Grace Road

Taxes and Ding-a-Lings

2011-09-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

To the editor of the Intertown Record,

Recently, it was my pleasure to attend a gathering in New London where Cathy Silber from the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition, Rep. Dave Kidder, and Rep. Randy Foose presented their ideas about revenue needs and solutions for the state of New Hampshire. The group in attendance was diverse, of differing opinions, willing to listen, and among them all, there was not a single Ding-a-Ling. Does this mean there is hope for New Hampshire?

Granted, this was not a random sampling, but the fact that more than two people could come together and acknowledge that a discussion of revenue for the state is both relevant and necessary left me giddy with optimism. I even heard one person say she felt badly because she wasn’t paying her fair share of taxes. In fact, another friend has told me this same thing but she lives in Cambridge where, (would you believe it?) property taxes are reasonable.

This discussion is necessary because even with all the fantastic work our republicans have done to cut expenditures we property tax payers must still assume an unfair and growing share of the regressive New Hampshire tax burden. How is that? Well, property taxes are where the state gets 62% of its revenue, a bigger percent for homeowners than any other state. Did you have a bad year, dear homeowner? It’s not New Hampshire's problem. Pay up, sell out if you can’t; go live under a bridge if you can find one that’s vacant. New Hampshire doesn’t care about you. New Hampshire wants your money. This is the real New Hampshire Advantage.

Regressive? As a percentage of income, low earners pay as much as 20% or more of what they earn in taxes, while high earners pay less, often way less, even as little as 2%. If you rent, don’t imagine you don’t pay property taxes. Where do you think your landlord gets his money for the state, dummy? So when you hear the word regressive this is what it means. Rich people get a better deal. Is it because they’re smarter than you and me? It will be if we don’t do something about it.

When I hear the word Ding-a-Ling I particularly think of someone who solves problems with Dogma. The famous Native American wise man, Sun Bear, said that Ding-a-Lings are probably evenly distributed among all races and cultures, but that doesn’t seem to account for the large concentration we have in the New Hampshire House. My own theory that accounts for this is what I call the law of accumulation. That is, if you have two toothbrushes and two bathrooms, sooner or later both will surely end up (accumulate) in one bathroom or the other – unless you decommissioned one bathroom to save on taxes (and ran the hopper up to Enfield).

To put it another way, birds of a feather flock together. I’ve also heard that a lot of money from outside the state has something to do with it. Would that be: money earned outside the state by people who reside here and give to pols who’ll keep the status quo? Anyway, a Ding-a-Ling is someone who tries to fix the mess we have down here from way up there, in theory land -- and just creates another mess. How high up? I’d say golden dome and bat high, at least, to judge from what’s been coming down. Should you visit the State House be careful not to slip on the guano.

For the 75% of New Hampshire people who are not Ding-a-Lings, this is my main point. If you want leadership on fiscal issues or any other issues don’t look to the dingbats in the State House. They have nothing to offer -- just the same tired blather about death and freedom. Real initiatives will have to percolate from the ground up --from people listening to each other, from people like you! You can do something. Contact and support The Granite State Fair Tax Coalition. Their aim is to promote discussion of the fiscal problems and the options we have for dealing with them at the state level. They’re open to ideas. Their message is simple: We need to talk. If you pay property taxes; that is, if you reside in New Hampshire, half or more of your tax dollars go to the state. If you worry as that share increases and feel helpless about it: We need to talk. If you suspect that pennywise and pound-foolish does not make sense: We need to talk. The GSFTC will be hosting meetings around the state this fall. You can call them 603 986 7696 or visit their web site, www.nhfairtax.org.

Updates 2011

2011-09-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Instead of going to France to visit my friend Frederic:

I have begun teaching classes in my studio here on Grace Road. This summer I had two drawing classes on Sundays. For the fall I'm offering drawing, color, and sculpture. Anyone interested can go to http://www.philmorse.com/classes

I completed several projects this year. Early in the year I finished a porch addition and a hanging wine rack. Through the summer I have been refinishing a grand piano, initiating some new paintings, and working on the house. Had to put a new cedar roof on the side. Next month we'll complete the roofing job we started last fall and do the remaining asphalt shingling on the main house.

