This morning, Peter Bearse will be attending a breakfast meeting of the New Hampshire Children's Trust Fund (NHCTF), for business leaders, on "Investing in Policies and Programs that Work for Children and Their Families" -- to build supportive programs and policies for families and children.

The lead presentation will be provided by Jack Levine, founder of 4Generations Institute in Tallahassee, FL. Part of this will be about the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Levine was quoted by the NH Sunday News as saying: "With nearly 70% of all children living in families with either two parents or a single parent working out of the home, special attention to this...reality is needed for the sake of family well-being."

Levine will also be speaking in support of NHCTF's "Action: Powering Prevention" program, which stresses the value of preventive actions when job and family commitments conflict -- "programs for children, parent leadership, grandparent activism and dignified services for elders."

PETER BEARSE, Ph.D., Independent Candidate for Congress, NH CD 1;
Released by Supporters of Peter Bearse for Congress, May 13, 2008

The approach to “the housing crisis” favored by Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter [D, NH CD 1] is a good example of the bad kinds of “helping” that characterize votes in Congress. Why? Because it is….

Þ A knee-jerk reaction rather than a deliberative response;

Þ Wasteful in overspending and so further increasing our ballooning federal deficit; and

Þ Insufficiently targeted to areas and people of greatest need.

By contrast, Independent Candidate for Congress to represent New Hampshire’s 1^st Congressional District (NH CD 1), Economist Dr. Peter Bearse, advocates a very different, much more flexible, less costly and targeted approach that would help people and communities work through affects of the economic recession in a variety of ways, through….

v General revenue sharing and capital investment/development assistance to local authorities to be used for local needs according to local discretion, without any strings attached;

v Targeted assistance to carefully targeted national groups in need, also passed down through appropriate state and local authorities;

A major incentive in Congress, especially among House members running for re-election, is to spend, spend, spend, and to do so in ways designed to maximally spread the goodies around – so that every district and every interest group gets some. So, the “American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act,” which Rep. Shea-Porter voted for, “provides $15 billion in loans and grants to states so they can purchase foreclosed homes…” There are three things wrong with this approach, namely that it…

1) Ignores data that shows that state “home foreclosure rankings” vary over an incredibly broad range, of 500 to 1, from Nevada at the highest [3.376% of total households] to South Dakota at the lowest [0.007%]. Data source: RealtyTrac, Inc. via AARP’s “State News.”

2) Relies on liberally pessimistic data and fears that discount the ability of private markets to help solve the problem. The NH ranking is only 0.212% -- in the bottom quarter among states. Rep. Shea-Porter relies on a Pew Charitable Trust estimate that about 2% (“1 in 49) NH families “will face foreclosure during the next two years” – 10 times the current figure!

3) Also discounts local initiative such as that already displayed in Boston to deal with what Rep. Shea-Porter calls the potential “ripple effects” for foreclosures. Like most factors in real-estate, a business that thrives or fails on “location, location, location”, these are very location-specific - on a neighborhood level even within localities. Thus, the typical liberal-democratic approach put on display by Rep. Shea-Porter’s actions – to assume that the solution to virtually every “national” problem lies with the federal government – is even more in-appropriate here.

The latter does not at all deny that there may be focal points of need that require federal action because they represent problems that are the result of federal action or inaction. Foreclosures faced by NH National Guard veterans of the war in Iraq are one such group. They have been sent to Iraq because of decisions in Washington. Many of their families have had to struggle with significant losses of family income, especially due to extended tours of duty. Thus, some of these are facing foreclosure due to inability to pay mortgages, notwithstanding their other sacrifices. It is amazing, especially in light of Rep. Shea-Porter’s posturing on veteran’s affairs and military matters, that she has not recognized this problem and taken steps to address it before advertising her voting on the “Housing Rescue” bill.

Thus, Rep. Shea-Porter’s vote on “the housing crisis,” like her vote on the “economic stimulus” package, is a vote for initiatives that do more to support the reelection of congressional incumbents than to directly address important issues.

Your views? Please respond to peterj@politicalcommunity.us

TO THE EDITOR: I have just learned that the vote to authorize the $15
billion noted in our recent release on "The Housing Crisis" was done via
Congressional approval of the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008 (Vote
Passed (239-188, 6 Not Voting), NOT, as reported by Rep. Shea-Porter's
office, as part of the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention
Act.

