Posted on 05/19/2006 4:58:49 AM PDT by Jim Noble
In the past five years almost a quarter of a million people have fled Massachusetts for greener pastures. This week the candidates for governor offered their solutions for staunching the flow and, if possible, luring some ex-pats back. What does Democrat Chris Gabrieli propose? Why, invest $1 billion of taxpayer money in embryonic stem cell research, of course.
...Democrat Deval Patrick wants to hike the minimum wage by $2 an hour and build high-speed commuter rail between Boston and satellite communities Worcester and New Bedford. Yes, Bay Staters are fleeing to Tennessee and Texas because Massachusetts doesn't have enough high-speed rail or business regulations.
...Hmmm... how might New Hampshire differ from Massachusetts? Massachusetts is much larger and is home to a major American seaport, multiple world-class universities, and a major transportation hub. New Hampshire is small, rural and relatively isolated. Hmmmm....
Oh, yeah, Massachusetts' per capita tax burden is nearly $4,000 higher than New Hampshire's.
New Hampshire's population is booming along its southern border, which it shares with Massachusetts. That is where the Massachusetts expats have settled. Conventional wisdom in New Hampshire is that those Bay Staters have brought their liberal politics with them. It isn't true. Those communities consistently vote Republican -- and conservative Republican. The most ardent anti-taxers you'll find in New Hampshire are the Massachusetts expats who live along the southern border.
Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey gets it. To keep her residents from leaving, she proposed cutting state income tax rate to 5 percent, cutting the unemployment insurance rate, and offering tax-free savings accounts for first-time home-buyers. If she wins, New Hampshire had better watch out.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
I think Texans would be very happy to ship a million illegal aliens to each state in place of those leaving. Even better, we could send two million to each state.
I left when the job market was flushed away. It's difficult to buy a home and live your life when there's no job, the taxes increase, and the welfare rolls swell (to the joy of the liberals in the State House). I return only to visit friends and family, and as much as I miss them, I've come to view Massachusetts as a hostile environment. Iran with a P.C. navigator.
Massachusetts is completely owned by the public unions. Is there any wonder that increased taxation is the tool that is used to solve every problem there?
Massachusetts would love it, as long as they vote Democrat a couple of times.
We Tennesseans are welcoming kind of folks, but ya'll need to leave your politics back in Massachusetts where they'll be "appreciated"....
This is rich
Cutting to get it DOWN to ONLY 5%? Yikes!
Build a fence to keep them in and paying those taxes! The Soviet Union did it, why not Mass?
Next thing you know, the governor will suggest building a fence.
Massachusetts could put a stop to thus by putting up a border fence - wouldn't take much. The border with RI is only a few feet; there could be just a "virtual fence" for the border with New York is so rugged because of the Berkshires. And that just leaves Vermont and New Hampshire (mostly paved with Route 3, now that its been widened). Oh, and just a few inches with Maine.
Sounds a lot like what's happening in Michigan right now. The liberals and their UAW lackies are trying really hard to drive any sort of business out of this state, and a lot of people I know are looking for jobs down south.
Im one of those guys moving to NH. I hate Massachusetts.
That shouldn't be a problem, since the democrats want all felons to have the "right" to vote.
That's funny -- I thought it was simply because Ted Kennedy is there.
"If she wins, New Hampshire had better watch out."
LOL! Most of the "natives" I know would be happy to send 'em back to "Mass".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.