Planted fruit trees, a peach and a plum tree last fall and this spring. Actually had 4 peaches to eat this August.

I just bought a bunch of welding equipment to make a bracket for a sign I'm making.

My teaching at the BAC has resumed. We are shifting the focus away from design and more into the visual arts. Goody!

No new girlfriends, but I'm thinking about it.

Heat

2009-12-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

A lot of my attention has gone to heating. I was going to use corn all winter, but after calculating the price against the cost of oil, I realized there would be no gain, at least for this winter. Especially when you consider the labor of loading 50lb bags of corn into the hopper every three days. Since I had already rearranged the garage, rocked the walls, and completed the new bulkhead, I bought and stacked three tons of the stuff with the idea that I would use it as a suppliment during the coldest part of the winter.

Well, some of the coldest weather has been during the last two weeks. The rest of my plan was to keep the house at a base temperature of 50F and run the two wood stoves as I needed them....one in the living room and one in the studio. That wasn't working very well when it went below 20F outside, so I started the corn boiler early. The result was that with the corn boiler set at its lowest output, a constant 80,000 BTU, the house stayed comfortable and the oil furnace hardly came on at all. Then, as I saw a warm stretch coming, with temperatures above 30F, I turned off the corn boiler and ran just the oil furnace and a wood stove. I figure if I can alternate between the two systems efficiently I will be able to get through the rest of the winter with minimal outlay for fuel.

All to the good, because I have no idea what kind of work flow I'll have ahead. I'm using the quiet time I have now to get started on a book I've been meaning to write.

fall update

2009-11-26T15:15:00.000-08:00

It has been a challenging 9 months since Bud died. Besides the financial upheaval there were several projects I needed to finish before winter. The house needed repairs. Among them, new posts for the deck which was beginning to sag. Firewood arrived, but that required a new platform because the way the wood was stacked caused the piles to lean and fall over. The largest project, however, was the bulkhead I decided to put in the front of the house. I had the hole dug and then laid the blocks myself. When my friend John came to back fill, we excavated the hillside to create a sheltered spot for a flowering dogwood. That's where I put Bud's ashes

.
I also trimmed trees, moved rocks and
located two block sculptures....painted the
trim on the back of the house, worked on the
roof, cleaned out and reorganized the garage,
and the house. Sometimes I feel like Robinson Crusoe, putting a life together after the shipwreck.

All of this time I've had very
little paying work...a few small restoration jobs
and nothing more. Recently I got a kitchen to
bid on and if that happens I will be more or less
back in business. I plan to upgrade some tools
and continue working in the studio.

As things have settled down I've been enjoying the house more and more. I don't mind being here alone...better that than to have someone around I can't get along with. Today I roasted a turkey breast I bought at Trader Joe's. Then I went down into the woods to find the little pond that sits buried in the woods near the far end of my land. I would like to get a Jeep so I could begin to access and use my land more effectively.

Where does Grace Road go?

2009-07-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, to my house, or past my house to be precise. When we first came here more than thirty years ago it ended at my driveway every winter. But they opened the road for year round travel after Pieter Sweet built a house beyond mine and now cars and trucks go by every day. At first I felt sad about this but it turned out to be a good thing. My property value has increased and I feel more connected. I'm not the hermit that I was.

You can follow Grace Road into Elkins and from there, if you take Rte 11 out to I89 you can go anywhere you want. It's an hour and a half to Cambridge where I also spend a lot of time.

But Grace Road is where my roots are. It is here that I have my shop and studio and the living quarters that I enlarged and shared with my dad who died in February of this year. The house itself is twice the size it was when we bought it in 1978. Since then I put on three additions and built a separate garage.

As he grew more feeble and the physical load shifted to me I thought for awhile (especially in the middle of the winters) that when he died I would sell and move to Cambridge. However, I am very attached to the place and the quiet that it provides. Given my resources, there is no way I could replace it.

So the question, where does Grace Road go, is really about what is my own path; and the answers to that question are mostly foggy and elusive.

I'll be posting about the physical and mental challenges that come with being on Grace Road and also some of the aspects of my woodworking, my artwork, and my life in Cambridge