The following are two editorials written by the UNH College Republicans that have been published by UNH's student newspaper, The New Hampshire.
Republicans Return to UNH After a brief vacation from the world of campus politics, the College Republicans have returned to Durham. We have taken upon ourselves the task of reinforcing the voice of conservatives on campus.
It's a job that we cannot expect our professors to do for us. Nor can we expect our school's administrators to get it right. With all the talk of diversity, we pose the question the university has chosen not to ask – "What about intellectual diversity?" Shouldn't conservative ideas be introduced into the university dialogue? Since universities and colleges trade in the currency of ideas, we firmly maintain that an absence of conservatism within those ideas has deflated the value of that currency and weakened the value of our education.
In order to accomplish meaningful progress we aim to:
1. Promote Republican candidates in state, local and national elections.
2. Work toward providing a better understanding of what it means to be a Republican.
3. Provide a forum so that conservative opinions can be introduced into a campus dialogue.
4. Finally, to further our philosophy of less government, with an emphasis on local government, lower taxes and personal responsibility.
If you find yourself in accord with these principles or are just interested in finding out what the College Republicans are all about, we welcome you to attend our first organizational get-together on Thursday, March 4, in Smith Hall, Room 210, at 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you cannot make this meeting, but wish to join please contact us at 862-9340. We hope to see you there and rest assured, you will be hearing from us again soon.
Here we are, a full day after the N.H. Supreme Court’s deadline for the legislature to revamp our tax system and replace it with a more "fair" way to fund education. The court declared in its ruling of the Claremont II lawsuit that if the legislature did not come up with a constitutional way to fund education by this date, New Hampshire’s method of local property taxes providing the cost of education would cease to exist. In which case, the court would come up with its own method of taxation. If this sounds like the Founding Father’s definition of Judicial Usurpation , think again.
This is what our 425 legislators in Concord have been trying to deal with since December 1997, when the court penned its decision. Despite the doomsayers who claimed all hell would break loose if an income tax or the governor’s taxes weren’t in place, all public schools in the state are open. However, the nightmare is far from over. The state is still at great risk of losing its family and business-friendly low-tax burden and smallish government, affectionately known as the New Hampshire Advantage. Both the House and Senate have passed different versions of an income tax (the Hager-Below plan), but our dear governor has repeatedly claimed she will veto any income tax. Apparently, she has realized it is not in her interests to renege on her oft-repeated campaign promise and sign into law the state's first income tax. Smart move, gov’. Neither the House nor Senate has been able to come to terms with any of the other expanded-taxes-galore options on the table. Without the ability to put a constitutional amendment to keep our current funding system in place until November 2000, there is only one other worthwhile option – House Bill 737.
This bill is co-sponsored by UNH professor of political science, David Corbin. Corbin is a freshman member of the House of Representatives. Last month, he introduced an amendment that would provide a solution to this crazy Claremont business. The first day this amendment was introduced, it gained an incredible 159 votes. Since then, Rep. Corbin added the language of his amendment to a bill introduced by Rep. Leo Pepino rejecting the Claremont suit. Corbin’s plan would use a previously created formula to provide property-poor towns with $62 million in immediate tax relief, as well as a homestead exemption to provide $70 million in property tax relief for homeowners. And most importantly, the plan ignores the judicial branch’s power-grab at the Legislature by rewriting the N.H. constitution by finding a state-mandated "right" to education in addition to backhanded attempts to rewrite the state’s tax code. As you may remember from civics class, the legislature’s duty is to create laws while the judiciary can only interpret laws.
The Corbin bill takes the exact action that should have been done by all of our legislators when this decision was first brought down from the lofty throne of Chief Justice David Broch. It will show that the Legislature is not ready to buckle in the face of threats to our precious constitutional balance. The entire House is scheduled to vote on the bill next Thursday. I urge everyone who cares about this state and our great standard of living to call their representatives in support of the Corbin bill. Broad-based taxes and state-controlled education are exactly the sort of "solutions" that have been espoused in our neighbor to the south, Taxachusetts. Don’t let it happen to the Granite State!