Sunday Columns: Money Troubles

by: Jennifer Daler

Sun Aug 02, 2009 at 06:48:25 AM EDT

From the sidelines, former governor John Sununu declined to offer any suggestions. "I never would have put the state in such a precarious position by building a budget based on such a foolhardy gambit," he said. "This was extremely risky. This was a wing and a prayer."

But what would Sununu do from this point forward? "That's his problem," he said.

So the state budget is solely Lynch's "problem"? What's the point of having an opposition party, then? The Republicans still don't know how to be an effective minority party. They really need to stay there so they learn that. It's important to governing properly.

Dorgan cites Finance Chair Marjorie Smith and Ways and Means Chair Susan Almy as having some proposals.

House Finance Chairwoman Marjorie Smith of Durham noted that House budget-writers had passed two taxes that didn't make the final cut for the budget: a tax on estates worth more than $2 million and another on capital gains over $5,000. Together they would bring in about $85 million. House Ways and Means Chairwoman Susan Almy of Lebanon seconded that in a phone message this week.

"We've provided two perfectly good revenue sources that we have vetted," Almy said. "And we could offer them up again."

Not easy and not popular, but these are not easy times.

The state retirement system is also not doing well. Earnings are down 20%, and that is an improvement over earlier in the year.

An attempt to raise the minimum retirement age for police officers and firefighters was killed last session.

Fahey:

While it watches the bottom line, the board at NHRS is also preparing to challenge a legislative reform that set up an independent investment committee. The board voted at its July meeting to have lawyers draw up a petition to the court. Minutes of the meeting show the board thinks the investment committee is "an unconstitutional encroachment on the board's authority with regards to investments and investment decisions." The law gave the committee full power to invest NHRS funds, as long as it follows policy the board sets.

There were also reports on Ayotte's run. An invitation to a high cost fundraiser says she's a candidate for US Senate, but Foster's Daily Democrat says she isn't. Maybe they'll all make up their minds soon, but I don't see how she can ask for contributions. Why would anyone give money to someone who may be running?  

It seems the Republican strategy is to criticize without offering solutions, and keeping their potential US Senate candidate a blank slate for as long as possible, trying to build support without letting the average voter know what the candidate stands for. Will people go for it? Or is it a status thing? The heavy hitters and insiders know Ayotte is running and what she stands for, but it isn't being shared with the rest of us yet.