NH ranks high, again: Monitor moans, would like a do-over
EDITORIAL
February 04. 2018 12:22AM
A new rating of the states, this one from Politico Magazine, puts New Hampshire at the head of the pack. This is not exactly new territory for the Granite State; but it drives some people nuts.
We were asked recently about New Hampshire's long-standing and deep-rooted opposition to broadbased sales and income taxes. Why is that so?
In part, it is because New Hampshire's large Legislature, reflective of its people, has been made to understand that the more taxes, the bigger grows the government. In a state with a distrust of government going back to the Revolution, that sentiment remains strong.
Our anti-tax sentiment is also warranted by looking at the many states where taxpayers have much heavier tax burdens, having fallen for the line that adding a broadbased tax will lessen their local property tax burden. NONE have lowered those taxes.
As for studies, as far back as the 1970s, Prof. Colin Campbell of Dartmouth College did exhaustive work comparing New Hampshire services with those of our high-tax sister state of Vermont. New Hampshire won, hands down.
Now comes Politico, which ranked states on more than a dozen criteria, and found us tops. These included unemployed rate, poverty, health, income, computer skills, crime, homeownership, and school test scores. All this without a broadbased tax?
It was all too much for the Concord Monitor, which in a "news" story tried to dismiss the good rating.
Sure, said the editorial-disguised-as-news, our rank "may just go to show that if you make a comparison based on things that New Hampshire does well, then New Hampshire will do well in the comparison."
Does the Monitor suggest that a national magazine rigged its survey for our benefit? Perhaps so. Its "story" whined that Politico didn't measure "ethnic diversity, youthfulness and (our favorite) coastline variety."
