Quote:
Originally Posted by camp guy
Home ownership is possibly the greatest single driver in a local economy, in that home owners are always needing something at the local hardware store, do retail and food shopping locally, generally use local trades for work to be done in and around their home, and enjoy the benefit of building equity through the passage of time. Non-home owners, renters, probably do none of the above. Renters are generally told not to drive nails into the walls, not to do home maintenance by themselves, and each month monthly rent check goes to "someone", not to building equity for them. A home is someplace to live, a rent is someplace to reside (for now). Towns should do whatever they can to encourage home ownership - it benefits not only the homeowner, but the local economy.
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Labor. Though the initial may have been someone concerned about the rising assessments shifting taxes to long held properties, and looking to dissuade further demand creating even higher assessments; others have been looking at the labor force issue.
Operating margins must cover labor. So businesses must have higher prices to handle that increased labor cost; and government must have higher taxation to pay the higher salaries/wages necessary to compete for the dwindling amount of workforce.
Greenspan through Reagan and O'Neil warned us in the mid-80s that the entire US was going to suffer the demographics of fewer workers for each retiree. NH went whole hog, full speed ahead for the cliff.
Now we hear government complaints that 26% of our resident population is 60 or older statewide. But the local pockets of residents is higher, and with non-residents added to the mix; the percentage is very high.
The only ways to overcome a shortage of labor is to work more hours - not easy to get that to happen in a tourist area, increase productivity - this is where customer efficiency in the service sector comes into play, or to lower the demand.
They believe that they will achieve it by lowering demand (less "tourists") and increasing the supply of the scarcity (more units for rent/sale).