State of New Hampshire secondary Archives: on Budget & Economy


Bernie Sanders: I led the effort against deregulation, but we lost

SANDERS: Let's talk about why, in the 1990s, Wall Street got deregulated. Did it have anything to do with the fact that Wall Street spent billions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions?

CLINTON: You're the one who voted to deregulate swaps and derivatives in 2000, which contributed to the over-leveraging of Lehman Brothers, which was one of the culprits that brought down the economy. I'm not saying you did it for any kind of financial advantage. What we've got to do as Democrats is to be united to solve these problems.

SANDERS: I was on the House Financial Committee at that time. I heard the arguments coming from Democrats and Republicans -- Robert Rubin, Alan Greenspan -- about how great an idea it would be if we did away with Glass-Steagall and if we allowed investor banks and commercial banks and big insurance companies to merge. Go to YouTube today -- look up Greenspan -- it was the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression.

Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire Feb 4, 2016

Bernie Sanders: We need a 21st-century Glass-Steagall legislation

CLINTON: I have great respect for Senator Sanders's commitment to try to restore Glass-Steagall [regulatory legislation which was overturned in 2000, setting the stage for the deregulated banking crisis of 2008].

SANDERS: I would say that we do need a 21st century Glass-Steagall legislation. I would tell you also that when you have three out of the four largest banks in America today, significantly bigger than when we bailed them out because they were too big to fail, I think if Teddy Roosevelt were alive today, a good Republican by the way, what he would say is: Break them up; they are too powerful economically; they are too powerful politically. And that is what I believe and many economists believe. Time to break them up.

Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire Feb 4, 2016

Bill Weld: Balance the Federal budget as states do

The amount of extra debt being run up in Washington is completely crazy. The Administration is spending a trillion dollars a year more than it takes in. And they call themselves conservatives! That's a trillion dollars of debt for our children and grandchildren to pay off. That's not fair, to put it mildly, to members of the X-generation or to millennials. None of the States do this. Most States require by their Constitution that the Governor's budget be balanced.
Source: Speech in New Hampshire by 2020 presidential hopefuls Feb 15, 2019

Bill Weld: Top priority: zero-based budgeting; cut spending; cut taxes

We need the opposite of socialism. In the federal budget, the two most important tasks are to cut spending and to cut taxes--and spending comes first. We need to "zero base" the federal budget, basing each appropriation on outcomes actually achieved, not on last year's appropriation plus 5 per cent, which is what too many folks in Washington use as a starting point. It is actually possible to cut spending year over year.
Source: Speech in New Hampshire by 2020 presidential hopefuls Feb 15, 2019

Bob Smith: Time to stop mortgaging our children's future

Question topic: Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self interest into the fairest and most productive economic system there is, and are the key to national prosperity.

Smith: Strongly Agree.

Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.

Smith: Balance the federal budget and reduce the size of government, cut regulations , reform entitlements and defund Unconstitutional federal agencies and programs. Time to stop mortgaging our children's future.

Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 New Hampshire Senate race Jul 2, 2014

Chris Sununu: Increase Rainy Day Fund to $100M; start Infrastructure Fund

Through good management practices and controlling wasteful spending, we are hopeful that by the end o the fiscal year we will have filled in the budget gaps we inherited and bring the balance back into the black.

Any surplus beyond increasing our Rainy Day Fund to a total of $100 million, will be placed in a newly created Infrastructure Revitalization Fund. And barring unexpected expenses, savings beyond those funds will be sent directly to our local communities.

Source: 2017 New Hampshire State of the State address Feb 9, 2017

Chris Sununu: Money to cities and towns, local communities know best

This is a fiscally responsibly budget that is balanced, and lives within our means. It has no new taxes, no new fees, no increased taxes, no increased fees, nothing. In fact this budget lowers taxes for just about everyone. This budget makes smart, strategic target investments without having to balance it on the backs of our essential workers. And it focuses on core everyday services that prioritize people of our State.

For decades, you've seen your local property tax bills increase. While we can't pass legislation to directly cut your property taxes, we can provide financial assistance to cities and towns. In my first four years, we sent back over $100 million to cities and towns. When we had extra money at the State level, we downshifted cash, not cost, to those municipalities. One principle has guarded our approach: flexibility. Local communities know best.

