Marjorie Porter, a Democrat, complains that New Hampshire is not taking care of its roads, but she left out a very important piece of that puzzle.
Yes, New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Commissioner Christopher Clement indeed claims he cannot get the job done on our roads without more money, but here is a fact: Over 25 percent of the NHDOT budget money is redirected to other departments and used for purposes other than roads.
Instead of demanding that lawmakers pass a law saying they cannot dip their fingers into the NHDOT funds for anything other than roads, he demanded a gas tax increase, something that barely affects the wealthy in this state but will hit our poorest residents the hardest.
Ms. Porter, like Mr. Clement, is married to the idea that no matter what the problem is, the answer is always, “Just raise taxes!”
I have to ask: If all of the NHDOT funds were dedicated to Mr. Clement for use on our roads exclusively, would we even have needed to raise the gas tax? We will never know now.
The last sentence in her piece should have read: “And don't you ever mention the word 'tax'... until you are using every dime of tax money collected now for the purpose it says it is intended and can prove that this is not enough.”