Sylvia Larsen - bragging her way to an income tax.

Posted on July 31, 2007

Senate President Sylvia Larsen is out bragging about all that the Democrats have accomplished in the NH Senate this year. Lets look:

this Legislature met a court deadline to define an adequate education, a significant step on the path to finally solving the problem of education funding.

Well, ain’t that just so special - they bent low before the all mighty court and passed a “definition” of adequate education. Of course they dodged the real task of determining how much that little piece of text will cost the taxpayers - but the answer is already out - it will cost them at least another billion dollars a year. (A little over a million people in the state, about a thousand dollars each, so a family of four will owe an extra $4000 a year).

We raised the minimum wage, giving a much needed boost to working families.

Well at least the families’ teenagers can bring in a few extra dollars a week from their part time job after school, if they can find one. That should help pay those new taxes.

We put a stop to smoking in restaurants and bars, so restaurant workers don’t risk their health to keep their jobs and customers can breathe easy knowing they won’t be subjected to second-hand smoke when they eat out.

Who will be going out to these smoke free establishments? Not taxpayer families trying to scrounge up that extra 4 grand.

We also made important investments in our environment, finally restoring funding to the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program to help communities preserve valuable open space and historic buildings. We’re finally paying for much-needed improvements to our beautiful state parks and promoting renewable energy by requiring our electric utilities to buy a growing percentage of their energy from renewable energy producers.

So to make the parks, many of which charge a fee to enter, nicer thanks to the taxpayers, who while trying to save up to pay the adequate education taxes, get to pay higher energy rates because the electric company has to buy renewable energy. Oh, Sylvia, you must be very proud!

We’re getting more New Hampshire children covered with health insurance under Healthy Kids.

So the program was not generous enough by subsidizing health insurance for families up to 4 times the poverty level? Will you rename it the “Healthy millionaire’s kids” program - I remember figuring out that in 2002 it covered families earning as much as $90,000 a year - what did you jack it up to now? And how much will that struggling taxpayer family pay in taxes so all these new kids get subsidized insurance?

We’ve increased spending for our universities and colleges.

More money from the taxpayer to the colleges and university system? So tuitions will come down and poor strapped taxpayer family can afford to send their kids off to UNH or the Tech colleges? OH? tuition is still going up? What a deal - so are the administrators and over paid professors sucking it all up? Proud Sylvia, you must be very proud!

We’ve made a new commitment to increasing our high school graduation rate by expanding programs for at-risk students and raising the drop-out age.

Oh, yeah, I read about how Gilford is adding to their alternative programs for these kids, sounds like a nice program - they neglected to say how much it will cost. With most school systems costing $10,000 or more per student and special alternative programs for a small group certainly costing more - just how much will this really cost? Ask the taxpayers next spring - after the school budgets are written. It won’t be cheap! Wonder how much that will add to the $4000 our taxpayer family is already facing along with their higher costs for energy and college.

We did all this without losing sight of the importance of a healthy business climate and avoiding a sales or income tax.

For now. No new sales tax or new income tax - for now. Of course when the cost of the adequate education is determined that can all change can’t it? Certainly there is not an extra billion a year in the state’s current revenue stream. You spent every dollar expected to come in under the existing taxes and you even inflated those revenues beyond reality. So what will you do Sylvia? Increase the state property tax? That will be popular. But Gov. Lynch has said he would veto a new income tax. Now did he say he would veto a new sales tax? Gee i don’t know about that one. No, my bet is on an income tax - and Lynch will flinch - forget to veto it and let it go without signature. But no matter what it is - it will still work out to at least $4000 per family of four.

Our renewable energy initiative is designed to invite new businesses to meet our growing demand for clean energy.

New businesses - new subsidized businesses, subsidized by every taxpayer through their electric bills. Businesses that cannot compete on a level playing field, using technology that may never actually produce electricity at a cost that competes with traditional sources. Will this turn out to be like the wood fired power fiasco forced upon the electric companies in the 80’s? The one that the rate payers are still paying for even though most of the wood to power plants have been shut down? That will be another proud moment won’t it Sylvia?

Reinstating our job training fund will help businesses ensure their workers have the latest skills.

Haven’t we had enough yet? The beleaguered taxpayer will now be paying to subsidize retraining of more workers rather than paying for their own kids to go to the university system or the tech system?

Oh what a world….what a world!

» Filed Under Taxes, Legislators, New Hampshire, NH Politics