The Common Sense Platform

New Hampshire Needs.

Inflation Reduction Plan

For a prosperous future, businesses must invest in a well-educated workforce complemented by affordable housing and affordable childcare. Ignoring these needs will only steer New Hampshire toward economic downfall. We must act now.

  • To combat inflation effectively, it's imperative that we prioritize the construction of affordable housing. Housing costs are a significant driver of expenses for the average consumer. Yet, in New Hampshire, many town planning boards and zoning boards have shown hesitation in greenlighting projects focused on workforce housing and starter homes for young buyers. A predominant concern is the potential increase in local property tax bills due to families with children.

  • Reluctance stems from New Hampshire's current system, in which local education is predominantly funded through property taxes. At present, municipalities bear 60% of the educational expenses for the children in their communities. This model leads to regressive taxation, where poorer towns face substantially higher tax rates than their affluent counterparts.

  • Education isn't confined to the boundaries of a town. Consider Newington, where individuals who grew up in towns such as Newmarket or Rochester work at retail establishments like BestBuy. Neighboring towns fund the education of a portion of Newington’s workforce. Given education's broader societal benefits, a significant portion of its funding should derive from a statewide pool instead of depending heavily on individual town property taxes. This approach would lower taxes in many municipalities.

  • It's advisable to reduce the local education component of the property tax to cover only 15-20% of the total education funding. To bridge this financial gap, which amounts to approximately $1.5 billion, we can enhance the existing state funding sources without introducing new taxes.

  • Contrary to popular belief, New Hampshire isn't devoid of sales or income taxes. For instance, as a restaurant owner, Jon collects the New Hampshire Rooms + Meals Tax, which functions as a targeted sales tax. Furthermore, the New Hampshire Business Enterprise Tax and the Business Profits Tax are both forms of an income tax. We should restructure these existing taxes to reduce the burden on local property tax payers.

  • Jon is proposing a shift away from businesses covering extensive local property taxes for education, instead enhancing the Business Enterprise and Profits Tax to feed into a statewide education fund. The result is a win-win:

    • For small businesses, their taxation depends on profits rather than property value.

    • For local taxpayers, their own property taxes are reduced when municipal governments seek out additional revenue by supporting a growing economy.

  • Our state’s demographic challenges cannot be ignored. We currently have the nation's second-oldest population. Individuals 65 and older are our fastest-growing demographic, expanding by 50% from 2011-2021. Predictions indicate that our state’s population may start to decline by 2040. This aging trajectory poses devastating economic threats.

    To mitigate this, it's essential to:

    • Attract younger professionals to cater to our aging population.

    • Retain a working-age population by ensuring that children receive quality education and parents can access affordable childcare.

    • Create affordable housing opportunities for the workforce, including essential healthcare workers such as nurses, LNAs, and EMTs.

Affordable Housing

Our housing crisis is the number one driver of inflation. Higher wages will inevitably be followed by higher prices for everyday consumer needs—a feedback loop that unfortunately only serves to exacerbate inflation. New Hampshire’s economy needs one key thing: more housing stock.

  • Explain to NH residents that housing availability can help stabilize or reduce the escalating costs of living. If housing demand exceeds supply, prices shoot up, leading to broader inflationary pressures. By ensuring more affordable workforce housing options, we can help keep inflation in check.

  • Expand the NH Housing Finance Authority to build more affordable housing units, and establish or expand tax incentives for developers who build affordable homes.

  • Advocate for zoning changes that allow for higher-density and mixed-income housing in areas where it's most needed.

  • Establish safe, clean, and supervised campgrounds on state-owned land where homeless individuals can stay temporarily. These campgrounds should offer basic amenities such as sanitation facilities, clean water, and security until more permanent housing solutions, such as tiny house villages, can be developed.

  • Allocate funds and identify suitable land for the construction of tiny house villages that provide a more permanent, dignified, and sustainable living solution for homeless individuals. These villages should include access to healthcare, social services, and employment resources to help residents transition to stable, long-term housing.

Cannabis Legalization

New Hampshire is an island of prohibition—every bordering state has legalized cannabis for recreational use. Every day, Granite Staters cross state lines in droves to pay taxes to neighboring states. In refusing to move forward, our state government is leaving money on the table. Revenues from legal cannabis could be used to address our housing crisis and breathe new life into our state’s economy.

    • Establish state-operated dispensaries that adhere to strict regulations, ensuring safe and controlled access to cannabis products.

    • These dispensaries will be overseen by a state cannabis authority responsible for licensing, oversight, and enforcement.

    • Implement a comprehensive taxation system on cannabis sales.

    • Allocate a significant portion of the revenue generated from cannabis sales to affordable housing initiatives.

    • Use the revenue generated from cannabis sales to fund affordable housing programs, such as low-income housing development, rental assistance, and housing vouchers.

    • Collaborate with existing housing organizations and nonprofits to maximize the impact of the funds.

    • The funds can be used to increase the supply of affordable housing units, improve housing infrastructure, and reduce homelessness.

    • Affordable housing initiatives will enhance the quality of life for low-income residents and promote economic stability.

Education Funding

New Hampshire's education funding model, which relies on local municipalities for a large portion of its funding, may have made sense in centuries past. Today, Granite Staters are burdened with sky-high property taxes in exchange for limited and underfunded public services while the state legislature pours tax dollars into private and religious schools via its "voucher" scheme. To support our public schools, our school funding model needs a 21st century redesign.

