Topics in NH.

Well funded public education is the backbone of our community & democracy!

A solid education system creates Thinkers as well as Doers/Makers. It teaches students how to think, not what to think; to separate fact from fiction, sound argument from propaganda.  It requires letting teachers teach our complex history in an age-appropriate manner. 

Students also need a safe, weapons free learning environment.

And NH has the highest in-state university costs and student debt in the nation!

Worse, underqualified Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut and the Republican controlled legislature are undermining public education. Money is diverted from an already grossly underfunded education system to private &/or religious schools via Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), the cost of which has ballooned to $56M. The EFA (aka Voucher] program is poorly audited, has lower teacher requirements and often has a reduced curriculum.  Moreover, in the public school system Edelblut wants to lower academic and credential standards and eliminate many humanities subjects from the curriculum. 

Additionally, NH is losing qualified education personnel due to poor salaries, high stress and intimidation.  Our states’ excellent education reputation is dropping. We can and must do much better! 

Affordable Housing

Many people are working two, sometimes three jobs and can’t afford rent, let alone own a home.  $538,000 is the median housing price in the Salem area!!

The lack of affordable housing and rental units is a serious, complex and highly emotional issue. Even the definitions of workforce and affordable housing are problematic. 

We need to gather and listen to ALL the stakeholders and those affected by this crisis.  And ALL need to participate in the “solutions”.  One size does not fit all.  Sound, equitable strategies and solutions will take a lot of time, good will and coordination among federal, state and local governments, agencies and communities.  It will require “thinking outside the box”!  

Allowing attached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to existing homes is a good, small start.

Conversion of empty retail and office space is another option.    Much more is needed. 

Livable Wage

Workers need a livable wage (since 2009 the federal minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour!). They also need the right to collective bargaining for a reasonable share in the business profits their labors created. 

Paid Leave & Affordable Childcare

Paid family and sick leave would go a long way in fostering healthy and strong NH families.  Also, affordable childcare would help breadwinners in a family of four meet the average $124,000 cost of living in Rockingham County. 

Shelter & Food Insecurity 

Shelter and food insecurity continue to grow in the Salem area. Hunger especially affects children, adolescents and the elderly. We have four food pantries in Salem, with the one I volunteer at assisting on average 55 families and 140 individuals weekly.  Free school lunches are a life saver for many. There is no homeless shelter in Rockingham County.  Several people sleep in their cars in parking lots off I-93!  Yet the legislature killed two bills that would have brought some relief to these problems.  

Energy Costs 

NH’s lack of a diverse energy policy (basically reliant on fossil fuels) results in higher electricity costs. There is also resistance to net metering – giving credits to homeowners who put solar generated energy back into the system.  Towns can lower homeowners’ and small businesses’ energy costs by purchasing electricity in bulk from suppliers (e.g., Community Power). 

Accessible & Affordable Quality healthcare is a Right, not a privilege!

Your health is not a commodity; you are not simply a medical profit center.

America has the finest healthcare money can buy (if you are rich).

Private equity (e.g., Steward Health Care hospital closures) has no business in healthcare. 

A robust public health policy must be science based and adaptive, yet accommodate special circumstances, e.g., vaccination and pandemic strategies. 

Preventive medicine is cost effective and leads to better health (an ounce of prevention IS worth a pound of cure!). 

NH is losing qualified healthcare personnel, due in part to NH offering very low Medicaid reimbursements.  NH now has only one US listed best hospital.

How easily can you find/visit a qualified GP, a specialist, a mental health professional or obtain addiction treatment?  Is rehabilitative or nursing care beyond reach? How far is your nearest insurance covered hospital or ER facility? Extended wait times just a fact of life? 

NH has a serious lack of nonprofit community health care centers and providers. 

Our aging population requires more, not less, health care services.

Abortion – absolutizing the right to life or choice does not address the social and moral complexity of this issue. It shouldn’t be banned when the life of the mother is at stake or the pregnancy is the result of violence, but outside of those situations, who speaks for and protects the rights of the developing human life?

Does legalizing cannabis create as many problems as it’s touted to solve?

Clean Air and Pure Water 

PFAS Contamination – These “forever chemicals” are linked to serious health problems and require much stricter regulation and manufacturer’s liability. The serious health effects that resulted from the 65 sq miles air and ground water pollution caused by St. Gobian is a case in point. 

NH has excess land fill capacity. We need a moratorium on new landfill permits and to reduce out of state trash.  Landfill permit leakage standards must be strengthened.

Clean (Green) Energy

NH has a poorly diversified energy portfolio. It’s heavily fossil fuel dependent and offers little alternative energy options or incentives.

Climate Crisis Costs

Extreme weather events are no longer rare. They affect our health, destroy property, contaminate our environment and negatively affect business profitability and our state’s economy.  Yet the legislature defeated numerous bills that sought to mitigate these problems. 

I would work to transition the NH fleet to electric vehicles (EVs), incentivize EV purchases, allow Salem to adopt more energy efficient building codes and standards, expand and better reimburse “net metering”, restrict single use plastic. 

Small businesses play a key role in creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

What makes NH an attractive place to do business?  Many of the factors were mentioned in the prior Topics.  They affect a business’ ability to attract and retain employees: good public schools, affordable housing and healthcare, benefits like paid family & sick leave, affordable daycare, a livable wage, good municipal services and infrastructure, and a healthy environment. 

A truly diversified clean energy portfolio would help control or lower energy costs.

Sponsored apprenticeships and subsidized trade school programs would help create an available skilled workforce. 

Low interest loans or grants for small or start-up businesses would help capitalize them.

What about phased out reductions to the business enterprise tax for small or start-up businesses?