I have built a website that is designed to allow people to do their own research on the subject of SB-2. My reason for building it, was that I found it very difficult to educate myself on the subject when I wanted to cast an informed vote. I decided that if there was a site where people could go and get unbiased information from both sides of the issue that it would be a good thing for everyone concerned.

I am not posting here to "promote" the site. I just want to let people know about it in case they need it. I also want to urge people to comment on it and to submitt other resources that I can put on the site to help other people. My Goal? To have one central location where people can go and become informed about both sides of the issue so they can easily get the information they need to cast an informed vote when they are asked to do so.

Thanks for reading this, and I look forward to your input.

Don Chase, Pittsfield, NH

sb2now.wordpress.com

I am a new member of DFNH and a native Vermonter who moved to southern NH 18 months ago. To begin with, I'm an avid hunter and angler and frequent listener to talk radio as well as NPR. I am a registered independant who doesn't go for the politics of party but rather votes on issues which are important to me. I'm probably not what you would call your "average" DFNH member as a result.

Having said that, I would also like to add that I am a public school teacher and musician who is pro-public education and an advocate for the Arts as well as Environmental conservation. I'm extremely confused by some of this state's "traditions" regarding taxes, politics, etc. Specifically:

1) Members of our legislture, from what I understand, get something like $300 a year to do their job. Forgive me for my ignorance, but WHO can live on $300.00 a year?!?! The answer is NO ONE! So then, who can afford to be a NH legislator? It would appear that only those who are independantly wealthy. So we have a system where a bunch of rich people are making laws for the state. I wonder who will benefit from laws that are made exclusively by rich people?

SOURCE: WBZ News

COLEBROOK, N.H. (AP) -- The dispute over New Hampshire's so-called view tax prompted a call for the head of a state tax board to resign.

It happened Tuesday night, at the end of a three-hour public forum in front of two state boards that deal with taxation. Stewartstown resident Richard Simon told state Assessing Standards Board Chairman Betsey Patten she should quit.

"The basis for this request is primarily your total disregard - some might possibly even describe it as disdain - for the overwhelming taxpayer feedback last year on the contentious issue of the use of the view tax," he said.

Patten, a legislator from Moultonborough, did not comment.

Samson charged that Patten "ignored" the signatures of more than 6,000 people last year who signed a petition requesting the board "address this aggravating problem in the calculation of the statewide property tax."

Source: NHInsider

By: Chaz Proulx

Republican Representative Fred King of Colebrook has filed a bill to raise the NH gas tax by six cents a gallon. Thank you, Representative King for having the courage to file this no-brainer legislation. The alternative is a toll hike that penalizes NH drivers who happen to live near toll booths.

The Big Lie And The Rightwing's Neo-Feudal Vision (A Supplement To The Political Duality Series)

by: Paul Rosenberg

Sun Oct 07, 2007 at 01:44:56 AM EDT

One key to why movement conservatives are so successful is that they are playing a different game than everyone else-even most conservative voters, who really have no idea what they've signed on for.

What they are after, at a minimum, is a return to the Gilded Age system, when big business owned Congress outright, and the country was run directly for their benefit, and little else.

I'm going to be talking about this in an upcoming diary, but to illustrate it a little more fully, I created this standalone diary.

Million-dollar washers recall platinum-plated toilet seats

Campaign pressures Presidential candidates to reduce wasteful Pentagon spending

CONCORD, NH – Yesterday's report that the Pentagon spent nearly $1 million to ship two 19-cent washers illustrates why Presidential candidates need to get serious about protecting American taxpayers from ongoing Defense waste.

The latest example of wasteful Pentagon spending became public when a South Carolina defense contractor pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. The company was paid $20.5 million for bogus shipping costs over a six-year period.

"This 20 million dollars is the tip of the iceberg," said Steve Varnum, PrioritiesNH director. “Despite absorbing half of our nation’s discretionary budget, the Pentagon cannot even pass a simple standard audit. Wasteful Defense spending is rampant and robs money that could be used to improve America’s education, health care and job training and energy independence.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congressman Hodes Backs Taxpayer Protection Act

"Granite Staters work hard and deserve to keep more of their money"

WASHINGTON, DC-Congressman Paul Hodes voted today for a bill that will lower the federal tax bill for thousands of New Hampshire's families. The Taxpayer Protection Act gives married people who are small business owners a break by allowing both spouses to be credited for the payment of Social Security and Medicare taxes (under current law only the spouse filing a return can claim those taxes). The bill, which passed the House today, also includes measures to guard against identity theft and help taxpayers recoup unclaimed refunds.

"Granite Staters work hard and deserve to keep more of their money," Congressman Hodes said. "Our 60,000 page tax code is so complex that millions of people have to pay professionals just to fill out obligatory forms. This time of year highlights the need for clear, simple rules. Having been in office for a few months, I am convinced that we can do a better job."

Online Oreos send Congress a message

With “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” at PrioritiesNH.org,
citizens build their own federal budgets by stacking Oreo cookies

www.prioritiesnh.org

CONCORD, N.H. - As thousands of New Hampshire taxpayers put the finishing touches on their federal tax returns, a New Hampshire organization is encouraging them to ask “What would Ben do?”

