Editorial Roundup

Sure, I've often linked favorable to the Union Leader Editorial Page or Drew Cline's blog. But this weekend, I found myself nodding in agreement with many of New Hampshire's other daily newspapers:

From the Nashua Telegraph:

Democrats fall short on earmark reform
In 2007, when the Democrats were swept into majority positions in both houses of Congress, party leaders pledged to cut the number and cost of congressional earmarks in half. They failed.

Instead, these costly pet projects are being tacked onto appropriation bills at a record rate, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Monday officially backed away from efforts to impose a one-year moratorium.

From the Keene Sentinel:

Open Government
When New Hampshire’s initial right-to-know law was signed more than four decades ago, the government’s records were paper, and most formal discussions of public policy took place in face-to-face meetings. These conditions can no longer be assumed. Many government records today are aggregations of data in computer files, and government officials occasionally discuss the public’s business remotely via e-mail or other electronic means.

From Foster's Daily Democrat:

The (un)fair tax

You don't get a reduced tax bill by opening the door to additional taxes.

Broad-based tax advocates are drooling over the thought of discouraging candidates from taking “the pledge.”

New Hampshire voters are wise to the direction such people want to take in imposing a general income or sales tax. They know it has nothing to do with relieving property tax burdens and everything to do with digging deeper into their pockets.

The tax-and-spenders are at it again — this time under the guise of reducing property tax burdens.

And from the Concord Monitor:

Foreclosure bailouts are unfair to taxpayers
Eventually, the irony of bailing out one of the biggest players in the sub-prime mortgage industry while letting homeowners sink grew too big for Congress to ignore. A flurry of bills was filed to address the housing crisis.

On Thursday, the Senate voted to kill the one measure that would have done the most help to the 2 million or more households still facing foreclosure. It would have allowed bankruptcy court judges to cut the interest rate on a mortgage and lower the principal.

New Hampshire Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu voted with the majority and, hard-hearted as it might seem, they were right to do so.

Winning the Battle of Ideas