Weak Dollar

In order to stave off an impending recession shortly after September 11, 2001 the Bush administration implemented a weak dollar policy. The plan was to boost consumer confidence, encourage exports, and stimulate the economy.
Although exports did get a positive bump the jobs went overseas as well as the products, the economy stagnated, and consumers were not yet ready to spend. This policy has been around since before the hunt for bin Laden began. It's time for a change.
Several mistakes made during those Bush years compounded the problem and the bursting housing bubble dragged us further towards recession. Bailouts and Stimulus under President Obama have yet to yield solid results, and he seems to favor a weak dollar policy despite Treasury Secretary Geithner's claims to the contrary.
A weak dollar policy is a tax on US consumers. The strategy was to keep interest rates low so manufacturers who sold to overseas markets would have a competetive edge, make higher profits, thereby enabling them to hire more employees. That stategy did raise corporate incomes but they did not increase their American worker numbers. In fact in the last ten years US corporate multinationals fired 2.5 million employees and increased their overseas work force by nearly the same number. The value of the dollar has diminished by 31% since 2001 therefore the price of commodities (gold, oil, food) have skyrocketed.
If you do not consume chemicals, plastic, oil or food you are exempt from this unfair tax.
The Federal Reserve continues to print money and keep interest rates low, this must change.

Guinta Guilty

Congressman Frank Guinta stood like a guilty schoolboy in front of his constituents trying to justify bad behavior Thursday night during his Town Hall meeting at Exeter High School.
The one hundred plus attendees, who were overwhelmingly of an older generation, came well informed and many were armed with the latest technology. They came to hear about Guinta's support for the Ryan Budget Plan and did not have long to wait. The first question out of the gate was a request that the freshman congressman explain his vote. The query brought a loud applause, the answer: not so much.
Rep. Guinta prefaced his response with the "no one over 55 will be affected..." mantra which brought on boo's and heckling from the folks. Later in the evening Guinta tried that line again only to receive an even stronger vocal outburst of dissatisfaction. Seems the Republicans have underestimated the graciousness and generosity of those in their golden years.
Guinta is guilty of falling for the faulty hype in the halls of Congress and failing to understand his constituents.
To his credit Rep. Guinta tried to keep the meeting fair and orderly. He made notes, and promised to follow up, on concerns residents had on a variety of matters including Corporate Personhood, Ethanol subsidies, and the Great Bay legislation. Video Link of Thursday night.

Food Security

In the ever growing global economy New Hampshire has over the years traded it's farms for factories, then those factories for a financial and services sector, all in the name of progress. UNH professor John Carroll relays a dire message in his book The Real Dirt when he states that New England depends on outside sources for ninety percent of it's food. New Hampshire is worse as it only produces 5% of necessary food supplies and the remaining ninety-five percent has to be transported in at distances approaching two thousand miles.
Today, because of a weak dollar policy and budget deficits, commodities speculation is driving the price of oil and food at an alarming rate. Fertilising the crops, farm machinery, packaging and transportation of these crops from pasture to plate all takes petroleum. In addition the quality of meat products and the resistant bacteria found in the nations finished factory farm stocks furthers the question of a reliable food supply for the Granite State.
If you are not heavily invested in the S&P 500 or "shorting" the dollar there is yet another way in which you could hedge for the upcoming inflationary period, buy locally produced food at your nearest farmer's market or family farm.

State Bank

Less than two weeks after this arrogant display by a banker, who is supposed to be working for the people of Maine, legislators there have begun steps in creating a State Bank.
The Bill, LD 1452, sponsored by Democrats Diane Russell and Bobbi Beavers hopes to pull a half a billion dollars of tax payer money from the Wall Street gamblers and use it to fund much needed growth in the local business sector. The story, reported by Barbara Carridi, quotes Russell, "What if we took our tax payer dollars out of Wall Street and invested right here on Main Street?"
What if indeed! Would this work in NH? Is this the kind of legislation that State's Rights proponents and anti government bailout critics could come together on? Could this be a unifying issue for the Tea Party and Democrats, something that the Republicans and Free Staters would support? Regardless of the outcome I applaud Reps Russell and Beavers for thinking outside of the economic box Wall Street has put us in!

On Bullying

The New Hampshire House passed a bill to amend a current law on school bullying which has received an A++ rating by the watchdog group bullypolice.org. Sponsored by Litchfield's Republican Representatives Ralph Boehm and Laura Gandia it is now in the hands of the NH Senate Education Committee for review.
Many feel it is a step backwards in protecting students and voiced their opinions at a recent meeting in Concord. The only voices heard in favor of the new bill, HB 370, were it's two sponsors Boehm and Gandia.
Bullying is an abuse of power and is not a rare phenomenon in our state politics. Recent examples have included DJ Bettencourt's antics and William O'Brien's remarks concerning student voters. O'Brien knows the ins and outs of the process and rather than negotiate with someone, who had a different view, he fired Exeter Rep. Lee Quant from the Finance Committee. Quant blogs about the event on his Exeter News Service site. O'Brien may not be the most enlightened or objective person to hold sway over these and other matters.
"Students need to be prepared for life; unfortunately, bullying is a part of it," Boehm said in defense of his proposal gutting the current law in an article by Kathy McCormack.

Gas Prices

An amendment has been offered to SB 78 in the NH House of Representatives that will cut the State tax on gasoline from 18 cents to 13 cents for two months. The total cost is estimated at $6.6 million and these funds will be averted from their intended destination of public roads and highways.
Republican House Speaker William O'Brien revealed the plan along with House Majority Leader DJ Bettencourt (R-Salem) and published their reasons here. O'Brien says that $4 a gallon gas prices are what citizens are concerned most about, not the economy, schools, or jobs. Bettencourt hopes that border hoppers from Mass. will load up on booze, cigs, and gas if the prices are low enough. They are both promoting this as a benefit for individuals and small businesses.
Without any oversight what is to stop the oil companies from pocketing those millions and not passing on the savings to consumers? The pump prices throughout the State vary now from five to twenty cents a gallon, who would really know which stations were complying and which were not? Is this just another big oil company payoff?
It was just recently reported that NH bridges are considered the 11th worst in the nation. Wouldn't it be more prudent to use these funds as originally conceived to repair the infrastructure? The road in front of my house needs a little work!