Ben is Ben Cohen, president of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities (and co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream). His animated image is the star of an award-winning Web video that demonstrates the federal discretionary budget using stacks of Oreo cookies. The video can be viewed on the PrioritiesNH Website at http://www.prioritiesnh.org/oreos/ .

Now Cohen’s PrioritiesNH campaign is letting the rest of us play. PrioritiesNH has posted a “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” game on its Web site at: http://www.prioritiesnh.org/oreos/ustack/ . The game allows users to do what Ben does: Shift Oreo cookies along a bar chart of the federal discretionary budget, with each cookie representing $10 billion in spending. After building their ideal budget, players click to the next page, which allows them to send their budget vision and a personal note to their Senators and Congressperson.

By Nancy Bean Foster For The Cabinet and Susan Lunt Childress, Cabinet staff
Published: Thursday, Mar. 29, 2007

AMHERST — It may be time for politicians to start talking about an alternative to the property tax now that voters in Amherst and 12 other New Hampshire towns have backed a resolution calling for an end to “The Pledge.”

The Granite State Fair Tax Coalition managed to get petitioned articles on this year’s warrants in 14 New Hampshire towns calling for an end to the unofficial oath taken by New Hampshire politicians not to consider or support any broad-based taxes, such as a sales or income tax.

In 13 of the 14 towns, voters agreed that it was time for “The Pledge” to go.

Sandwich was the only town that didn’t pass the article, pointing to the fear of some that it would bring about more taxes, said Paul Henle, the Fair Tax Coalition’s executive director.

But the article was only meant to “begin a dialogue” about the current tax structure, he said, not to suggest more taxes.

SOURCE: fosters.com

Published Mar 26, 2007

SOMERSWORTH — With property taxes throughout the state on the rise and showing no signs of letting up, members of the City Council have decided to take action.

A resolution passed March 19 intends to send a message to the governor and state officials to find another source of revenue other than property taxes.

"Reliance on property taxes has placed an undue and unequitable burden on low- and moderate-income families who are forced each year to pay a higher percentage of their incomes on property taxes or rents," the resolution reads.

It continues, stating officials of the city as well as the state should be "promptly urged" to reduce the property tax burden by seeking "any and all legally permissible alternative, equitable revenue sources" and by controlling expenditures while maintaining the quality of the city and state.

All councilors supported the resolution, agreeing something needs to be done about the steady rise in property taxes.

First, setting the scene: we have had a very difficult year. Last March the town elected two members of the board of selectmen whose platform was to cut taxes. The board consists of three members, and the third has been a selectman for three terms. One of the first things that happened was the firing of the town administrator for insubordination. Having served on the board while she was in that position, I suspect that she did her usual competent job of explaining to the board the proper and legal ways to proceed, and this was what got her in trouble.

The two, over the objections of the experienced member of the board, then proceeded to hire Harriet Cady, a serving, right-wing state representative from neighboring Deerfield, as interim administrator, with little or no attempt to find any alternative. Ms. Cady does not appear to have had the experience or training listed in the job description for the position. The majority of the board also declared that they did not feel bound by the budget passed at town meeting and attempted to refuse the wage hikes voted in, and to keep the recreation director position at part-time. A full-time rec director was something that a very vocal group in town wanted badly.

Bill sends us this news from Amherst. DFNH Director Jeanne Ludt helped get this warrant article before Amherst voters. To learn more about Fair Tax, read our article here.

Article 26 - Passed

(Resolution (By Petition))

Yes: 1268

No: 1225

Peter Sullivan announced today that he will be a candidate for the Manchester Board of Alderman in this fall's municipal elections. Sullivan will seek the seat from Ward 3, which includes downtown and the millyard.

"Manchester city politics is ready for change. It's time for new voices, new ideas, and a committment to open and accountable government. That's why I've decided to run for alderman", said Sullivan.

"By tapping the talents and ideas of all of Manchester's residents, we can bring new voices to civic life. The era of political cliques and secret back room meetings must come to an end.

"By working together, we can craft a budget that ends the abuse of Manchester's taxpayers while meeting the needs of our residents.

"We can make our neighborhoods safe by putting more cops on the street, by cracking down on unresponsive slum lords, and by taking a tough, no-nonsense stand against the small number of irresponsible businesses whose actions threaten our community.

Every American child born into your NH community assumes his or her share of the national debt. The number right now is $30,000. Yup, that cute baby is already in debt $30,000. If the estate tax is a death tax, then this 30 grand is a birth tax.

Most of this money will go to the Chinese to pay back the money they loan us. Let's hope the baby's parents have enough insurance to cover the hospital costs because as the debt goes up, publicly funded services go down. And just forget it if the child gets sick--ever. Add in the cost of a higher education before the child becomes a taxpayer and you?ve got a depressing situation.

This is hardly the type of capitalist incentive we need in the 21st century.

You can thank a string of so-called "small government" politicians, activists and groups for this mess. What it boils down to is a sham and the biggest hurdle to rectifying the situation is "the pledge."

The pledge kills all rational debate about tax alternatives. The more the public understands how this sham works the better. Don?t expect to read this in the Union Leader.