Immigration - The Rule of Law

I hear a lot of rhetoric about immigration.  Let’s be clear, the issue is not immigration.  With very few exceptions, all of our ancestors are immigrants, and all of them came to this country under a variety of conditions, whether they were in the cramped quarters of a sailing ship or on an airplane.  We are a nation of immigrants.  We are a state of immigrants.  This is what makes this country great. When we become the melting pot our forefathers envisioned, the whole society is greater than the sum of the individual citizens. 

The real issue is not immigration, it is the rule of law and whether or not we are a nation of laws that respects these laws.  My grandparents came to this country in the early 1900’s under the laws of that time.  These laws were not always easy, but they were the laws of their new country and they abided by them.  During WWII, my grandfather worked with Governor Carr* of Colorado to resettle many displaced Japanese in Colorado.  All during that time, they lived according to the laws of their chosen country.  Whether we like the law or not, the way to change laws is not by mass violations as we see happening today all along our borders.  The way to change our laws is through the legislature and courts that adhere to the constitution.  I want to reframe the argument on illegal immigration and address the rule of law.  It’s quite simple:  If you come to this country (or this state), you follow the law. The New Ipswitch case a few years back was a travesty.  The officer should have been encouraged, rewarded, not reprimanded.  Our Courts and the Attorney General should have backed the law enforcement officers who were enforcing the rule of law.

Like a lot of issues, some people like to frame the issues with terms that fit their argument.  Or, place bogus arguments on the table such as “... how can we deport 20 million illegal immigrants?”  The answer is actually simple... arrest the employers and show them in handcuffs on the seven o’clock news.  The illegals go home and our business ALL compete on a fair basis.  Too many of our small businesses who follow the law are forced to compete with businesses who break the laws and hire illegals.  Too many of our skilled citizens are unemployed because employers who follow the law can't compete with those who do not and are going out of business.

 As your Governor I will enforce the laws, and I will work with the legislature to pass requirements for proof of citizenship before receiving State aid, including health and public education, and I will seek prosecution of business owners who hire illegal aliens.  It is time we remember that we are Americans and we must follow the law.

*P.S. If you want to know my model for a great Governor, read the book "The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story."

Guest Blog on NH Jobs by Robert Jursik

It is not surprising that all of New Hampshire's Republican gubernatorial candidates would be required by today's circumstances to address the issue of job creation, or that their responses to it would trend generally to free-market capitalism. The surprise is that it is the non-politician, non-entrepreneur candidate who possesses the strongest grasp of the issue and therefore the best chance to pursue the appropriate policies.

This past week, I had the great pleasure to join Karen Testerman at a dinner table, discussing how New Hampshire could generate new business and also attract established industries to relocate here. As a thunderstorm rumbled on the other side of the window panes, our twenty-minute interview left few stones unturned in a quest to find lasting, practical strategies for growing the economy and developing jobs. 

Immediately, Karen directed our attention to an important point: providing incentives for new businesses must take into account the TYPES of businesses our state needs. Every candidate, no matter the party, will pledge to create jobs - but as has been seen from the Obama stimulus, a nation does not prepare itself for the 21st century by laying down hundreds of miles of asphalt. "Shovel-ready" is not the equivalent of microprocessor-ready. The contemporary marketplace will need to strongly favor newer, clean-technology industries to compete successfully with the global manufacturing universe. Karen correctly identifies education as a critical component for this but also understands the serious "brain drain" being experienced by New Hampshire, as information technologists and engineers pursue dreams elsewhere.

New Hampshire's lack of an individual income tax allows for a personal accumulation of wealth, and the parallel lack of a sales tax allows for the free transfer of that wealth - both are indispensable for a state's economic future. However, that is not why the entrepreneurs are sitting on their wallets or taking them over the borders. New Hampshire still retains among the highest unemployment insurance taxes in the country, among the highest corporate property taxes in the country, and is the undisputed champion of corporate profit taxes. The message from the "Live Free or Die" state to businesses is unmistakable: get out and take your jobs with you. With a state population less than a fifth of New York City, why does New Hampshire's government require so much capital?

The beast needs to be fed. When Right-to-Work legislation failed to pass years ago, state employee unions were able to close their government shops tight and bargain for ever-higher benefits and pensions. The money had to come from somewhere, and since the Democrats in Concord were loathe to cut spending, their favorite money tree became businesses. The state is now among the country's worst in "value-added" manufacturing (producing things of higher value than the resources used to create them) and "export-focused" manufacturing (producing things for the purpose of selling to extra-state markets). In short, New Hampshire is making cheaper stuff and selling to ourselves. That probably also explains why our state has been among the worst in the number of IPOs created for the last five years.

It does not explain why Karen's primary opponents, who continuously trumpet pledges to create "jobs," fail to match her corresponding pledge to create industries - or more precisely, to pursue market-based government policies which will allow industry to create itself.  Can the former head of a government agency, who oversaw higher budgets and benefits to his union employees, be credibly expected to successfully resist them once he occupies the corner office?  Can an executive for a service sector corporation - without union employees - be credibly expected to appreciate the necessity for Right-to-Work legislation, or technology-based entrepreneurship? Karen Testerman, having been an educator herself for many years, is prepared to take them both to school.

Runaway Spending is Killing our Business Advantage

Concord has an addiction to spending.  They can never get enough of your dollars and they will consume everything they can get and then want more.  Over the past six years the number of government jobs has grown at a rate that was twice the rate of our population growth.  You and I know that this is not job creation but rather Concord adding to runaway spending.  Government does not create jobs.  Businesses create jobs.

Over regulating and imposing an income tax is not the way to improve the business climate in NH.  We need a Governor who will say NO to spending.

Where is the money going?

Those public officials operating in the State House in Concord are in a love with spending.  But what are they buying?

Over the past six years the number of state government jobs has doubled the growth in population.  But the more astonishing fact is that in 2007, there was a 13 fold growth of jobs compared to the growth in population.  Is it any wonder that in 2008 1nd 2009, it was “necessary” to create or expand sources of revenue to pay for the payroll that was created?

That payroll and the associated benefits that the state is paying comes from the backs of the people of NH.  It doesn’t matter whether there is available revenue labeled as a federal grant, federal stimulus or some genie in the sky. In truth, it ALL comes from the pockets of you taxpayers.  How much do you have to spare?

Better start your second and third jobs so you can pay for those car registration taxes.  

Year	Population	Population Increase	Govt. Jobs	Govt. Jobs Inc.	Pop % Inc.	Emp. % Inc.
2003	1,281,260	NA	68,192	NA	NA	NA
2004	1,292,064	10,804	68,484	292	0.84	0.43
2005	1,300,530	8,466	69,186	702	0.66	1.03
2006	1,308,824	8,294	69,777	591	0.64	0.85
2007	1,312,256	3,432	72,175	2,398	0.26	3.44
2008	1,315,809	3,553	72,187	12	0.27	0.02
					2.70	5.86