NH Debt: Out of Control

Most of us think of New Hampshire as a fiscally sound state, where all spending is carefully considered and borrowing used only for long-term capital projects. It used to be true.

There is a New Hampshire law that borrowing cannot be used to fund normal operating expenses. It’s only common sense, after all. However, the state legislature has broken this law (and long tradition) and is ‘funding’ programs with borrowing, freshly printed Federal bailout money, and even a little wishful thinking. The current budget borrows $156 million to finance things that have been operating expenses for decades.

Over the last four years, Concord borrowed $820 million in general obligation bonds and paid off or defeased only $641 million. This is the largest-ever increase in NH debt. For comparison, in the previous four years, the state borrowed $379M and paid off $344M. The four years before that, $375M was issued and $326M paid off.

Debt isn’t free, even in the short term. At a time when interest rates are lower than have been in recent American history, our payments are almost 40% higher than they were ten years ago. A study by the American Legislative Exchange Council estimates that only six states are more debt burdened than New Hampshire.

There’s nothing easier than “solving” problems with a credit card and leaving our children to pay the bill. But that shouldn’t be what we elect state representatives to do.

-Mark Warden, Candidate for NH House