A Trojan horse: The stimulus bill trick

The Union Leader warns on its editorial page about the dangers of accepting money in the federal stimulus bill that will worsen New Hampshire's long-term budget problem:

Gov. John Lynch has caught on to the scam that is the federal stimulus bill. He sees that some stimulus money would commit New Hampshire to higher state spending in the long run. He said on Monday he would consider rejecting that money.
The same day, he said New Hampshire should receive $50 million in Medicaid money from the stimulus bill by the end of the week. His office expects to include in the next state budget another $180 million in Medicaid subsidies from the stimulus bill. That money comes with strings that tie the state to higher Medicaid spending.

To get the Medicaid money, New Hampshire must agree not to eliminate any services or change eligibility requirements in a way that would reduce caseloads.

To get more welfare money, the state has to put more people on welfare.

To get more money for unemployment benefits, the state has to change its laws to allow more people to qualify for the benefits.