A great disappointment (real estate, insurance, mortgage)

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by Brave Stranger

The fact that we did not lose senate seats & EC seats in this bad environment for Republicans tells me we have hit rock bottom. I suspect, from what I am hearing, that soon to be ex-senator John Sununu will be running for governor. Even if it's not Sununu it will be a big Republican name, and Lynch will not run for a 4th term, so I expect the next governor to be a Republican.

I too believe he won't get a 4th term, esp against a big name. He's also too small to be a governor. He hasn't even got an Austrian accent or a wrestling background!!!

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by rmcewan

I too believe he won't get a 4th term, esp against a big name. He's also too small to be a governor. He hasn't even got an Austrian accent or a wrestling background!!!

Lynch has no real subtance...he's just there. But, hey, it works

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by rmcewan

They hold a lot of HEARINGS at committees with members from BOTH parties. They HEARD a lot of stuff. It ain't gonna happen. You are reading political spin.

The only ones here spinning stuff is you and Greg. You guys are actually trying to tell us that dems don't increase taxes or spending. History since the beginning of the parties will prove how ignorant it is to debate that Dems don't.

[notdancingqueen]

The reality is that we have a long-term fiscal crisis rushing right at us. We have large and growing structural deficits -- which means rising inflation, higher interest rates, the unwillingness of foreign investors to invest in a weakening American economy, lower GDP and lower standards of living -- driven mainly driven by rising health care costs and known demographic trends. The longer we wait to address the problem, the more painful and difficult it will be. The problem is too big to grow our way out of, though clearly strong economic growth would help some.

We're looking at either serious tax increases, serious spending cuts, or a combination of the two -- otherwise health care and interest on the debt will crowd out all other domestic spending. Simulations that assume lower-than-average discretionary spending and higher-than-average revenues show that the fiscal gap (the action needed to achieve balance over a certain time period) could be closed by an increase in today’s revenue of about 22 percent or a 21 percent reduction in today’s programmatic spending maintained over a 75-year period. Alternatively, if you assume discretionary spending and revenues closer to historical 20-year averages, the required action would be even more dramatic—about 39 percent of today’s taxes or 37 percent of today’s spending.

There is no dispute that there is a problem -- the dispute is about how to fix it. And no politician or candidate has as yet been willing to address the problem. THAT is the real shame, Democrat or Republican. Shame on them all.

For thems who like sources and more info, check out The Fiscal Wake-up Tour. It is particularly compelling, I think, because it is made up of groups across the ideological spectrum. Since 2005 they have held a series of nationwide town hall-style forums to bring attention to the mounting federal debt as well the challenges posed by emerging demographic and economic trends. These groups include the Concord Coalition, the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institution, the Committee for Economic Development, the Association for Government Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AARP, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and various state treasurers and auditors.

[movingover]

Well there's a lot of misinformation in this thread. I saw someone use the term neocon in relationship to economic policy. Neoconservatives generally don't have any unifying economic doctrine, and people don't understand that neocons are ex-Democrats who want to apply the formerly Democrat principals of spreading freedom to other nations under despotism, sometimes through force or the threat of force. These ideas were traditionally anathema to conservatism.

In any event, I doubt many people in NH knew what they were voting for when they chose Obama. Rather than try to characterize how red a town should be, let me just talk about the basic values I'm looking for in a community.

I'm looking for a community that values self determination, and doesn't rely on government to solve all your problems. I'm looking for a community that respects the fruits of one's labor, even if they are above and beyond what others have, and doesn't think that it's a civil-rights issue or a human rights issue to take so called "excess" wealth from individuals' annual income and redistribute it to people who already pay no taxes. I'm also looking for a community that believes in the 2nd amendment. I am not a gun owner or even interested in them, but I have no trust in a government that tries to strip Americans of this constitutional right. I'm also looking for a community that respects free speech, which means even if it were a Democrat leaning community, it would be opposed to the so called "Fairness Doctrine", which is nothing but a blatant attempt to shut down conservative talk show hosts.

To those who think the so called rich don't pay enough taxes, well let me tell you I am one of those people. I am looking to move out of NY, I earn a bit over $250k each year. The increases in taxes at both the income and payroll level have forced me to recognize there is no point that I work 80 hours a week to maintain this level of income. Instead I will take a 55% pay cut and move to a tax free state, like NH. The federal government will as a result see a massive reduction in actual tax revenue from me. I am not alone, probably tens of thousands of people like myself will be doing the same, and will be flooding into purple states like NH, PA (low taxes compared to NY), and the red state of TX.

This will be an interesting economics lesson for liberals in this country that really think that socialism works. I can afford to leave the game for a while in NY, live a comfortable lifestyle up in NH (even with my $250k I struggle and can't afford anything but an apartment in the NYC suburban area), and then return at a later date when we have a congress and president that doesn't take their policies right out of the works of Carl Marx.

So with that all said, can someone tell me which towns value those tenets that I listed above? It may very well be that towns that voted for Obama value these things, and they will just come to realize they made a big mistake.

[notdancingqueen]

I would not be surprised if many voters either a) voted *against* the current republican regime rather than *for* anyone in particular or b) voted Democrat (especially at the National level) because they believe we need such a fundamental shift in policies that no Republican candidate could provide.

I further believe that if Senator McCain had been campaigning the last 6 months rather than Candidate McCain we may have seen a different outcome (for better or worse). The contrast between the McCain who gave his concession speech and the McCain who campaigned these past many months left me gobsmacked and reminded me why, 18 months ago, I thought I could live with a McCain presidency.