PETER BEARSE, Ph.D.

(Nashua) As the price for a first-class stamp rises once again today, Congressman Paul Hodes continues to abuse taxpayer dollars to send out partisan mailing for free. Hodes has repeatedly used money from his Congressional office to send out letters to benefit his re-election campaign. Today the cost of a first-class stamp went up from 41 to 42 cents.

“Today mail is more expensive for us, but it is still free for Paul Hodes, and he needs to stop abusing the federal franking privilege,” said Bosse. “Paul Hodes is trying to buy our vote with our own money, and it’s time he stop wasting our hard-earned dollars.”

In his time in Washington, Paul Hodes has been one of the leading supporters of wasteful government spending, and blatant and repeated abuses of taxpayer money. In addition to using his Congressional office to produce campaign propaganda, Hodes has offered to use the Congressional Record for letters meant to aide his re-election effort. He also has been one of the most aggressive supporters of federal earmarks.

“Paul Hodes has shown he has no respect for taxpayers, or our hard-earned money,” Bosse continued. “Whether it is with his support of earmarks, franked mail, or abusing the Congressional Record for political gain, we can’t afford another two years with Paul Hodes in office.”

Wolfeboro, NH- 1^st Congressional DistrictCandidate Jeb Bradley today launched the first television and radio ads of the campaign, The Right Kind of Change.

The ads, debuting this morning on WMUR TV and radio stations across the 1^stDistrict of New Hampshire, feature Jeb Bradley discussing Carol Shea-Porter’s votes for higher taxes and bigger government and her votes against small business and our nation’s troops. 

“I will fight to cut taxes, to help working families and small business and will always support our veterans and the troops that are keeping America safe,” Jeb says in the ad. “With your help, we can make sure the change we get in Washington, is the change we want for New Hampshire.”

To view/listen to the ads, simply go towww.jebforcongress.com or CLICK HERE!

Since announcing his candidacy for Congress on March 17^th, to represent the state’s 1^st Congressional District, Dr. Peter Bearse has already completed two tours to meet people in the northern sections of the district and is about to do a 3^rd. Towns previously visited include Laconia, Gilford, Weirs Beach, Alton, Meredith, Center Harbor, Moultonboro, Tuftenboro and Wolfeboro. On Sunday, May 11^th, Bearse will visit the most northern towns in the district, including Sandwich, South Tamworth, Tamworth, Whittier, Silver Lake, Conway, West Ossipee and Freedom.

Though from the Southern end of the district, Bearse’s enthusiasm increases as he talks about the towns and encounters that he has already experienced in the “North Country.”:

“The small towns reinforce why I moved to New Hampshire from Massachusetts. I love them all. They represent the best of New Hampshire values, populated by people who work hard with both their hands and their heads, who are resourceful and self-reliant, upholding the values of family and community life. Yet, every one is distinctive.

There’s Meredith with a little diner where, unlike many down South, the friendly, hospitable owner doesn’t mind if a candidate drops in to talk with her customers.

There’s Moultonboro with a fine garden center. Notwithstanding intensive efforts to prepare for Palm Sunday, Easter and Spring plantings, the owner took time to talk about his concerns and didn’t mind my shaking hands with his equally busy staff. Thanks to them all.”

“I heard many laments reflecting economic problems in the North Country – loss of jobs, lack of work, plants closing, decline in business – but my experience as an economist helping solve such problems enabled me to provide some hope. Such problems can be solved by adding local leadership and community collaboration to the same qualities they bring to their own occupations. Look, for example, to what Littleton has achieved in a community farther north.

Wolfeboro provided another example – of a town that urgently needs to renovate its handsome old Town Hall. Bearse had been involved with local government in Merrimac, MA, which provides a good example of how to renovate a similar, historically significant building to better house town government. In talking with the Town Clerk, Bearse observed that: “A new U.S. Rep. can help by fighting to bring money out of Washington back home, where it can add to the blend of local initiative to help people make a difference in their own communities.

“The norther I go, the better I feel,” concludes Bearse, “so I’m looking forward to my 3^rd tour. It won’t be my last by a long shot.”

Released by Supporters of Peter Bearse for Congress, May 10, 2008