Spending cap foes: Lame arguments so far

The Union Leader argues that those who oppose setting an annual spending cap for Manchester haven't come up with a good argument against it yet.

First and foremost is the idea that a spending cap is the road to damnation. Nonsense. Several New Hampshire cities and towns have spending or tax caps. They include Derry, Nashua, and Laconia, in addition to tiny Franklin, which has become the whipping boy for the anti-cap crowd in recent weeks.

Funny thing about Franklin. A group comprised largely of Manchester public employees commissioned an economist to study why caps are bad things. The economist chose Franklin, which is the state's smallest city and hardly comparable to Manchester. It also has a tax cap as opposed to Manchester's proposed spending cap. But never mind the details.

Franklin's mayor supports the tax cap. Franklin's voters reelected the mayor last week. Hmmm.