Don’t Raise Taxes or Fees! Cut the Spending!

By Jim on January 8th, 2009

Excellent editorial from Matt Murphy about Concord’s spending addiction:

Now is not the time for New Hampshire taxpayers to make a choice about which new “revenue stream” they want. Rather, it is the time for New Hampshire lawmakers and Gov. John Lynch to spend less of the taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden felt by citizens and the business community in a weakened economy.

For too long the state’s finances have been presented as a revenue problem, but the same budget deficit is being felt in states with additional “revenue streams.”

California, Massachusetts, Vermont and several other states that have income and sales taxes also face falling state revenues and budget deficits. The suggestion that new revenue from a sales or income tax or even expanded gambling will reduce property taxes is misleading.

The need to keep spending under control is not a criticism of Rep. Wells’ ideas for allowing video slot machines in New Hampshire. Had he recommended using the revenue from such expanded gambling to reduce or eliminate the business enterprise or business profits taxes, it would certainly be a worthwhile policy discussion. However, using these proceeds to grow government will simply increase the insatiable appetite of an ever-expanding state bureaucracy.

Any government — local, county or state — that spends its constituents’ money as the Legislature has done and fails to grasp that low taxes are a direct result of low spending is condemned to find itself in a budget deficit. To correct this problem, legislators should look at limiting spending, not seeking more money from the people they serve and who are having hard times themselves.

Anybody who thinks that adding an income or sales tax would fix the massive spending problem in Concord is crazy. The current state government is completely out of control in its reckless spending.

We should start by cutting the 18% in spending that Governor Lynch added to the last budget and then continue cutting from there.