5,000 Libertarians have pledged to move to New Hampshire in an effort to create a true "free state". If they all go through with it and get involved in the community, it's an interesting experiment. Will it make a difference in a state where they already have no sales or income taxes? It's also a state with an average household income more $5K above the national average, only 6% of the population in poverty, and is 98% white (Sources here, here and here.) So it's not like there are a lot of things for them to "improve" through social revolution.
Hmm. I posted an article here a few months back that said that group of Libertarians were looking for a state to do this in, and that Montana, IIRC correctly, was the front runner. I'm doing some reading up on Utopian communities of the past at the moment, and with just a few thousand committed, this strikes me as just a modified version of the same thing people have been trying to do for 300 years - go and create a society where everyone thinks the same as you.
There are probably 5,000 people from Taxachusetts fleeing to NH per month. My brother JUMPED at a job in NH after paying NY state taxes for years. It's a beautiful state and its close to Boston. Not much to dislike. Oh yeah, NO TAXES! On the other hand, they have more trouble funding the schools up there because of their hatred of new taxes.
With 1.275M residents, I don't think a few thousand people will have a large impact on the statewide elections. Plus, New Hampshire's population growth over the last decade has been mainly in the south as a bedroom community to Boston. The traffic on I-93 South in the morning in NH is brutal. So, I think NH's historical residents with their "Live Free or Die" attitude have been watered down over the years with Bostonians looking for a cheaper cost of living; not necessarily libertarian idealogues. It'll be an interesting experiment to watch. Murf PS My sister lives in NH and she agrees with Cascarino's Pizzeria that the schools stink due to the lack of funding. She shells out $10K per year for private school for her son as a result of it. So, there goes your income tax savings.
No, of course not. But 5,000 people who are hard-core activists enough to move their families to prove a point could make a significant impact. They'll get themselves on to school boards and town councils pretty easily, I'd guess. Plus, since NH is such a major player in the Presidential process, their actions will be magnified. These are very different people from the ones who have moved from Massachusetts.
A few days ago, I posted a link to a study showing what states received in federal spending compared with they paid in taxes. I'm too lazy to find it again. But if I remember correctly, New Hampshire was #1 in the country in the Federal Spending Ankle Grab contest. New Hampshirians, or whatever we are supposed to call them, received something like 69% of their federal taxes back as federal spending. This statement is once again based on my hazy memory; but places you might think would be in favor of the Free State Movement like Montana, Idaho & Wyoming received more in spending than they paid in taxes. Someone will have to do the Mother Of All Googles to find this. But I seem to remember that those Montana Freemen nutjobs from a few years back funded their anti-federal government campaign with Department of Agriculture subsidy checks for not growing something-or-other.
Dear Porcupines (that's what they call themselves), Just because you take over a state doesn't mean every state is going to follow what you do. Love, Brigham Young
Libertarians aren't Utopian. They'll never actually accomplish what they've set out to do, but that doesn't make them Utopian. Functionally, I think the Libertarians have the most sensible, realistic and consistant ideology of any American political movement. I just wish their party were a little more organized. I registered Libertarian back when I turned 18 and have voted that way everytime and on every level that I could. Now in Maryland, I couldn't vote for them if I wanted to, because they won't be on the ballot. The party failed to get the necessary signatures neeed to be recognized as a legitimate party. Granted, Maryland does have some serious hurtles you must jump in order to achieve this. But it would of helped if the LP had sent me the petition forms BEFORE the deadline to mail them in.
Re: Re: New Hampshire = libertarian Valhalla In a sense, yes. Have you been to northern New Hampshire?
Re: Re: Re: New Hampshire = libertarian Valhalla My uncle lives in NH. I haven't been to the northern part though.