  • Develop and implement a new funding formula that decreases reliance on local property taxes and instead uses a combination of state taxes to fund schools more equitably.

  • Provide additional state funding to lower-income school districts to help level the playing field and ensure all students receive a high-quality education.

  • Advocate for raising the corporate tax rate, especially on large, highly profitable companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Comcast. Earmark a portion of these increased taxes for education funding. This would help to reduce the reliance on property taxes for school funding.

  • Communities should not be forced to choose between affordable housing and quality education. By restructuring the funding model for public education to reduce reliance on local property taxes, we can eliminate planning boards' resistance to developing affordable housing for families, a resistance often rooted in fears of rising property taxes due to an increase in the number of children.

Medical Freedom

Whether we're talking reproductive rights, medical cannabis, or trans rights, New Hampshire remains the Live Free or Die State. Privacy and autonomy in medical decisions is a cornerstone of our state ethos, and the legislature should stop playing doctor.

  • Medical decisions often involve deeply personal information. Individuals have a right to keep their health details confidential.

  • Trust is essential in the patient-provider relationship. Providers have the training and expertise to give individualized advice and treatment recommendations. Patients should feel comfortable discussing personal and sensitive information with their providers.

  • Governments can sometimes impose blanket policies that might not account for individual variations. Excessive regulation can hinder timely access to care or treatment options. Government involvement might lead to a "one-size-fits-all" approach, which isn't always suitable for individual patients' needs.

  • Too much intervention risks infringing on personal freedoms and rights. It can create a slippery slope of increased interference in other personal decisions.

  • Patients should have the ultimate say in their healthcare choices, considering their values, beliefs, and individual circumstances. Medical autonomy is a foundational principle in healthcare ethics.

  • Excessive government intervention can lead to increased bureaucracy and costs. It might stifle innovation in healthcare solutions and treatments.

  • Different cultures have varying beliefs and practices concerning health. Government intervention should be sensitive to these differences and not impose a singular view on diverse populations.

Climate Action

While Big Tobacco and Purdue Pharma have been held to account for poisoning and killing New Hampshire residents, other large corporations have yet to experience any liability. We don't need to wait on Congress to take action—New Hampshire can recover damages and implement fiscally smart strategies to alter our impact on the environment.

  • Enact stricter taxes on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and pursue litigation against companies that have knowingly contributed to climate change.

  • Increase investments in renewable energy projects, like solar and wind farms, and provide tax incentives for businesses and homeowners who install renewable energy systems.

  • Create or expand programs that help homeowners and businesses make their properties more energy-efficient, such as through grants or tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades.

  • Invest in public transportation options and in the construction of pedestrian and bike-friendly infrastructure to reduce reliance on cars and lower emissions.

    • Provide financial and technical assistance to municipalities to establish and operate curbside composting programs. This initiative would help to divert organic waste from landfills, thereby reducing landfill fees for municipalities and cutting down on methane emissions generated by decomposing food in landfills.

    • Encourage partnerships between municipalities and local farmers or composting businesses to make effective use of the composted material as a soil amendment, further promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.

Democracy

New Hampshire is the only state in the nation that requires a "volunteer" legislature, compensating our lawmakers only $100 per year. As a result, our legislature skews older, wealthier, and retired. It should come as no surprise, then, that our state government has failed to legalize cannabis or address the housing crisis. With a paid legislature, we can enjoy true representative democracy.

  • An unpaid position discourages individuals who aren't financially secure from running for office. This inherently limits the pool of potential representatives to those who can afford to work without pay.

  • A legislature primarily comprised of the rich or retired does not reflect the diverse socioeconomic demographics of NH. This can lead to legislation that does not adequately represent or address the needs and concerns of all residents.

  • If a legislature is primarily made up of wealthy individuals, there's a risk that decisions may be skewed to benefit that demographic, whether intentionally or not.

  • Varied life experiences, which often come with economic diversity, bring different perspectives to the table. A lack of this diversity can lead to a narrower, less comprehensive approach to policymaking.

  • If potential candidates avoid running because they can't afford to be unpaid, it diminishes the competitive nature of elections. This lack of competition can stifle new ideas and perspectives.

  • Unpaid legislators might seek other forms of income to compensate for their lack of salary, potentially leading to conflicts of interest that can compromise their decision-making.

  • Offering no compensation may discourage highly qualified individuals from considering public office. This can reduce the overall quality of governance and leadership in the state.

  • Representatives who aren't compensated might treat their roles as secondary or part-time, potentially leading to less dedication and time invested in understanding and addressing complex issues.

  • Even the most dedicated representatives can experience burnout if they're balancing the demands of unpaid public service with other jobs or commitments to make ends meet.

  • If serving in the legislature becomes financially unsustainable for members, they may leave their positions sooner, leading to high turnover and a loss of institutional knowledge.

  • A system that essentially requires representatives to have another source of income reinforces societal inequities, making it harder for less affluent individuals to participate in governance.

  • An unpaid legislature can send the message that public service and governance aren't valuable enough to be compensated, potentially devaluing the importance of the legislative branch in the eyes of the public.