Defending the New Hampshire Advantage

The Union Leader editorial page points to more evidence that New Hampshire's low-tax status helps the state in good times and bad:

The New England Economic Partnership's latest study, released last week, projected that Rhode Island would suffer the most in the current recession, New Hampshire the least. New Hampshire would not only come out of the recession sooner than the other states, but it would have the lowest unemployment throughout. Our peak unemployment is expected to hit 7.1 percent; Rhode Island's 10.9 percent. New Hampshire is expected to be the only New England state to maintain an unemployment rate lower than 8 percent during the recession.

The reason Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island will all suffer worse job losses and a longer economic slump than New Hampshire is not because God likes us more (although He does). It's because New Hampshire taxes its people and businesses less and is a generally more business-friendly state.

And in the Concord Monitor, former State Senator David Currier pens a letter to the editor defending the New Hampshire Advantage:

I believe strongly that these trends apply in the business community as well. Laffer and Moore also reported that "we also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89 percent more jobs and had 32 percent faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts." The Legislature should think twice before they put in place any additional capital gains taxes.

As a little side note, when I was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in 1996, the state budget was $5.2 billion, and it is now fast approaching $11 billion.

I added emphasis on that late bit. Remember that when you hear that the Legislature has kept spending in check.