[Major]

We have a spending problem. The size of government on all levels has escalated at a geometric rate the last 50 years. Local government is not immune. Since I moved to Laconia 46 years ago, the size of Laconia has stayed the same (around 16,000 people). Schools, city departments, and social services are 3-4 greater than when I was a kid. Enrollment in schools across the Lakes Region is decreasing, yet budgets and personnel continue to increase. And mind you, these are competitive paying jobs with the private sector, with pensions! The dreaded private sector eliminated pensions 30+ years ago because the math doesn't work. City/state employees not only get paid well, they get pensions to boot!

The things that attracted people from states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York to our great state was the lifestyle afforded by a minimalistic government that is funded without income and sales tax. However, these people are used to bloated governments, e.g., mandated and paid for pre-K and kindergarten, which was a great topic of conversation some time ago. In NH, state and local governments are supposed to be lean and mean. If you want services, live somewhere else. Don't change what made us attractive to you in the first place.

However, at the end of the day, as the demographics of the state change (let's face it we are blue, not purple), we will eventually vote in people who will comply with the popular beliefs that if only we had a sales tax and/or an income tax, all of our problems will be solved. We won't have the homelessness and addiction problems, we won't have any problems. Unfortunately, it is not a question of if, it is a question of when.