Concord, NH – Several thousand demonstrators have rallied in front of New Hampshire’s Statehouse in Concord to protest proposed spending cuts and a provision that would strip public employees of their union protection when their contracts expire.
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The rally on the plaza and lawn Thursday coincided with the state House debate on its $10.2 billion proposed budget.
Inside, Republican House Speaker William O’Brien temporarily closed the House gallery after an outburst during the debate on the House budget. Democrats challenged his ruling, but lost in the Republican-controlled chamber.
Labor unions are galvanized against the proposed policy change that attempts to force public employees to make major concessions at the bargaining table before their contracts expire or become at-will employees whose wages and benefits can be changed by employers.
Organizers said 139 organizations were participating in the rally to protest spending cuts affecting services for everything from the mentally ill to child care for low income mothers.
One will always find “several thousand” people to protest spending cuts – since they are the ones who will lose out. On the other side of the coin, those who have to pay the taxes, and who realize that high taxes lead to unemployment, have their own form of protest: it’s called an election, and the taxpayers overwhelmed those “several thousand” protesters and their associates in the 2010 “protest” election. Which is why NH has a veto-proof Republican legislature, and why Democrat Governor Lynch has very little he can do about this and similar legislation.
The free state of NH, of which I am a proud citizen, is fighting to avoid becoming another Peoples’ Republic of Massachusetts, and B”H succeeding. The “several thousand protesters” used their typical tactics of trying to disrupt legitimate government process by screaming during the session, and had to be removed from the gallery. I can only pray that they fail in overturning the will of the large majority of NH citizens.
We would all be a lot better off if corporations paid a little tax. Bank of America and Boeing pay no tax. No tax. They have not produced more jobs either. Lay off state workers and go after the money.
but it has 0 personal income tax and 0 sales tax, which is why the roads are full of cars from the PRM and other nearby states coming to shop. Going south for a visit in december, I noted the parking lots at all the myriad malls on the mass-nh border were full of mass license plates.
the idea of local services, btw, seems to be more fair, and forces the government to be more responsive, as opposed to places like Illinois, where the entire state suffers to support Chicago.
not to worry about the margins: knowing that the bill would pass, many legislators tried to avoid taking a controversial stand. if push comes to shove, i suspect that they will vote to override.
and while property tax rates are higher than in massachusetts, the assessments are far lower, so that net payments tend to be lower, like the general cost of living here. which is why companies like the business climate here.