Okay, let's get into it. For this deep dive,
we are plunging right into the heart of New England.
We're going past those, you know, postcard pictures
of fall foliage and all the political soundbites
you always hear. We want to understand a truly
unique and I think often misunderstood place,
New Hampshire. That's absolutely right. The Granite
State is a fascinating study in American identity,
really, because it embodies these... stark contradictions.
So our mission today is to distill the core facts,
all the surprising nuggets from the sources,
and really get to the root of its fiercely independent,
almost anti -establishment spirit. And understand
how its geography, which is pretty extreme, dictates
not just its history, but its whole modern economy.
So we're setting the stage right away with some
of the essentials, because this state is really
defined by its nicknames and its motto. Most
famously, it's the Granite State, which is a
reference to its geology, its quarries. But you
also hear the White Mountain State. And, of course,
the motto. It's not just some nice phrase on
a license plate. It's a defiant declaration.
Live free or die. It really is. The capital's
conquered, but Manchester is the largest city.
And it's the clear economic hub. Well, what's
genuinely fascinating here is the massive paradox
the state represents when you actually look at
the data. I mean, on one hand, our sources confirm
New Hampshire is structurally one of the most
successful states in the entire nation. Right.
For instance, it ties with Massachusetts for
the highest human development index, the HDI
in the country. Which is a huge deal. We should
probably unpack that for a moment because the
HDI is a crucial metric. It goes. way beyond
just GDP. What does tying for the highest HDI
actually mean for the average person living there?
So the Human Development Index is a composite
statistic, and New Hampshire scores so highly
because it measures three fundamental things,
a long and healthy life, a high level of knowledge,
and a decent standard of living. And New Hampshire
just excels in all three. You see low poverty
rates, high life expectancy, and a really well
-educated population. So that gives it this high
overall... You could call it a human flourishing
score. So you have this population that's highly
educated, economically successful. And yet, culturally
and structurally, it's defined by this intense
anti -establishment streak. Absolutely. I mean,
it is famous for being the least religious state
in the U .S., which reflects a high degree of
social nonconformity. And politically, it's defined
by this intensely libertarian leaning culture.
It prioritizes small government and low taxes
above pretty much everything else. So it's an
affluent, educated, successful cultural island
that's also known for just. defying centralized
authority. That's the paradox. That defiance,
that radical self -determination, it must have
been etched in stone right from the beginning.
So let's unpack the revolutionary origins of
that famous motto, because the state's earliest
actions, they really set the tone for its whole
identity. And that tone starts long before the
colonists arrived, of course, thousands of years
before any Europeans settled. This area was inhabited
by Algonquian -speaking peoples, predominantly
the Abenaki nations. Archaeological digs near
Keene have indicated an indigenous presence dating
back. I mean, it's an astonishing 12 ,000 years.
12 ,000 years. That is, that's deep history.
It is. The Abenaki, and that includes groups
like the Pennacook and the Kawasuk. They relied
on the rivers for fishing and trade, and they
had really distinct cultures. And when the English
started arriving, you know, the land was obviously
occupied, which led to inevitable conflict and
eventually the displacement of most of that native
population. The colonial phase then begins in
the early 17th century, right? Yeah. After the
first English and French explorers show up around
1600. The first permanent European settlement
was Hilton's Point, which is now Dover. And the
colony itself, the province of New Hampshire,
was formally established in 1629. It got its
name simply from the English County of Hampshire.
By 1679, this area, which had been kind of loosely
administered as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony,
became its own thing, the Royal Province of New
Hampshire. But the real status of New Hampshire
as this radical actor. That comes during the
lead up to the American Revolution. The state
wasn't just in the revolution. It was actively
setting the pace, often doing things first. Which
absolutely solidifies that motto in its founding
mythos. To understand the genesis of live free
or die, you have to look at one specific, often
overlooked event. The raid on Fort William and
Mary in Portsmouth. The sources detail this as
one of the very earliest acts of armed rebellion
back in December 1774. And this is months before
the shots heard around the world at Lexington
and Concord. This is the definition of a premature
escalation. You know, it set the political temperature
for the whole region. Paul Revere, after writing
up from Boston, he warned the local patriots,
especially the Funds of Liberty, that the British
garrison at Fort William and Mary was about to
be reinforced. And that fort held a critical
store of weapons and gunpowder. And the local
patriots, led by this prominent figure, John
Sullivan, they didn't hesitate. They didn't write
letters or organize a protest. They launched
a direct military action the very next day. That's
right. Sullivan, who would later become a major
general in the Continental Army, he got hundreds
of men together. They sailed up the Piscataco
River and they stormed the fort. They overwhelmed
the small British garrison and seized just a
huge store of gunpowder and arms. And the British
soldiers inside actually fired cannons and muskets
at them during the raid. They did. And while
our sources say no major casualties were recorded,
the significance is you just can't overstate
it. By physically seizing a British military
asset and getting into an armed exchange, historians
consider these to be among the first shots fired
in the entire American Revolutionary period.
