Quote:
Originally Posted by Major
It's more than inflation. The size of government has grown exponentially since 1960. I've used the Laconia schools as examples before. Laconia Middle School has roughly three times the staff than when I went to Memorial Middle School 45 years ago, even though enrollment numbers are much lower. Every school is that way. And it doesn't end with schools, go to the town hall. It is chock-full of staff members toiling away on their computers. Same with the courts. I assisted my family with probating a family member's estate so I have become intimately familiar with the local probate court. The office is staffed by six or so people, and although they are very helpful and pleasant, it appears that one or two would be sufficient. Certainly, given that it takes at least two months to rule on anything indicates that there is an efficiency problem even though it seems more than adequately staffed.
At every level, the size of government has grown beyond what is needed. NH was a state that had limited government and limited resources. It used to heed to Ronald Reagan's famous line "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.'" Government doesn't have a very good track record of solving society's problems.
So while I agree we must adapt to changing times, we must fight against bad change. There are too many examples of present-day government policies that are harming us to list. Those of us who want limited government must go out and vote or participate in the process.
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It's interesting that Reagan gets cited often when it comes to small government and fiscal responsibility. If you look at the numbers, the number of government employees (and not just the military as they account for about 1/4 of the growth) increases significantly. Moreover, the national debt went from about $900 billion to over $2.5 trillion. Not a criticism of the Reagan years, just an observation.
To me this is a large part of the problem as I am not wasteful nor are the politicians I support. Instead, it's everyone else and all the politicians I don't support...
As to allowing non resident property owners to vote, I say no. I am a non resident property owner in NH and while I would love to have a say, I don't want the wealthy, part-time non residents in my town to vote. I can't have it both ways, so come down on the side of allowing voting in the town (and state) where you are a resident.