About this Event Join the Sullivan County Republican Committee for an evening of insight, camaraderie, and celebration!
NH House Representative Michael Vose, Chair of the House Science and Technology Committee, will share his perspective on energy issues in New Hampshire—a topic that affects every household and business in our region.
Enjoy a delicious buffet dinner provided by Sumner House, mingle with fellow Republicans, and take part in our raffle featuring desirable items.
It’s a night of fine food, spirited conversation, and community pride.
Date & Time Saturday, November 8 | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location Charlestown Memorial VFW Post, 365 Lovers Lane Road, Charlestown, NH 03603
This is the third post on the Volinsky lawsuit book, The Last Bake Sale.
Thus far in his saga, Volinsky has conflated 1950s Arkansas civil rights into 2025 New Hampshire. He has insulted Christianity with a shotgun marriage to Marxism. He carved a communist hole in the NH Constitution by redefining “cherish” into $7,356.01 (don’t leave off the penny). Like President Clinton once did, I expect him to eventually redefine the meaning of the word “is.” Where does this tale end?
With more spending, of course — from the holy grail of “equitable” taxes: the income tax.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, which tax is fairest of them all? Income, the Snow White of taxes! Surely you remember this from history?
The Income Tax Proposal
Specifically, Volinsky calls for a 4% income tax. Presumably this comes with all the exemptions, deletions, exceptions, and supplemental forms that make income tax administration such a glorious tool to manipulate voters — while keeping TurboTax and accountants in business forever.
Once this donkey is loose in the barn, there are no end of socialist carrots and sticks that can be applied, tweaked, altered, and modified. If you thought the legislature had too many laws on the books already, you haven’t seen anything yet. Imagine the office complexes, hiring sprees, and carbon offsets necessary to build and administer this perfect beast!
The “Circuit Breaker”
At this point Volinsky acknowledges the distant possibility that some NH residents might not be able to afford this much equity. So he butchers the language one last time, introducing the concept of a “circuit breaker” for the poor that would supposedly protect them from being over-taxed into poverty.
In practice, this device would merely cap the poorest residents’ tax liability while shifting the burden to “others” — softer targets. Snow White gets to pass the poisoned apple to the General Fund. Volinsky admits that the “E” in DEI can be fatal to the poor.
As an engineer, I know a circuit breaker is a protective device designed to prevent overloads and safeguard infrastructure. The function of a Volinsky “breaker,” however, is not protection but revenue harvesting. This is no circuit breaker — it is a linear operational amplifier. And without careful feedback control, op-amps are dangerous toys. Such devices should not be handed to socialists without risking civil war from lopsided wealth distribution.
More Taxes, Of Course
He also wants taxes on second homes and an increase in business taxes. Why not?
Three Brief Moments of Sanity
Amid this stale, racist policy fruitcake, there are a few fleeting moments of sanity:
Special Education — Costs might be modeled with an insurance approach, or even paid entirely by the state to reduce local budget stress.
Current Use Exemptions — These distort property taxes and stagnate change.
School Calendar & Attendance — Year length and attendance might be adjusted to suit a less agricultural economy.
I agree that restructuring special education spending along an insurance model has merit. I’ll leave it to others to flesh out the details in future legislation that conforms to the NH Constitution and practice.
Alternatives That Make More Sense
Land Value Tax (Georgist model): Rather than Current Use exemptions, I prefer a Georgist approach — taxing the land itself, not the structures. This motivates landowners to increase the utility and income of their property, rather than hiding value in Tyvek-wrapped houses and unfinished permits. StrongTowns.org covers this approach with nuance.
Homestead Exemption: Instead of taxing second homes or piling on business taxes, I prefer a Homestead exemption. In this system, new homeowners pay the full rate the first year, which declines to about a 75% discount over five years — but only if they reside in the property. Rental, income, and second homes pay the full rate. Florida runs this program with great simplicity and automation.
Educational Options: The best way to adapt to changing economic realities is not by tweaking calendars from above but by expanding educational choices. Let parents and kids decide what works best, while the legislature stays silent. Innovation rises from the bottom, not from dictates at the top.
Closing Thought
Marie Antoinette reputedly said, “Let them eat cake,” to starving peasants.
I’d prefer to avoid the French Revolution’s socialist bloodletting. That’s not my kind of circuit breaker.
Schools shouldn’t become museum pieces — they should serve families well.
When Claremont’s progressive elites threw out the SAU6 warrant article and added more than a million dollars in spending, I found myself on the losing side—joined by just 47 “No” voters. The replacement budget never went through public review, yet there was hardly a peep from the liberal media. Instead, large quantities of mediocre white wine were consumed in celebration. A former mayor, state representatives, union officials, and city councilors gathered in the Stevens auditorium to toast their coup over property owners.
Years later, the consequences of that default budget cramdown are clear. Claremont’s progressive elites spent money they didn’t have, and much of it still lacks proper accounting. By contrast, when a 13-year-old transgender policy came up for discussion recently, the school board meeting had to be rescheduled due to violent protesters. The priorities of progressive elites are revealed by their actions: financial chaos is celebrated, while social chaos is defended.
How Did We Get Here?
The current crisis is the direct descendant of that warrant cramdown, worsened by years of delayed audits that allowed the problem to fester. With just a month of cash left, a financial warning light finally came on. How did SAU6 go broke? Slowly at first, and then all at once.
