for all you NH and transplants who have moved (buy, private school)

[Katlakat]

I'll be sure if I move back to NH to have all of my facts before I vote. Going to the local meetings sounds like a good way to learn American Politics 101 for New Hampshire.

Manchester1-maybe they don't post your answers b/c they are avoiding a long drawn out argument that would be unavoidable here?

What are your thoughts on the Unity 08 thing? I have subscribed to begin keeping up with the progress.

[countrylv22]

HELLO AVERAGENYJOE!


Thanks for posting this!

I have often wondered about the same thing!

How are these people getting voted for, if nobody wants them...

GREAT POINT!

Maybe they are not part of this forum....????..........................

Take care,

Countrylv22

Originally Posted by averagenyjoe

I think almost every post here is for keeping NH free and away with big government. Everyone who seems to move to NH says they are voting for freedom and others who are wanting to come also hate big government. Yet its changing fast. WHO in the world is doing the voting for these tax & spend politicians???????
I wonder if alot of these people who think they are so conservative and "hands-off gov't" are really NOT and are the ones who are responsible here. I wonder if its that "entitlement" mentality. They dont equate big government with what they think they deserve. And its the thing about when you get used to a big lifestyle and move to where you dont have all these products & services they start their bitching and demanding. Not in the public square mind you but behind the voting curtain. When you have big box, mcmansions and all kinds of public benefits you will crave it like a drug. And will go to your death to get it back. I dont get it. Everyone talks like a conservative but someone is voting for the fools.

[Snafu]

I've been reading through this thread and found it really interesting. I'm writing as someone who started out in Massachusetts, ended up in Maryland/DC for almost 15 years, and then was finally able to buy my "dream home" in New Hampshire about two years ago. I still have family and friends in both Mass and MD, and so I have a lot to compare.
I have a townhouse (now a rental) in the Baltimore-DC corridor, and the property taxes there are "lower" than what I am paying in NH... but what I consider the "quality of life" is totally different. If I add in what MD would be adding on for my income tax (a state AND county "piggyback tax"), my "taxes" would be three times what I am paying in NH. Maryland is also "in"famous for the Associations and such which can make even owning your own property a hassle. The kicker is that you actually have to pay extra every month for the honor of getting this hassle (if anyone there knows what a rakeboard is on a house, don't let it get dirty! They'll cite you for that in MD!) . I can see no such "neighborhood nazis" here in New Hampshire, thank goodness. I have no problems with having to travel over a couple towns for some shopping and traveling 1/2 hour or so to cinemas and such. It has made me more efficient when it comes to planning.. I make lists to optimize any trips I need to make... and if I am missing an ingredient for dinner that my local store doesn't have... well, I've become more flexible as far as menus go!
I agree that introducing an income tax will in no way decrease the property taxes, but speaking as a person who does not intend to have children, I do wonder what I am getting out of my property taxes? If the overall price of education is going nowhere but up, there needs to be some type of mechanism to keep property taxes in check and make sure that the taxes that are in place are providing services to all members of a community. Where are those funds going to come from to provide these?
As far as my voting goes, I'm not jumping in to upset the apple cart. I have to admit that my agenda for what is important may not be the same as others, but people need to remember that sometimes change can be a good thing. I know why I moved here, however, and I would hate to jeopardize what I have.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by manchester1

"well it's who I have always voted for and I won't for the other side"

Ugh, it's the knee-jerk voters who cause a lot of the trouble. They complain about the state of affairs, but they keep voting for the same thing ... because they'd never consider voting for someone outside their box.

At some point, you have to give up on party allegiance, especially if your party ain't getting it done. IMHO.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by nicolem

But anyways, the smoking ban is what really gets me. For the record, I do not smoke-never have. But this is beyond smoking. If I open a business, I should run it the way I want. Isn't that what Capitalism is all about? If I have a resturant and enough people complain about smoking and refuse to go there, I as an owner would want to stay afloat so I would either have a non-smoking section or ban it from my place. What is next, I cannot serve food with more than 3 grams of fat or I have to serve vegetables only because they are healthy. They already tried to ban trans fats earlier, but that fell apart.

What about personal responsibility? I could go on and on but I will get off my soapbox now.

Well, that's what it boils down to. I'm totally with you. I don't smoke either, and all of this smoking-ban garbage is driving me crazy. What about freedom of choice? Does it only apply to certain things?

See, this is what I love about NH, or at least my impression of it. The people who run the state respect people to make their own decisions and treat them like adults. (Or at least they have in the past.) Which is why I'm tickled that there's still no seatbelt law. There's no such thing as freedom if we're not allowed to make choices. Whether they're good choices or bad choices, it's not up to the government to decide, as long as my choice doesn't directly cause harm to another person.