Jackie

[movingover]

Originally Posted by notdancingqueen

The reality is that we have a long-term fiscal crisis rushing right at us. We have large and growing structural deficits -- which means rising inflation, higher interest rates, the unwillingness of foreign investors to invest in a weakening American economy, lower GDP and lower standards of living -- driven mainly driven by rising health care costs and known demographic trends. The longer we wait to address the problem, the more painful and difficult it will be. The problem is too big to grow our way out of, though clearly strong economic growth would help some.

We're looking at either serious tax increases, serious spending cuts, or a combination of the two -- otherwise health care and interest on the debt will crowd out all other domestic spending. Simulations that assume lower-than-average discretionary spending and higher-than-average revenues show that the fiscal gap (the action needed to achieve balance over a certain time period) could be closed by an increase in today’s revenue of about 22 percent or a 21 percent reduction in today’s programmatic spending maintained over a 75-year period. Alternatively, if you assume discretionary spending and revenues closer to historical 20-year averages, the required action would be even more dramatic—about 39 percent of today’s taxes or 37 percent of today’s spending.

There is no dispute that there is a problem -- the dispute is about how to fix it. And no politician or candidate has as yet been willing to address the problem. THAT is the real shame, Democrat or Republican. Shame on them all.

For thems who like sources and more info, check out The Fiscal Wake-up Tour. It is particularly compelling, I think, because it is made up of groups across the ideological spectrum. Since 2005 they have held a series of nationwide town hall-style forums to bring attention to the mounting federal debt as well the challenges posed by emerging demographic and economic trends. These groups include the Concord Coalition, the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institution, the Committee for Economic Development, the Association for Government Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AARP, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and various state treasurers and auditors.

I don't want this thread to get off the NH subject, but I would submit overall that the problems we face are in aggregate due to decades of government trying to fix things. It has never been the job in my view of government to intervene in every problem and fix it. This is the fallacy of a centralized government. Our country was founded on the idea that the federal government should have a minimal involvement in the affairs of the people.

It saddens me to see the nation turn in mass to Washington to fix the mess that was largely made their in the first place.

[motoracer51]

Originally Posted by movingover

I don't want this thread to get off the NH subject, but I would submit overall that the problems we face are in aggregate due to decades of government trying to fix things. It has never been the job in my view of government to intervene in every problem and fix it. This is the fallacy of a centralized government. Our country was founded on the idea that the federal government should have a minimal involvement in the affairs of the people.

It saddens me to see the nation turn in mass to Washington to fix the mess that was largely made their in the first place.

Amen to that. Everything they touch they seem to ruin. SS, Medicare/Medicaid, education, etc....

Less .gov is the answer, not more, but with the way people live in today's world; i.e. debt, I doubt it will get smaller anytime soon outside another revolution.

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by movingover

Well there's a lot of misinformation in this thread. I saw someone use the term neocon in relationship to economic policy. Neoconservatives generally don't have any unifying economic doctrine, and people don't understand that neocons are ex-Democrats who want to apply the formerly Democrat principals of spreading freedom to other nations under despotism, sometimes through force or the threat of force. These ideas were traditionally anathema to conservatism.

In any event, I doubt many people in NH knew what they were voting for when they chose Obama. Rather than try to characterize how red a town should be, let me just talk about the basic values I'm looking for in a community.

I'm looking for a community that values self determination, and doesn't rely on government to solve all your problems. I'm looking for a community that respects the fruits of one's labor, even if they are above and beyond what others have, and doesn't think that it's a civil-rights issue or a human rights issue to take so called "excess" wealth from individuals' annual income and redistribute it to people who already pay no taxes. I'm also looking for a community that believes in the 2nd amendment. I am not a gun owner or even interested in them, but I have no trust in a government that tries to strip Americans of this constitutional right. I'm also looking for a community that respects free speech, which means even if it were a Democrat leaning community, it would be opposed to the so called "Fairness Doctrine", which is nothing but a blatant attempt to shut down conservative talk show hosts.

To those who think the so called rich don't pay enough taxes, well let me tell you I am one of those people. I am looking to move out of NY, I earn a bit over $250k each year. The increases in taxes at both the income and payroll level have forced me to recognize there is no point that I work 80 hours a week to maintain this level of income. Instead I will take a 55% pay cut and move to a tax free state, like NH. The federal government will as a result see a massive reduction in actual tax revenue from me. I am not alone, probably tens of thousands of people like myself will be doing the same, and will be flooding into purple states like NH, PA (low taxes compared to NY), and the red state of TX.

This will be an interesting economics lesson for liberals in this country that really think that socialism works. I can afford to leave the game for a while in NY, live a comfortable lifestyle up in NH (even with my $250k I struggle and can't afford anything but an apartment in the NYC suburban area), and then return at a later date when we have a congress and president that doesn't take their policies right out of the works of Carl Marx.

So with that all said, can someone tell me which towns value those tenets that I listed above? It may very well be that towns that voted for Obama value these things, and they will just come to realize they made a big mistake.

First: Welcome. NH needs more people like you. And thank you for explaing just who, and what a "neocon" is. Most people have no clue how conservatism has been side-tracked by this agenda. Central NH has some towns that may be what you are looking for. Check out Meredith & Gilford.

[KarynO]

I find NH to be socially liberal as far as traditional values go, but it is certainly not an entitlement state.