Governor John Sununu,
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On September 21, a group of interested & concerned people gathered at Keene Country Club to hear NH GOP Chair, Governor John Sununu speak about the business climate in the state. As an introduction the Governor noted that he is the first Governor/former-governor ever to become the chair of the Republican party. He watched what was and is happening to the state and determined that he had a moral obligation to step forward in an effort to educate Republicans and the public at large as to what is happening to the state. “The Democrats are ruining the state of NH. It is unbelievable what has happened in NH. This used to be a great state and still is. There are good people, assets and small businessmen and women. But it is unbelievable what has happened over the past 10 years.” He presented what he believes is happening and urged us to become part of the solution, urging us to talk, talk, talk to neighbors, friends and others about what is really happening here. He described current Governor Lynch as a “nice man”, but the worst governor NH has ever had. He has failed to use his popularity to effect meaningful change, but rather has left that to a group of left-leaning radicals. There is no fiscal integrity. The current Democratic party is “not the party of your grandfathers”, he said, indicating that the values currently being espoused are not consistent with American values as our forefathers described them. What are the Democrats doing to ruin the state? He pointed out that most other states across the country have recognized the fiscal short-falls effecting them and have cut spending on average by 2 ½%, on top of a 2.2% cut in their previous year’s budget. NH, on the other hand, has increased spending by 10% on top of an increase of 17% in the last budget cycle. Democrats try to deceive the public, assuring us that they have cut spending and done the right thing. The Democrats have accused Governor Sununu of upward spending when he was governor, to which the Governor asserts that, yes, he did increase spending during his tenure. However, at that time NH had surpluses all 6 years and he was able to rebuild the assets of the state and make needed improvements. “The Democrats have no new assets. They are wasting money and can’t (or won’t) explain where it has gone.” “We need to come together to fix the problems NOW. Currently a 6 ½% income or sales tax is being considered. Governor Lynch’s response to concerns is “Don’t worry.” He has accepted all proposals put before him with no vetoes of significance.” “IT IS OUR STATE AND WE NEED TO TAKE IT BACK AND MAKE IT GREAT AGAIN.” There were 41 taxes that were increased or imposed in the last budgetary cycle. Next year, he advised business people, if you happen to be an LLC, you will have to pay a very high income tax. - And it will get worse. The problem is that the Democrats have increased spending and plan to cover the increases with one-time money - from the Stimulus fund, stealing from the doctor’s fund and other sources that will only be available ONE TIME! If they plan to replicate this budget in the next budgetary cycle, they will need 500 to 600 million new dollars to cover it! We need fiscal discipline now! Furloughing the state employees will not make much of a difference as that would only effect 13-14% of the budgetary short-fall. State employees are not the problem and not where the money is being un-wisely spent. It is the expansion of spending on programs that needs to be addressed. “Programs such as Medicaid have been expanded allowing people with higher incomes to become eligible. These people were managing on their own without access to expanded programs. This is not the only program that has been expanded. The Democratic aim is to “make friends” gathering new constituents along the way. Democrats have taken NH from a great state and turned it into an ordinary one. We have no growth, basically, at less than ½% per year currently. For the first time in 50 years, NH lost population as more people moved out than moved in.” The Governor recognized that most people don’t like to be political. However, policies do make a difference AND politics make policies. “NH has one more chance to fix itself,” he said. “Although Governor Lynch tends to “sound like a Republican,” he does nothing, hoping that the Legislature will ‘do the right thing’, but the legislature is in the hands of radical liberals. Their goal is to see to it that NH has an income tax and/or a sales tax. The Democrats, nationally, have pumped a fortune into NH to win elections and insure their goals are met.” NH GOP staff investigated and learned that the contributions coming into NH from Democrats outside the state caused Republicans to be out-spent 2 to 1 in the last TWO election cycles. During the last election the GOP raised 2 million dollars and was able to help our GOP candidates. However, the Democrats brought in 9.6 million dollars with 7 million coming from out of state. “The George Soros crowd and the San Francisco crowd are determined to make NH what they want it to be. Billionaire Democrats raise money nationally and spend it here locally. The agenda of the radical left has targeted NH for “change.” The Governor reminded us that “there is something special about NH.” We participate in state and local government - most of us either have participated or a relative or friend has. We have been able to govern ourselves. It is the most individually supported state in the USA - until now… Now NH is full of big spenders. Regarding the NH Retirement System - the state has a obligation to fund it. However many governors have used it as a way to fund short-falls and deficits. When Governor Sununu was governor the State Retirement Obligation unfunded liability was “0”. It was totally solvent. In 1997-98 the unfunded liability grew. The Democrats short-changed the system. Current analysis shows the unfunded liability at 2.4 BILLION dollars! This figure was not forthcoming and NH GOP staff located it by looking at the NH Bond statement for 2008, updated to 2009. The section on the retirement fund, unfunded, health care estimates equaled $7 BILLION dollars. “35% of this will be passed down to cities and towns and property taxes will go up - a LOT! The Democratic legislature changed the rules and laws to accommodate this.” What to do about it · The Governor reiterated the need to talk to anyone you can about the state of the state. Write letters to the editors, call in to talk radio, be pro-active. Democratic candidates are being funded by outsiders to move their political agenda forward. · We need to be pro-active and get the message out showing HOW the Democrats are ruining this state. · Contribute money to www.nhgop.org to enable the state GOP to purchase advertising in a effort to educate the public. · Talk, talk, talk about the issues. Be a part of the solution. “We are already seeing the quality of service deteriorate and the quality of life is about to change as well. Big government is coming and will shock us all. WE, EACH OF US, MUST BE PART OF THE SOLUTION if we are to turn things around.” A question & answer session followed. Some of the questions follow: Q: Steve Merrill was a fiscally responsible governor. Has he been approached to run? A: Yes, he has been approached. No, he will not run again. Q: There are some good books out there giving a look at what is happening nationally at this time. “The Shadow Party” is one.. Are there others? A: Another
good book is called “The Argument”. This deals with the Democrats
gathering billionaires in 2005 and gaining a commitment from each one to
donate a billion dollars each year to promote and fund the Democrat
agenda. In the magazine “Atlantic” the featured article was
entitled, “They’ll never know what hits them.”: This deals with
raising money nationally and spending it locally. Q: What caused Senator Sununu to loose his election? A :He was out-spent. He was able to raise a total of 20 1/2 million dollars and felt he had a really good shot at winning. But the Democrats spent 24 million dollars to beat him. Q: What’s
the gain for the Democrats? Why are they doing this? A: The Democrats want to socialize the country. Interesting, as those who want to see the USA as a Socialistic country made their fortune under Capitalism. George Soros is a wealthy landowner in Columbia. He funds drug trafficking and wants to legalize drugs in the USA. Q: Can’t we get our own billionaires? A: We are trying to find the money. GOP fund-raising has disintegrated over the last few years. The GOP in Washington, DC didn’t understand the situation until the figures were shown to them. Q: What programs have been expanded causing spending to go up? A: Medicaid, particularly, has expanded the income limits so that more people can get into it. The needy already qualify. By expanding the income limits the radical left is bankrupting America. Same agenda. Same way. Thank you Governor Sununu for giving us this wake-up call!
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