Claremont suffers from a distinct lack of fiscal prudence among its progressive elites. They would rather risk systemic destruction than lose power. It’s a scorched-earth approach to education: if they can’t have it, no one can. Education itself becomes secondary—it’s about control and spending other people’s money. The kids are almost irrelevant within this dominance hierarchy.
The Volinsky Lawsuit
Blame falls heavily on the Volinsky retirement lawsuit. A Hail Mary pass from the pied piper of income taxes might have seemed like a way to pay the bills. Why change course if free money might be coming? But the real cost of the Volinsky lawsuit is the culture of dependency and stagnation it has fostered among local elites.
For thirty-five years, the lawsuit has distracted from and impaired genuine reform. Socialist Superman is not coming to the rescue on a free-range unicorn.
The Good News and the Bad News
The good news: Reality is making a comeback. Price matters again, and value for the dollar is regaining prominence. For those with an engineer’s mindset, the future looks brighter.
The bad news: Virtue signaling is no longer enough. You need to do the work—and show your work—to get credit. Not academic credit, which increasingly has little market value, but practical results that matter in the real world. Reasoning with letters and numbers is as relevant as lettering in a sport.
A Way Forward
The robber barons are no longer industrialists; they hide in plain sight on town greens, councils, and nonprofit boards. Education funding has allowed the perfect to become the enemy of the good. In the name of “education,” we are impoverishing young adults and leaving children uneducated. Schools risk becoming like Shaker furniture—a vacant reminder of social failure.
We can either continue to hope the Volinsky unicorn will ride to the rescue with other people’s money—or reform the system to better serve parents and children at affordable prices. Only one of those paths leads to prosperity.
The Bright Future of Education
The irony is that true education still has a bright future. It will be a parent–student–teacher-focused future, not the centralized Horace Mann/Dewey model we’ve endured for over a century. We are moving back toward small, mixed-age, experiential schools—the model that served New England so well for so long.
Ignoring that lesson is too expensive, even in Claremont.
The Michael and Judy Aron Memorial SCGOP Acworth Meeting Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Tuesday marked the Sullivan County GOP’s second traveling “road show” meeting. Chairman Jon took our monthly gathering to the far southern reaches of the county—the gloriously pleasant and quintessentially New England setting of the Acworth Town Meeting Hall.
Acworth Town Meeting Hall
The treasurer arrived late (again). His well-worn excuse of “genetic navigational defects” is starting to wear thin—though, to be fair, there is a lifetime of evidence to support his claim.
From 6:00 to around 8:00 PM, local Republicans briefly doubled the population of Acworth while we discussed several upcoming events, including:
🛥️ The Lake Sunapee Cruise
🎤 A September Listening Session at the Claremont Senior Center to kick off LSR season
🍔 A social BBQ or picnic event (Think pork—not pork barrel—mixed with politics. Fingers crossed for good weather!)
🍂 Our fall fundraiser: the Harvest Dinner
We also had a wide-ranging discussion on:
Governor Ayotte’s recent vetoes and signatures
New Hampshire Supreme Court decisions on education
“Citizens DOGE” as presented by Annette Menard
NH nonprofit legal structures
And various other topics pulled from Spilsbury’s notes
One of the 8 or 9 new faces at the meeting—a local resident and baker—tempted us with delicious baked goods, which I’m currently enjoying with my morning coffee. There are certainly worse ways to start the day after an evening of political camaraderie.
Keep her catering business in mind for future SCGOP events and personal gatherings!
Now, a scurrilous rumor has begun to circulate suggesting the real reason for meeting in Acworth was to celebrate the contributions of Sullivan County’s favorite political power couple: Michael and Judy Aron.
Let’s get the facts straight:
✔️ Both Michael and Judy are current NH House Representatives (one of only three married rep couples in the legislature)
✔️ Michael served as SCGOP Chair for many years
✔️ Judy has served several terms and currently chairs the House Environment and Agriculture Committee
✔️ Both have faithfully schlepped to our Moody Building office in Opera House Square for years to chair SCGOP meetings
SCGOP office in the Moody Building
BUT—none of this should be taken to imply that we held the Michael and Judy Aron Memorial SCGOP Meeting in their hometown, complete with pastries, as a tribute to their tireless service in the trenches of New Hampshire politics.
Watch the recording of Steve MacDonald’s speech and view photos of the event here
🎉 Save the Date: 2025 Lincoln Reagan Dinner – Get Your Early Bird Tickets Now! 🎉
The Sullivan County Republican Committee cordially invites you to our signature annual event—the 2025 Lincoln Reagan Dinner, taking place on Saturday, May 3rd from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Croydon Volunteer Fire Department, 828 Route 10, Croydon, NH.
This year’s dinner promises to be an evening of great food, fellowship, and fun—complete with a delicious buffet catered by Sumner House, exciting raffles, and ample free parking.
💥 Act Now to Save! Take advantage of our Early Bird Ticket Special — just $75 per person if you purchase by April 19th. After that, tickets will be $85 per person. 👉 Click here to get your tickets on Eventbrite
🎤 Guest Speaker: Steve MacDonald
We are honored to welcome Steve MacDonald, an award-winning blogger, owner of Grok Media LLC, and managing editor of GraniteGrok.com, as our featured guest speaker. Steve is a well-known voice in New Hampshire conservative circles—an articulate commentator on current events, liberty, and local issues. His work has energized grassroots conservatives across the state, and we’re excited to hear what he has to share.
💬 Don’t wait—space is limited, and this event always draws a crowd. Lock in the early bird rate today and join fellow Republicans for a memorable evening in support of our shared values.
