Distant Dome: Is Lake Sunapee’s Wild Goose A Mistake or Class Warfare?
The issue of class has taken over the question of whether the Wild Goose site should be used for a public boat launch.
InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/series/distant-dome/page/35)
The issue of class has taken over the question of whether the Wild Goose site should be used for a public boat launch.
A drive along the back roads of New Hampshire’s rural areas from the North Country to the state’s southwest shows another Granite State with families caught in the cycle of poverty, workers stuck in low-paying jobs with little room for advancement, opioid addiction and alcoholism eating at society’s fabric and little state help to change it.
But conversely when times are tough, there is little to cushion state government from major shortfalls in cash and when that happens, programs are slashed as in 2011 when state aid to the university and community colleges systems was cut in half.
In New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny proposed a plan that would address the issue in a different way, but was shot down by key lawmakers and Gov. Chris Sununu.
New Hampshire’s economy has been roaring along for the past few years, but the state may be facing a crisis years in the making that could halt the prosperity.
DISTANT DOME: With the last month of the 2017 fiscal year complete, the final state revenue figures were released this week showing New Hampshire with it’s $91.8 million surplus collecting $2.4 billion in taxes.
CONCORD – For the first time in 14 years, New Hampshire has a wholly Republican budget, crafted by the GOP-controlled Senate and House and the party’s first governor since 2004.
DISTANT DOME: Holding open a proposed biennial operating budget as long as possible is always a good idea.
CONCORD – The state’s new two-year operating budget will define this two-year legislative session more than any other bill or issue.
While the Internet has opened up the world, it has closed the minds of those too lazy to think or do their civic duty to be informed participants.