It predated Lexington and Concord by about five
months. Five months. That's the critical takeaway,
isn't it? New Hampshire showed a willingness
to start a military conflict for liberty before
any other colony. They were the regional fire
starter. They weren't waiting for the Continental
Congress to decide. They decided their path had
to be defined by immediate action. And they weren't
done being radical trendsetters. Fast forward
just over a year to January 5th, 1776. This is
a crucial foundational fact. New Hampshire became
the first British North American colony to declare
independence from Great Britain. And they established
their own independent government and state constitution.
Think about the strategic risk in that. This
wasn't just a vote for a general resolution.
They drew up their own constitution and government
nearly six months before the Continental Congress
even signed the Declaration of Independence.
It signaled to the world that New Hampshire was,
in its own mind, already a sovereign entity.
That act of constitutional boldness just deeply
informs its current political identity, right?
They need to go its own way, forge its own rules,
never wait for consensus. And it continued throughout
the war. The state supplied a lot of troops,
ships, and supplies to the fight. It also provided
key figures, most notably Josiah Bartlett. He
was a remarkably versatile and dedicated leader.
A founding father who wore a lot of hats. A doctor,
a chief justice, a delegate to the Constitutional
Convention. And a signer of both the Declaration
of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.
He was really the embodiment of that industrious,
self -reliant ethos of the state. He later served
as its first governor. And tying it all back
into the final national framework, New Hampshire
played this critical role in bringing the U .S.
Constitution into effect. Nine states needed
to ratify it for the document to become law,
and New Hampshire was the ninth. That's right.
June 21st, 1788. The state ratified the Constitution,
providing that final necessary vote. So you see
New Hampshire moving from being the fire starter
of the revolution to the finisher of the Constitution.
Its early history is just. It's anything but
passive. It's one of constant, aggressive political
action. That historical character definitely
helps explain why the state maintains such a
distinct political path today, especially compared
to its more liberal New England neighbors. Now,
let's move from that revolutionary core to the
massive geographic extremes that shaped where
people settled, starting with why it's even called
the Granite State. Well, transitioning from history
to geology, the nickname is incredibly literal.
It refers directly to its extensive, durable
granite formations. These rocks have really underpinned
its economy and its sense of toughness. For decades,
granite quarries, especially around Concord,
provided stone for major construction projects
all over New England and even nationally. So
it's a state literally built on hard, durable
rock. And that geological foundation gives rise
to its dramatic terrain, especially the White
Mountains Range, which defines its physical character.
And this area is defined by some of the most
dramatic and dangerous climate conditions in
the country. And when you talk about dramatic
terrain, you have to talk about Mount Washington.
It's the tallest peak in the entire northeastern
U .S. at 6 ,288 .3 feet. The summit is famous
globally because the weather observatory there
proudly claims to have the world's worst weather.
And, you know, it's not hyper. It's basically
a real -time laboratory for meteorological extremes.
I mean, worse weather sounds dramatic, but what
does the data actually say? Because the sources
back this claim up with some astonishing facts
that go way beyond just snow and cold. The data
is. It's truly staggering. Mount Washington averages
hurricane force winds winds over 74 miles per
hour every third day on average. But the real
headline maker is the wind speed record. The
peak holds the record for the second highest
wind speed ever recorded on Earth. Which was?
231 miles per hour clocked in April 1934. 231.
That's less like a mountain peak and more like
the surface of a hurricane. It's almost impossible
to comprehend the sheer force of that. And the
environment is so brutal that the native plant
life has had to adapt in this really unique way
just to survive. The trees near the summit are
these dwarf matted forms known as krummholz.
What exactly is krummholz? It sounds like botanical
jargon. It translates roughly from German as
crooked wood. And they aren't genetically distinct
dwarf trees. They're regular species like spruce
and fir that have been physically sculpted by
the weather. The fierce winds and ice just blast
away any new growth above the snow line, forcing
the trees to grow horizontally. Creating these
dense, tangled, low -lying mats like a carpet
of bonsai trees. Exactly. Clinging. tightly to
the rock just to withstand those incredible conditions.
The mountain's ruggedness also comes with a pretty
grim statistic. Over a hundred recorded deaths
among visitors. It just reflects the speed and
ferocity with which that weather can turn deadly.
It's a powerful and formidable peak. And just
southwest of the White Mountains, you find the
Monadnock region and Mount Monadnock. This landmark
is famous not for its height, but for its accessibility
and distinct formation. It's consistently cited
as among the most climbed mountains in the world.
