Letter: A new New Hampshire?

“Live Free or Die,” the popular New Hampshire saying, really has come to hide dog whistles, defined as “a subtly aimed political message intended for, and understood by, a particular group.” The message in our slogan is the less government, the better. And how better to limit government than to not raise money to run it? So, it means living free is with as little government in my life as possible, and I’ll fight taxes to the death to keep it that way.

But we’ve organized our government to provide some things that we enjoy, have come to expect and might even fight to the death to preserve. Taxes make these benefits available. However, a New Hampshire tradition persists to avoid any discussion of anything associated with that foulest of words -- “taxes.” Has the time arrived to open our minds and talk about what kind of communities and state we’d love to live in? A good start is to understand who pays the taxes.

ITEP, a nonpartisan tax policy organization, shows the percentage share of taxes borne by categories of households. In New Hampshire, the lowest 20% of households (income under $35,000) pay 8.4% of their family income. Eighty percent of households (incomes under $153,900) pay at least 6%. But the highest 1% of households (income above $721,000) pay only 2.8%.

Is it time for the most numerous households to vote for candidates who will end the inequality that squeezes a bigger piece out of the least able to pay, while condoning a percentage tax rate for the very richest equal to one-third of what they have to pay? Trade the slogans in for a fairer tax bill on their family budget?

Ronald Cheney

Francestown