Doug Lambert: Voters should support ballot question No. 2 about tax caps

To The Daily Sun,

Topics being discussed in the current election cycle include property taxes being too high. This is a genuine concern for all. Unfortunately, there is a disconnect as to the cause.

Some understand that high taxes are caused by excessive spending. Others ― mainly Democrats and their supporters ― believe the main driver comes from the type of taxes we pay, divorced from any relation to the expense side of the ledger. They claim that Republicans in Concord have engaged in “downshifting,” thus creating shortfalls to be funded by local taxation. Of course, when asked to point to specific line items in a budget, they cannot because it’s a fabrication. Additionally, they advocate state level broad-based taxes on sales and income to feed the spending and magically reduce local taxes — in essence, changing which pocket the money comes from. The most likely result will be that our money will then come from both.

Consider last week’s Gilford school approval of a $700,000 bathroom and snack shack project at the Meadows field. This money comes directly from property taxes. Many would consider it a wholly unnecessary expense that has no effect on a student’s education. The board was asked to at least bring it to the voters for consideration. Their answer was no. They exercised their power and unanimously chose to spend the money. Was this “downshifting?” Should this be paid for by state-imposed taxation? Maybe school board member and Democrat House candidate Bob McLean should be asked to clarify the answer. After all, he couldn’t raise his hand fast enough to spend our money and raise our property taxes.

McLean, along with the rest of the school board, are the poster children for why we need to vote yes on question two regarding the tax cap.

Doug Lambert

Gilford