Portsmouth Herald- "Gambling isn't answer; cut spending"

The Portsmouth Herald editorializes against the state budget approved by the Senate this week, and takes aim at the House, Senate, and Governor for refusing to set tough priorities on state spending:

The economic downturn has led responsible individuals and companies to reduce spending. Rather than making the same tough choices we've all made, the state Senate has decided to try for a quick fix from the gambling industry to feed its spending addiction.

We can only hope the House, which soundly rejected gambling earlier this year, will once again rise up and reject these dirty dollars.

A proposal by the governor to begin taxing individuals when they refinance mortgages strikes us as completely off the wall. The federal government has spent billions trying to bring rates down and to encourage those who are drowning in mortgage debt to refinance at a lower rate. This new tax could make refinancing unaffordable and make our troubling foreclosure numbers even worse.

While we appreciate efforts by the House, Senate and governor to preserve existing programs and entitlements, it is simply not reasonable to keep piling new burdens onto individuals, families and businesses who have significantly less money this year than last year.

Why is it so hard for our legislators to understand this?