Martha Kruse: Raiding the state’s Renewable Energy Fund is shortsighted

To The Daily Sun,

New Hampshire’s support for clean energy took a big hit in the budget passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature. The budget raids $15 million from the Renewable Energy Fund to cover shortfalls in the general fund. That money should have supported money-saving investments in clean energy and heat system upgrades, much of which would have gone to schools and municipalities.

This significant cut in clean energy support means less development and reduced electricity supply, all at a time when electricity use is accelerating. Reduced supply means higher energy prices for Granite Staters. More of our energy dollars will go to out-of-state companies using technology stuck in the past. Granite Staters will experience higher exposure to toxic pollution from fossil fuel combustion leading to more cases of childhood asthma and cancers linked to poor air quality.

The budget shortfalls which caused the raid on the Renewable Energy Fund are the result of revenue cuts, including this year’s repeal of the Interest and Dividends Tax, a tax paid by individuals who make more than $2,400 per year from investments. That repeal will cost New Hampshire $180+ million in lost revenue this year, an amount that would have easily covered our commitments to clean energy development. The repeal also results in increases in Children's Health Insurance Program premiums and new Medicaid premiums, actions which will harm vulnerable residents.

Republican strategist Grover Norquist once said: “I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” Our recently passed state budget shows what happens when this approach is taken too far: money-saving investments in the future are scrapped with long-term negative consequences for all but a select few.

Martha Kruse

Laconia