Amanda Loder was StateImpact’s multimedia reporter until the project merged with the New Hampshire Public Radio site in July 2013. She now serves as a reporter and Weekend Edition Host for NHPR. You can continue to follow her work at @AmandaLoderNHPR, at nhpr.org, and on New Hampshire Public Radio.
How much lotto revenue does NH really lose to Massachusetts? We asked state Lottery Director Charlie McIntyre
Recently, StateImpact’s been taking an up-close look at the New Hampshire Lottery. In our first post, we traced the gradual decline in lotto revenue transfers to the state’s education system. After peaking in FY 2006 at nearly $80.4 million, transfers have gone down every year. In FY 2011, the Lottery Commission transferred only about $62.2 million to the state for funding schools. (You can read that post here.)
Lower transfers to the state’s education fund means declining state lottery revenue overall. According to reports provided by the Lottery Commission, while the agency raked in nearly $264 million in 2006, by 2011, that figure was about $229 million. And although the economy could certainly be playing a role in this downturn, we’ve also reported that competition from Massachusetts is putting a dent in New Hampshire lottery sales. (You can read those posts here and here.)
But StateImpact wanted to find out how much this competition is really hurting New Hampshire’s revenues, and what, if anything, the state can do to offer stiffer competition. So we talked with New Hampshire Lottery Director Charlie McIntyre. Continue Reading →
That post got the attention of NHPR’s All Things Considered host Brady Carlson, so we sat down for a chat. If you missed our conversation yesterday afternoon–or would just like to check it out again–we’ve got the audio right after the jump. Continue Reading →
At least some of New Hampshire's declining lotto revenues can be blamed on competition from Massachusetts
Recently, we told you about a gas station in the border town of Methuen, Massachusetts. According to Massachusetts State Lottery Executive Director Paul Sternburg, it’s on track to do $13 million this year in lottery revenues. When we spoke with Ted’s Mobil owner Tony Amico, he estimated at least half his customers are from New Hampshire. And StateImpact’s unscientific survey of license plates in the gas station parking lot bore that number out.
Of course, all of this leads to the question, why would people from New Hampshire gamble in Massachusetts? After all, the lotto provides funding for the state’s education system. Why export those funds?
The short answer: Massachusetts has better prizes. And you win more. Continue Reading →
“The voting results won’t be in until January, but so far this presidential primary has been a bust for businesses in New Hampshire.
As of Sept. 30, the Republican candidates have spent a total of $4.6 million directly in New Hampshire — about 36 percent of the amount spent by candidates in 2008. Yes, there were races in both parties that year, with 13 major primary candidates, but this year there are 10 major GOP candidates — or eight, if you go by the deciders of debate participants. And that should mean at least more than half of the amount spent four years ago. Final spending figures won’t be available until after the primary.
In 2008, when all was said and done, candidates in both parties spent $21.1 million in the state. Republicans alone spent $12.1 million, but almost all of that is spent on consultants, fundraising and staff.” Continue Reading →
New England has a high proportion of people who are Baby Boomers and older. Some are already retired, others could retire sooner rather than later.
By comparison, the region doesn’t have a lot of young, working-age people.
Those young, working-age people aren’t having a lot of kids.
Young people with kids from outside the region aren’t moving here in great numbers, either.
The end result? As more people retire, there might not be enough of a labor pool to replace this workforce. And as demand for taxpayer-funded senior services increases over the decades, the region’s tax base might not be robust enough to take care of all this population’s needs and maintain other basic services, like schools, roads, etc. Continue Reading →
StateImpact's weekly roundup of the stories that intrigued, impressed, entertained, amused, or otherwise caught your attention
It’s that time of the week again! StateImpact’s tapping the collective wisdom of the crowd for our Friday afternoon roundup of our five most popular posts! As always, just click the title of the link to catch up on any water-cooler-worthy stories you might have missed.
How Big Banks (Some With NH Branches) Benefitted From Secret Fed Loan Program: Bloomberg published an amazing piece detailing a secret Fed loan program for banks that makes TARP look small-time. And while New Hampshire isn’t known as a beachhead for big banks, the state does claim some outposts for Bank of America and TD Bank. So we summed-up the juciest Bloomberg info and gave you the goods on how much those banks got. And it was far and away the biggest piece we posted this week. Continue Reading →
What's got NH businesses worried? We've charted out the info!
This week, we posted Six Surprising Takeaways from the 2012 NH Business Outlook Survey. (You can read that story here.)
One of the things we noted was how concerns that hadn’t really qualified as “major” last year were suddenly a big deal for businesses this year, and vice-versa. The high cost of energy, for example, reappeared in the 2012 Outlook Survey after a two year absence. Meanwhile, foreign competition dropped off this year’s list of top 10 concerns. And those aren’t the only big changes in businesses’ worries from last year to now.
We found this information so interesting that we just couldn’t resist the urge to create a nifty chart based on the survey information.* Continue Reading →
Right-To-Work legislation has been controversial in New Hampshire
While overriding Governor Lynch’s veto of Right-to-Work failed yesterday, Kevin Landrigan of TheLobbyNH.com reports the fallout continues today:
“Four members of House Speaker William O’Brien’s extended leadership team will be sacked for their opposition to Right-to-Work legislation, TheLobbyNh.com has learned.
House Fish and Game Commission Chairman Gary Hopper, R-Weare, has already turned in his letter of resignation from running the panel.
House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem, is also expected to ask for resignations from three assistant majority whips who also opposed O’Brien’s desire to override Lynch’s veto of the anti-union bill, HB 474. Continue Reading →
Granite State businesses were invited to gaze into a crystal ball and predict the area's economic future in the coming year
Every year, New Hampshire’s Business and Industry Association commissions a survey of the state’s firms. The idea is to get the pulse of how businesses think the next year will go. Do they think economic conditions, hiring, revenues, and capital spending will increase, decrease, or remain the same over the next year?
The answers to those questions–released today in the 2012 NH Business Outlook Survey–weren’t really that surprising. Here are the basics: Compared to predictions for 2011, respondents were slightly less optimistic for 2012…but still “cautiously optimistic.” For example, 14 percent of businesses thought hiring would improve, and 79 percent thought it would stay the same. Meanwhile, 43 percent thought their revenue would go up, and 26 percent thought they’d need to make more capital expenditures. Those numbers are no more than six points below predictions in the 2011 Outlook Survey. Continue Reading →
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