Being somewhat lazy today, I'm going to repost what I wrote for the DFNH blog.
As you may have noticed in our Newmarket Meetup report, the two Democratic Candidates for Governor had a chance to critique each other's positions. Well, they showed up again this weekend at the Strafford County Dem Picnic at Katie Payne's. This time, however, John Lynch had to rush off before he could hear Paul McEachern give an even more impassioned speech in favor of making some basic changes in how New Hampshire pays for its government.
I think his point that the property tax is an unfair state-wide tax is well taken, especially since it seems to be forcing old timers to sell and maybe retire elsewhere (where the public services aren't nearly as good) while the buyers, having paid inflated prices for their mortgaged houses, are unwilling to pay for the additional services they need. Not to mention that these inflated sales aren't really reflected in the valuation for taxes because "equalization" might have the effect of driving even more old timers out.
Anyway, I hope the discussion Paul McEachern has been brave enough to begin will bear some practical fruit.
There are two more points I want to make. One is that it is really a bad habit for people who are angling for an executive position to focus on trying to change the directions that have been provided by the legislative bodies. A governor is not charged with providing "direction" for the legislators. Rather, a governor is simply responsible for carrying out their directives. If he isn't willing or able to do that, he shouldn't be running for Governor or President, for that matter.
The second one is that the main difference between government and a business is that the recipients of government services either don't want them (criminals of various sorts) or don't appreciate that they need them (school aged children). Consequently, how much these services cost is not amenable to being based on how many people want them and can afford to pay. That, of course, is why we designate representatives who are empowered to make these decisions for the community, as well as for the recipients. What we, ordinary citizens, need to do is let them know what we expect and hold them to it.
Oh yes, it might also be nice to let them know when they are doing a good job.