal with Washington’s political bickering and inflexible representatives whose intent is making the President look bad and crippling government! A local paper recently carried a cartoon that showed the US Capital [Senate – Dome – House of Representatives]. But on the House side they substituted a child’s play set (sandbox, swing & slide). The point being that the US House is acting like children. A cute graphic – unfortunately, the end result of such selfishness will be horrendous and could devastate the nation and world economy.
So who’s correct – who are we to believe – yes spending is out of control – but why are they insisting on balancing the budget on seniors who spent all their lives paying into social security, yet not willing to cut corporate loopholes? Why are seniors being asked to bear the burden and why would government risk military paychecks in wartime? What about all those corporate “fat-cat” tax loopholes – shouldn’t they put something on the table? I remember the mantra how the tax breaks for the wealthy would stimulate investment and create jobs – but where are those jobs? Sadly, it seems like the rich are just getting richer and the poor are… (Well you know how that saying goes!)
This week I experienced an interesting perk of being a NH Rep when the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs invited me to participate in a conference call regarding the debt crisis and ongoing negotiations. One of the principal participants was Jason Furman (Deputy Director - National Economic Council) who with others cautioned us about the need for a balanced approach and a long term resolution.
Now there are basically two different plans in play – one by Senator Harry Reid that calls for a down payment on deficit reduction (2 Trillion Dollars), plus places some caps, and starts to address the corporate “fat cat” loop holes. Also, the Reid plans provides long term certainty to the economy. The second is by GOP House Speaker John Boehner that has only 900 billion dollars in deficit reduction – and extends the debt limit only for 6 months. This means we will have to revisit this same turbulence again in February. Furthermore, Speaker Boehner’s plan calls for major spending cuts (like social security) and refuses to put on the table any of the Corporate Fat-Cat Tax Loop Holes.
Many financial analysts share the opinion of the CEO for Pacific Investment Management Company that “this short term approach will probably push stocks and the dollar lower and leave the US Debt Rating extremely exposed to a damaging downgrade”.
Closer to home the former mayor of Portsmouth NH – Steve Marchand – stated that “between August 3rd and 31st, the US Government has $306.7 billion in bills due. The government expects $172.4 billion to come in during that time. Without raising the debt ceiling, somebody's not getting the $134 billion they're billing starting next week…” Now many will recall the recent financial problems in Greece, which while only accounting for 2% of the EU economy almost, crippled the European Union. Just imagine what the impact of the US Government defaulting will have on the World’s economy!
Now is not the time to play politics as usual – yes Mayor Marchand is right “the way the US raises and spends money is, simply put, unsustainable,” but we need to raise the debt ceiling by next week.
Unfortunately, I along with everyone have had to deal with Washington’s political bickering and inflexible representatives whose intent is making the President look bad and crippling government! A local paper recently carried a cartoon that showed the US Capital [Senate – Dome – House of Representatives]. But on the House side they substituted a child’s play set (sandbox, swing & slide). The point being that the US House is acting like children. A cute graphic – unfortunately, the end result of such selfishness will be horrendous and could devastate the nation and world economy.
So who’s correct – who are we to believe – yes spending is out of control – but why are they insisting on balancing the budget on seniors who spent all their lives paying into social security, yet not willing to cut corporate loopholes? Why are seniors being asked to bear the burden and why would government risk military paychecks in wartime? What about all those corporate “fat-cat” tax loopholes – shouldn’t they put something on the table? I remember the mantra how the tax breaks for the wealthy would stimulate investment and create jobs – but where are those jobs? Sadly, it seems like the rich are just getting richer and the poor are… (Well you know how that saying goes!)
This week I experienced an interesting perk of being a NH Rep when the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs invited me to participate in a conference call regarding the debt crisis and ongoing negotiations. One of the principal participants was Jason Furman (Deputy Director - National Economic Council) who with others cautioned us about the need for a balanced approach and a long term resolution.
Now there are basically two different plans in play – one by Senator Harry Reid that calls for a down payment on deficit reduction (2 Trillion Dollars), plus places some caps, and starts to address the corporate “fat cat” loop holes. Also, the Reid plans provides long term certainty to the economy. The second is by GOP House Speaker John Boehner that has only 900 billion dollars in deficit reduction – and extends the debt limit only for 6 months. This means we will have to revisit this same turbulence again in February. Furthermore, Speaker Boehner’s plan calls for major spending cuts (like social security) and refuses to put on the table any of the Corporate Fat-Cat Tax Loop Holes.
Many financial analysts share the opinion of the CEO for Pacific Investment Management Company that “this short term approach will probably push stocks and the dollar lower and leave the US Debt Rating extremely exposed to a damaging downgrade”.
Closer to home the former mayor of Portsmouth NH – Steve Marchand – stated that “between August 3rd and 31st, the US Government has $306.7 billion in bills due. The government expects $172.4 billion to come in during that time. Without raising the debt ceiling, somebody's not getting the $134 billion they're billing starting next week…” Now many will recall the recent financial problems in Greece, which while only accounting for 2% of the EU economy almost, crippled the European Union. Just imagine what the impact of the US Government defaulting will have on the World’s economy!
Now is not the time to play politics as usual – yes Mayor Marchand is right “the way the US raises and spends money is, simply put, unsustainable,” but we need to raise the debt ceiling by next week.
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