Advocates Of Failed Income Tax Amendment Say Their Goals Were Achieved

Ballot Question One – a constitutional ban on the income tax — did not receive the 67 percent of votes it needed to become law on Tuesday.  It did, however, receive 57 percent of the vote: a healthy majority.

During an otherwise Democratic sweep on Tuesday, this GOP initiative received more votes in New Hampshire than either Ovide Lamontagne – or even Mitt Romney.  Continue Reading

Does The Election Of Maggie Hassan And President Obama Mean More Taxes For Granite Staters?

NHPR

That’s what Republicans have wanted to you believe all election season.

Sounding exhausted by the question, Maggie Hassan spokesperson Marc Goldberg says an income or sales tax is still off the table for Hassan. “As Maggie said repeatedly during the campaign, she opposes an income tax and would veto one if she was governor.”

When asked about increasing business taxes, Goldberg was less specific. “She will work with the legislature to craft a balanced budget,” was his response. Continue Reading

N.H. Exit Polls: High Earners Went For Romney, Economic Optimists For Obama

New York Times

According to this New York Times exit polls interactive, Granite Staters…

  • Who earn over $100,000 voted for Governor Romney by a margin of 3 percent. Those who earn less than $100,000 preferred President Obama.
  • Who are feeling good about the economy voted for President Obama; those feeling poorly about the economy voted for Governor Romney.
  • Of all ages preferred President Obama except for those between 30 and 44 years of age. This age group was tied between the two candidates.
  • Who are married were tied in their support for both candidates; unmarried voters went for the President by 58 percent.

Is Being A Swing State Good For N.H.’s GDP?

DoubleSpeakShow/flickr

As election season in this swing state draws to a close, we ask: What effect does New Hampshire’s status as a swing state have on the state’s economy?

Economist Brian Gottlob says that the short, high-profile events of the general election can be costly for the cities that host them, and they don’t add much in terms of New Hampshire’s GDP. On the other hand, Gottlob says, the state’s status as first primary in the nation has a more noticeable economic effect — as a multitude of campaigns come through the state, staying for weeks rather than days.  And while the advertising media are the biggest winners when it comes to soaking up campaign funds, Gottlob says, they are also big spenders. Major networks, he says, rent whole floors of hotels in the weeks leading up to the primary.  Continue Reading

Why You’re Not Hearing About Ballot Question 1: The New Hampshire Income Tax Amendment (CACR13)

Protecting New Hampshire from a broad-based sales or income tax has been a major issue in New Hampshire elections for decades – and this year’s state races have been no different.  Over and over, voters hear Republican candidate for Governor, Ovide Lamontagne, accuse his Democratic opponent, Maggie Hassan, of supporting an income tax.  Over and over, Hassan reiterates her pledge not to support a broad-based income or sales tax. Continue Reading

Are Granite Staters Better Off Than Four Years Ago? Depends On Your Job

This post has an Infographic!


In his acceptance speech at the GOP convention, Mitt Romney asked American voters “are you better off than you were four years ago when President Obama was elected?” The President responded with this: “we are absolutely better off than we were when I was sworn in and we were losing 800,000 jobs in a month.”  “Better-off” can be measured in any number of ways, from mood to consumer-confidence. But job security is a good one.

Of course, your job security has a lot to do with what sector you work in.  Let’s break it down: Continue Reading

It’s All A Wash: Hurricane Sandy And The Broken Window Fallacy

Shelley Bernstein/Flickr

Hurricane Sandy has brought commerce to a halt across a geographic area worth $10 billion annually in economic activity. Will it help the economy, or hurt it?

Some economists will say hurricanes like Sandy produce enough economic activity to create a net gain. But they may not be taking into consideration what is known as The Broken Window Fallacy. Continue Reading

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