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July 5, 2012

New Citizens See A Future Of Economic Opportunity

In this age of economic insecurity and an uncertain future, newly naturalized Americans may be the nation’s most optimistic citizens. After taking the Oath of Allegiance on the 4th of July outside the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, many of the 101 new American citizens shared their stories for a NHPR audio postcard. Almost everyone spoke […]

June 29, 2012

Education = Economy, An Update

An Education Update! Today, the House passed a bill preventing a doubling of interest rates on new student loans, which was scheduled to go into effect Sunday. In New Hampshire, Gov. Lynch’s veto on a education tax credit for businesses was overidden — a “keystone” of the Republican agenda, as Sam Evans-Brown reported for NHPR […]

June 28, 2012

Who Can Agree? What The Affordable Care Act Means For Business In N.H.

Nobody seems to agree on what the Affordable Care Act means for businesses, which is probably why business organizations like the state’s Business and Industry Association and Small Business Administration office haven’t commented publicly on the ruling. The Affordable Care Act requires businesses with more than 50 employees to provide health insurance, or pay penalties. […]

June 27, 2012

Affordable Care Act: In The Eye Of The Beholder

Tomorrow, the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act will likely be handed down by the Supreme Court. There are two main pieces under consideration: the individual mandate, and Medicaid expansion. According to John Stephen, New Hampshire’s former Health and Human Services Commissioner, Medicaid expansion will cost the state an additional $1 billion over ten years. […]

June 26, 2012

SCOTUS And The Affordable Care Act: An Overview

The internet is abuzz with talk of the Affordable Care Act. Two Mondays in a row, eager newsmakers have been gearing up to pounce on a Supreme Court decision only to find it won’t be announced… just yet. With a complicated piece of legislation facing a confusing series of legal challenges, trying to understand the […]

June 18, 2012

If Affordable Care Act Remains Intact, N.H.’s “One-Stop Shop” Will Be Run By Feds

Correction: In the last paragraph, the author initially referred to Alabama, rather than Louisiana, as a state that has not created a state-run health insurance exchange. Remember back in 2009 and 2010 when President Obama would talk about that “one-stop shop” piece of his health care bill, in which health insurance customers could go to […]

May 24, 2012

Health Risks Update

On Tuesday I described findings in a new report from the Trust For America’s Health, which ranked New Hampshire as having very few injury-prevention laws. You can see on TFAH’s nifty map below that N.H. stands out in red — among its more legislation-heavy neighbors — with only four injury-prevention policies. As of yesterday, however, that […]

May 22, 2012

How Much Is N.H. Paying For The Freedom To Take Risks?

According to a report released today by the Trust for America’s Health, 659 Granite Staters died from injuries between 2007 and 2009 — injuries such as concussions, motor vehicle accidents, and unintentional prescription drug overdoses. These injuries are not only a cause of grief for families and communities; they cost state and federal government, insurers, […]

May 17, 2012

Big News For Brewers and Beer Lovers

Yesterday the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill allowing the sale of specialty beer in New Hampshire. As a spokesperson from Red Hook Brewery in Portsmouth explained to me, until now breweries were unable to brew or distribute in N.H. beers containing either over 6 percent alcohol, or spice and fruit ingredients. This […]

Would A Statewide Earned Income Tax Credit Be Good For N.H.?

In 1974 — the middle of an economic recession — President Ford introduced the Tax Reduction of 1975, hoping that tax cuts would stimulate the economy. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) became federal law the following year, and has grown since. By last year, a family with two children who earned under $40,964 was […]

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