It drives me crazy to hear so many people not even putting up a fuss over smoking bans, cell-phone bans, seat-belt laws, etc. You get fired up over the seat-belt law and people just tell you, "Well, it's for our own good." I just want to shake these people and tell them, THAT'S NOT THE POINT!

I just hope NH doesn't lose its Live Free Or Die ethic. That's what makes it special. There's a reason the Free State Project picked NH, after all -- it seems to be a liberty-loving state. Hopefully, it can stay that way.

I'm glad there are still people out there like you, Nicole. Keep fighting the good fight.

[countrylv22]

TO SNAFU:

HELLO!

I might be wrong on this, but I was under the impression that property taxes help to pay for the FIRE DEPT, the POLICE DEPT. , things that you might need at some point, it does not all go to pay for education, there might be other things that property taxes help to pay, but I cannot remember what they are right now


And make no mistake, if they impose an income tax, my understanding is that they will NOT LOWER your property taxes!
If they manage to impose an income tax, and a sales tax, they will be taxing you in every possible way, and they will not lower anything else!

And this might also hurt tourism, lots of people come from other states to buy without a sales tax, this in my humble opinion, would hurt the state's economy....

Take care,
Countrylv22

Originally Posted by Snafu

speaking as a person who does not intend to have children, I do wonder what I am getting out of my property taxes? If the overall price of education is going nowhere but up, there needs to be some type of mechanism to keep property taxes in check and make sure that the taxes that are in place are providing services to all members of a community. Where are those funds going to come from to provide these?
As far as my voting goes, I'm not jumping in to upset the apple cart. I have to admit that my agenda for what is important may not be the same as others, but people need to remember that sometimes change can be a good thing. I know why I moved here, however, and I would hate to jeopardize what I have.

[nicolem]

Originally Posted by countrylv22

TO SNAFU:

HELLO!

I might be wrong on this, but I was under the impression that property taxes help to pay for the FIRE DEPT, the POLICE DEPT. , things that you might need at some point, it does not all go to pay for education, there might be other things that property taxes help to pay, but I cannot remember what they are right now


And make no mistake, if they impose an income tax, my understanding is that they will NOT LOWER your property taxes!
If they manage to impose an income tax, and a sales tax, they will be taxing you in every possible way, and they will not lower anything else!

And this might also hurt tourism, lots of people come from other states to buy without a sales tax, this in my humble opinion, would hurt the state's economy....

Take care,
Countrylv22

You are correct Countrylv22. In addition to Police and Fire, property taxes can also pay for garbage pickup or recycling centers and road maintenance among other things.

[countrylv22]

HELLO NICOLEM!


Thank you so much for your post, as well as, all of your other informative posts on this forum!

I truly appreciate all of your input!

By the way, I have always heard from people, that NH does a GREAT JOB of cleaning the roads up (helping you get to work faster, avoiding accidents! )
after a snowstorm, etc.
So, then its good to know that the property taxes are helping to pay for such GREAT SERVICE!!! Its not just for education...

Please do not get me wrong, I would love to have LOWER PROPERTY TAXES, but certain services are NEEDED in NEW ENGLAND, such as road clean up, after the beautiful snow falls on the ground etc.

So, thank you for your input!!!!

Take care,
Countrylv22

Originally Posted by nicolem

You are correct Countrylv22. In addition to Police and Fire, property taxes can also pay for garbage pickup or recycling centers and road maintenance among other things.

[remember-voltaire]

This is an interesting thread and many good points raised, so I hope no one minds me bringing it to the top for those who haven't seen it yet

[Katlakat]

I was asking about the income tax vs property tax to just learn a few things here. I appreciate the answers. I've never owned a home, never sent a child to school, and never until this year really paid much attention to politics.

Hey, at least I'm honest about it. It's mainly because people like all of you who write in threads, especially here, are open to share your opinions without getting angry or judgmental, that I am aware of important issues, and the changing state of things.

On the front page of today's local paper, was the new law passed for smoking bans. Now its hit home, its personal, and not just a thread I've subscribed to in the regular forums here. Its quite unnerving that people are not taking more of a stand against their freedoms, and big brother is getting on my nerves now that he's pressing a finger to my community.

I'm a smoker-and I don't litter and blow smoke in people's faces, I'm even polite and don't smoke when I notice others are eating even at the local tavern or derby. However, where one law is passed, another is surely to follow limiting our freedom again, "for the better of us all." Does anyone have tea they would like to help me dump into the harbor? I'm feeling patriotic suddenly........

Thx again for the topic of interest. I would have to say by personal mistake: I went to the voting booth and thinking only about the presidential party in mind, saw a lot of local election candidates on the ballot that I had not done research about. And unfortunately I couldn't skip those votes due to ignorance that day. Lets just say I never went to the ballot box again without making my government professor proud. Perhaps some people go to the box unprepared, and just vote for a name?

Just a theory...