The NH Democratic Party recently sent a press release noting that, under the leadership of the Republican Party, New Hampshire is losing ground in CNBC's annual "America's Top States for Business" driven by drops in rankings for education, workforce and infrastructure rankings. Those are also the areas, say Democrats, where NH's ultra-conservative current legislature has made major cuts.
"Republicans cut funding for higher education and local schools, raising tuition and property taxes, in order to fund a tobacco tax cut," said Raymond Buckley, chair of the NH Democratic Party. "New Hampshire's economy and middle-class families are now losing ground because of the Republican legislature's wrong priorities. Businesses need a strong, educated workforce to succeed. They need a quality, basic infrastructure. Republicans slashed and burned. If we do not reverse course, the damage to our economy will grow," Buckley said.
According to the CNBC study, New Hampshire has seen its rankings in workforce, economy, infrastructure and transportation, and education all drop. These areas received what the Nashua Telegraph called "devastating" blows from the GOP legislature's cuts to the state budget.
New Hampshire's workforce ranking dropped from 40th best to 44th best in the nation while our ranking in education dropped from 7th to 8th over the last year. The state's ranking for infrastructure ranking dropped from 45th to 46th, and NH's economic ranking has dropped from 10 best in the nation to 34.
According to the NH Democratic Party, the Legislature voted to attached a radical, anti-choice amendment to a bipartisan research and development tax credit, stripped consumer protections, and cut funding for auditors, making it potentially easier for tax evaders to bilk the state.
The state's drop 46th in infrastructure and transportation ranking is, according to the democrats, due to the legislature's cuts. The Department of Transportation faced a 13 percent cut and has cut 9 percent of its workforce.
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