Source: 2021 State of the State Address: New Hampshire legislature Feb 11, 2021

Chris Sununu: Reduce homelessness, 13,500 new units in next three years

One of our biggest challenges is the availability of housing for our working families. Our state's shortage of available housing was further squeezed by the pandemic as people poured in. With that challenge I see opportunity. I created the Council for Housing Stability in November 2020. That council developed a three-year plan, that aims reduce homelessness and to increase housing options for our working families by 13,500 units in the next three years.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to New Hampshire legislature Feb 17, 2022

Chris Sununu: Can't add $5T to balance sheet and hope it goes away

Sununu also accused predicted a recession is on the horizon, slamming Yellen for saying that outcome was "not inevitable."??

"?You cannot add $5 trillion onto America's balance sheet and just hope it goes away. The recession is coming. The Fed, I think, has known this for a while. They have kind of ignored it. They should have been easing us into the right rates and where we need to go over a year ago," he said.

Source: New York Post on 2022 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race Jul 10, 2022

Colin Van Ostern: Fiscally responsible budget: no improperly-sourced contracts

In 2012, Colin was publicly elected to the state Executive Council (a board of directors of sorts for the state's executive branch) where he represents a quarter-million New Hampshire citizens and is a member of the Democratic party.

Colin has worked to ensure a fiscally responsible budget by identifying opportunities to save millions in state construction projects and improperly-sourced contracts, and he has served as a senior adviser to several elected officials.

Source: 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial website VanOstern.com Jul 20, 2016

Corky Messner: Support a Balanced Budget Amendment

Support saving measures like the "Penny Plan" and a Balanced Budget Amendment. The United States currently has $24.9 trillion national debt with no cash reserves to respond to a crisis.
Source: 2020 New Hampshire Senate website CorkyForSenate.com Jun 3, 2020

Cory Booker: Replace spending with tax incentives to stimulate hiring

"The federal government needs to cut spending," Booker said before a packed room at Saint Anselm College. [He cited former Sen. Jack Kemp, R-NY]: "It's because we shared the same ideas. Kemp believed that if you give the right tax incentives in urban areas, you create opportunity."

Booker said Obama is introducing policies similar to Kemp's, such as tax incentives for businesses that reinvest in the economy. "Over the last 3-plus years [Obama] has cut taxes on small businesses 17 times," Booker said. "Giving businesses tax incentives to hire people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan; ideas that to me seem like every American, regardless of your party, should stand up and embrace."

Source: Speech at Saint Anselm College (New Hampshire) Dec 9, 2011

Don Bolduc: Federal government should not pick winners and losers

I believe the healthiest economic environment is one that promotes free market competition. Too many members of Congress embrace the term "lawmakers" and base success on the passage of needless legislation that stifles the growth of business and allows deep-pocketed corporations to rig the system against small business and start-ups. Under no circumstances should the federal government be in the business of picking winners and losers.
Source: 2020 New Hampshire Senate campaign website DonBolduc.com Feb 10, 2020

Hillary Clinton: Committed to reducing corporate power not only Wall St

SANDERS: Wall Street is perhaps the most powerful political force in this country. You have companies like Goldman Sachs, who paid a fine for $5 billion for defrauding investors. It was one of those companies whose illegal activity helped destroy our economy. Kid gets caught with marijuana, that kid has a police record. A Wall Street executive destroys the economy, no criminal record. That is what power is. That is what has to change.

CLINTON: Of course it has to change. That's why I have a plan. It's been judged to be the most effective. I do not believe that that is enough. We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. I've said I will use that power if they pose a systemic risk. But I want to go further, because it was investment banks, it was insurance companies, it was mortgage companies, all of which contributed. Let's not just be narrowly focused on one part of the problem. We have a lot of issues with corporate power that have to be addressed.

Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire Feb 4, 2016

Jeanne Shaheen: Eliminate wasteful spending; reform broken budget system

She is the leading proponent of strengthening the authority and reach of Inspectors General at federal agencies. She is leading bipartisan efforts to reform or eliminate wasteful agriculture spending, including subsides for the sugar program and crop insurance, and the catfish inspection program. She succeeded in eliminating government spending on oil portraits for politicians. Jeanne is the leading cosponsor of bipartisan legislation to reform Washington's broken budget system by implementing a two-year budgeting system, like New Hampshire's, to improve oversight, cut wasteful spending and reduce manufactured budget crises.
Source: Vote-USA.org on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race Oct 24, 2014

Karen Testerman: More government jobs threaten our economy & freedom

The biggest threat to our economy and job creation is an increase in government jobs--meaning more bureaucrats, more intrusions and more regulations. We all know that private sector, small business is the life-blood for jobs in America, but today government jobs are growing at an alarming rate. This increase in government jobs means more bureaucrats and more regulations. This means more bureaucrats at your door saying "we're just here to help" with intrusive and tyrannical encumbrances standing in the way of your livelihood. It is time to eliminate laws that increase government intrusion. The time has come to stop pumping your tax dollars into useless government agencies that harm our economy and endanger your job.
Source: 2014 New Hampshire Senate website, KarenTesterman.net Dec 1, 2013

Karen Testerman: Not necessarily a revenue problem but a spending problem

We have to then look at every department that is being run in the state to see where can we cut back, where are we less efficient. [It's] an analysis that needs to be done almost immediately before we implement anything. We have to look at the amount of spending. I have often held that we don't necessarily have a revenue problem. We really have a spending problem. So that's the first thing I would be tackling.
Source: N.H. Public Radio on 2022 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race Sep 3, 2020

Maggie Hassan: Restored $1B in cuts in state spending

A web ad funded by the group Impact America Action is called "Hassan Spending Problem" and cites a noteworthy number: "Maggie Hassan has a spending problem," the narrator says. "As governor, Hassan first proposed a $1 billion spending increase." The number also appears on the group's website.

But is the claim true? Hassan's first budget proposal restored many cuts, with a $1 billion spending increase; but here's how the revenue broke down:

When politicians debate the budget, they generally talk about general fund spending, because that's the money most directly controlled by the state. Looking at that fund alone, Hassan's budget only proposed an increase of $184 million. The ad cherry-picked the most all-encompassing number--total spending, including federal grants. Our ruling: We rate the claim Half True.
Source: PolitiFact AdWatch on 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial race Jun 24, 2015

Rick Santorum: Spend-o-meter: track spending on all Senate amendments

PAUL: [to Santorum]: I believe Congress should designate how money should be spent. I always voted against spending. You're a big spender; that's all there is to it. You're a big-government conservative. So to say you're a conservative, I think, is a stretch. But you've convinced a lot of people of it, so somebody has to point out your record.

SANTORUM: I've convinced a lot of people of it because my record is actually pretty darn good. I supported and voted for a balanced budget amendment, the line-item veto. In fact, I used to keep track when I was in the Senate of all the amendments that increased spending. I put them on something called a spend-o-meter. If you look at my spending record and you take all the "spending groups," I was rated at the top or near the top every single year, particularly in defense.

Source: WMUR 2012 GOP New Hampshire debate Jan 7, 2012

Ron Paul: We're reversing 100 years of bad policy; audit the Fed

Q: You have actually sponsored 620 measures. Only four made it to a vote on the House floor, and only one has been signed into law.

PAUL: That demonstrates how much out of touch the US Congress is with the American people because I'm supporting things that help the American people. But as far as working with other groups, I think my record's about as good as anybody's because I work on the principle that freedom and the Constitution bring people together.

SANTORUM: One of the reasons people like Rep. Paul is his economic plan. But he's never been able to accomplish any of that.

PAUL: It's not exactly a simple task to repeal approximately 100 years of us sliding away from our republic. What about change in monetary policy? We've had that for 100 years. And right now we're winning that battle. The American people now agree. About 75% of the American people now say we ought to audit the Federal Reserve, find out what they're doing and who are their friends that they're bailing out constantly.

Source: Meet the Press 2012 GOP New Hampshire debate Jan 8, 2012

Tom Sherman: Invest in infrastructure to support building housing

New Hampshire is in the midst of a housing crisis. Rental vacancy rates are under 1%, housing supply is at an all-time low, and prices are at an all-time high. We need to cut through the red tape and government bureaucracy that stops smart growth, support zoning that makes sense for the modern economy, and invest in infrastructure like regional water and sewer that allows our communities to build housing.
Source: 2022 New Hampshire Governor campaign web DrTomSherman.com Mar 28, 2022

  • The above quotations are from State of New Hampshire Politicians: secondary Archives.
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