New Hampshire State Legislature Gets 45% Pay Raise

Okay, it is now time for me to vent. Now I am really frustrated. We have endured many tax increases under Gov. John Lynch’s new budget. Lynch’s budget increased state spending by 17.5%. The fee to register a car was increased 20%, the cigarette tax was raised 28 cents, we had a turkey hunting fee increase. There are also increases to court filing fees, telephone taxes, and on and on it goes.

  Then there is the talk about taxing milk, soda, beer, and candy. These taxes would equal a sales tax. A limited sales tax, but a sales tax none the less. After you institute a limited sales tax, a full sales tax is sure to follow.

 Now I start to get aggravated, and then it gets worse.

  Next comes the talk about raising the tolls, adding tolls, and raising the gas tax because even with this irresponsible budget our tax and spend governor signed there is a shortfall of money for the roads. Why is there a shortfall? Because two out of every three cents taken in by the tolls is diverted to other liberal social programs instead of funding the roads. This is a violation of state laws, which stipulate the toll taxes are to go to road repair.

 New Hampshire voters, have you heard enough yet?

  All these taxes to fund all these bullshit liberal social programs and the spending isn’t done yet. Governor John Lynch has caved into a state court ruling about education in which the court had overstepped their bounds and has agreed that the state will be responsible for half of the funding of education. Up until now the local towns and communities funded their own school districts, this gave the local school districts the ability to set school curriculum. If you didn’t like the school districts curriculum, you could do the research, find a school district you like, and move there. Once the state starts partial funding of education they will be able to stick their noses into the school curriculum and centralize the schools. No longer will individual schools be able to set their own curriculum. What’s about as bad as this is the fact that while John Lynch has agreed to pay for half of the education of New Hampshire students, he didn’t bother to do a study to determine the cost, or decide where to get the money.

  So, lets recap, the new budget raised spending by 17.5% and we have no money for the roads, and we have no money for education. Now I am totally infuriated at the lack of responsibility this budget displays. I am not surprised as I predicted if we turned the state government over to Democrats this would happen. I can’t believe you voters were this stupid, and that is what really pisses me off.

  Now on to the last straw.

  After raising all these taxes, there is only one more thing to raise:

More than 100 employees of the state Legislature got raises yesterday that in some cases border on an immediate 45 percent hike.

The Legislative Facilities Committee voted 8-4 to adopt a salary schedule that a study by the National Council of State Legislatures recommended. The new pay scales take effect today. When combined with federal tax payments and retirement contributions, will cost the state an extra $320,000, at minimum.

  Fucking wonderful, isn’t it. I can’t contain my anger any more. Who the hell do these people think they are. Lynch is now rewarding his homeboys for agreeing to raise all the fees we residents have to pay. This is a disgusting display of cronyism and I am appalled. I hope you blind, Bush hating New Hampshire residents are happy for what you have done.

  But thats not all.

Figures do not include step increases or raises that were already set to take effect Jan. 1.

Funds meant for salaries that have accumulated over several years will be used to cover the increases. Raises range from as little as $22 a year to $18,000. The new package includes regular steps of about 4.2 percent a year.

  They were already scheduled to receive a raise in January, a raise they will still get.

The committee’s Democratic majority voted to adopt the report, 8-4, over Republican protests that things were moving too quickly. Senate President Sylvia Larsen, D-Concord, said, “this reduces the inequities within our building and establishes a fair compensation plan for the future. We had a pay plan that discouraged people from staying.” House Minority Leader Michael Whalley, R-Alton, and other Republicans said the committee was rushing into a decision that could create more problems down the road. Committee members saw the report for the first time this week.

“To adopt a report before the ink is dry, giving more than $317,000 in pay raised to 104 people, in some cases getting raises of $18,000 before cost of living increases are figured in, is irresponsible. We don’t know if we’ve created more inequities than we’ve resolved,” Whalley said. “There are going to be a lot of repercussions from this.” He predicted that government workers in appointed positions, such as commissioners and division heads, will expect similar raises. Lawmakers put off in June giving raises to the 300 highest paid state workers.

  Still this does not include the cost of living raise they will also get. The total cost to New Hampshire taxpayers?

Se.n Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, said the new raises will cost taxpayers $900,000 over the next two years because of pay raises and step increases.

  There you have it. Governor Lynch has increased your cost of living while taking care of his buddies to the tune of $900,000 over two years. Are you still happy with your golden boy? Once he had a Democrat majority the fix was in. New Hampshire voters were fooled and I blame noone but the voters. How could you be fooled into believing a Democrat majority could be trusted? There is a reason it had been one hundred years since the Democrats in New Hampshire were in charge of everything. You voters were so disenchanted with the Iraq war that you blindly voted for state Democrats without knowing where they stood on these issues, so you deserve it. Now you will pay the price figuratively and literally. Where do you suppose the funds for the roads, schools, and payoffs to Lynch’s buddies will come from. SALES AND INCOME TAX. We will get BOTH and it’s your fault.

  We need to remove this man from office next year. It is already to late, the damage is done and people seem to be sleepwalking through this whole election cycle. The outrage I feel is seemingly missing from New Hampshire voters. They are not paying attention to what is going on in front of their eyes, and don’t seem to know about the path we are heading down.

  As frustrated as I am with Governor Lynch, I am equally frustrated with the voters of New Hampshire as you can tell. In a war protest vote they blindly led us down this path and now we are paying for it.

 I expect this kind of out of control, bullshit spending on bullshit social programs by a bullshit legislature with a governor who is full of shit. Pretending he is a moderate to bullshit the voters into believing he could be trusted with a Democrat majority. MORE BULLSHIT.

  Yes. I expected this from Lynch, but I didn’t expect it from the voters. Maybe that is why I am really upset. I didn’t see last November’s vote coming, but it did. And there is nothing I can do about it but try and make a call out to the voters of New Hampshire to do the right thing and vote these tax and spend, toll raising, fee inducing, liberty stealing (I didn’t even go into that in this post), self righteous, self pay raising bastards out of office.