New Hampshire: New England

The road to economic recovery is not paved with new taxes.

by Mike Biundo

New Hampshire’s delegation in Washington needs to share that bit of cold New England logic with their congressional colleagues as they evaluate the Obama administration’s budget proposal.

 That proposal includes a giant energy tax increase, although that’s not what the administration’s economic team is calling it. They’d prefer us to think of it as revising Section 199 of the U.S. tax code. That might sound agonizingly dull, but don’t nod off. The revisions they are looking for amount to a $31.5 billion annual tax increase for U.S. energy producers, and that means more economic trouble for the rest of us.

Just how insane are those governors who want to refuse the unemployment benefits part of the stimulus package?

I think I've found an historical measuring stick for the crazy they feel.

Former New Hampshire Governor, and later Senator, Styles Bridges, is famous, or infamous, rather, for a few things.

Such as his staunch support for Joseph McCarthy.  And his friendship with J. Edgar Hoover, whom he used to spy on his political enemies.  And then there's the time he blackmailed Senator Lester Hunt (D-WY) into dropping out of his reelection race, or else face his son being prosecuted for the misdemeanor of soliciting sex from a male undercover cop.

Beth LaMontagne Hall on plans for a two new wood pellet plant in Berlin that could ultimately generate hundreds of job. The problem is getting sufficient electricity to the area for the factories:
The state could pay for it or ask regional power manager ISO New England to help get surrounding states to pitch in, but with states slashing spending, Gallus says Washington is the most promising source.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen wants the power line upgrades included in New Hampshire's stimulus funds and the region's congressman, Rep. Paul Hodes, believes increased transmission capacity could create more jobs and bring more affordable energy to the region.

In the wake of the passage of the Stimulus Bill, I thought it fitting to spend a few minutes considering how I and my fellow residents of Manchester - including Mayor Frank Guinta - would fare. My research didn't give me a very clear idea of what the folks in New Hampshire's largest city can expect from the $790 billion dollar plan, but it did illuminate something else for me: Pothole Frank is a crappy mayor.

Thru what serendipity did I glean this? I began at the website of the US Conference of Mayors (www.usmayors.org). News reports about the fiscal stimulus plan had mentioned that the mayors had put together a wish list of local projects that they hoped could be funded by the stimulus package.