How many people are we talking about? Some estimates
put the number of annual visitors near 125 ,000.
Wow. That sheer volume of climbers really speaks
to its iconic status. And geologically, it's
so distinct that it gave its name to an entire
class of earth forms. Yes, in geomorphology,
a monadnock is defined as any isolated, resistant
peak rising dramatically from a less resistant,
eroded plain. Monadnock literally means mountain
that stands alone in the Abenaki language, which
perfectly describes it. Now, moving from the
mountain heights down to the coast, New Hampshire
holds a different kind of extreme record. It
has the shortest ocean coastline of any U .S.
coastal state. Depending on how you measure,
it's about 18 miles or sometimes just 13 miles
long. And you contrast that tiny stretch with
the immense coastlines of Maine or Massachusetts.
That short coast is heavily used, though. It
supports the port of Portsmouth and popular summer
spots like Hampton Beach, which is a bustling
commercial center in the summer. And about seven
miles offshore are the Isles of Shoals, a cluster
of nine small islands. Four of them are technically
in New Hampshire. And they have a colorful history.
They were key fishing grounds, but in the 19th
century, they became famous as the site of an
influential art colony founded by the poet Celia
Thaxter. And for the more adventurous, the islands
are famous for being the alleged location of
one of Blackbeard's buried treasures. Spurring
treasure hunts for generations. Now, if the eastern
border is short and tidy, the western border
is uniquely complicated. The state line with
Vermont runs along the 410 -mile -long Connecticut
River. But here's the kicker. The Spate Line
isn't in the middle of the river, which is usually
the case. No, it is not. This goes back to colonial
charters, and the definition has been legally
upheld. The border is legally defined at the
low watermark on the Vermont side. This means
that almost the entire river along that 410 -mile
stretch lies legally within New Hampshire's jurisdiction.
That is a huge geographical and political anomaly.
It effectively grants New Hampshire jurisdiction
over a massive body of water. What are the practical
implications of that? It's huge. It determines
everything from shishing regulations and water
rights to law enforcement. If a crime occurs
on the water, New Hampshire has the authority.
It's a centuries -old claim that gives New Hampshire
this undeniable edge in natural resource control.
And looking at the wider environment, New Hampshire
is just dominated by forests. It boasts the highest
percentage of timberland area of any state in
the country. Something like 84 % of the state
is forested. And this massive forest canopy,
especially the brilliant deciduous trees, creates
the perfect conditions for one of the state's
biggest tourism draws, the famous leaf peepers
who flock there every autumn for the fall foliage.
It's an enormous economic driver. However, this
gorgeous, rugged geography presents some significant
economic challenges in the age of climate change.
As we noted, New Hampshire has some of the highest
ski mountains on the East Coast, supporting a
major winter sports sector. This is a looming
crisis for specific communities. Our sources
project a significant decline in winter season
lengths at ski areas across New Hampshire due
to climate change. This is already contributing
to the historic contraction of the ski industry,
threatening the smaller operations in the communities
that really rely on that winter revenue. So we're
not talking hypotheticals. We're talking about
direct economic stress on towns near mountains
like Cannon and Attitash. The identity of many
of these places is tied to the reliable ability
of snow. A shorter winter means a massive cut
in their primary economic activity. It creates
a stark tension. You know, the same beautiful,
rugged landscape that defines New Hampshire's
appeal is also the source of its growing economic
vulnerability. That paints a really compelling
picture of a land shaped by extremes. Let's move
on now to how the population adapted, diving
into the state's economic evolution and demographic
shifts, which, again, reveal these incredible
contrasts. New Hampshire's economy underwent
this foundational, often painful transformation
during the 20th century. Historically, in the
mid -19th century, the economic base was centered
on traditional New England industries. Massive
textile manufacturing, shoemaking, papermaking.
The sheer scale of that industrial boom was globally
recognized. We're talking specifically about
the Amiskig Manufacturing Company in Manchester,
which, according to our sources, was once the
largest cotton textile plant in the world. Amiskig
was essentially a self -contained industrial
city. At its peak, it employed over 17 ,000 workers
and controlled vast tracts of land, housing,
infrastructure in Manchester. This factory town
model created immense wealth and attracted a
huge influx of immigrant labor, especially from
Quebec, to fuel the mills. But the sources confirm
that these traditional sectors saw a sharp, dramatic
decline after World War II. It was a rapid structural
collapse. Yeah, it was hastened by several factors.
Obsolete plants couldn't compete. There was fierce
competition from cheaper wages in the South and
decades of labor unrest. A mesquite itself filed
for bankruptcy in 1935. And while parts of it
limped along, the mass... Massive textile era
was over by the mid -20th century. So the state
had to reinvent itself. Yeah. And the modern
economy is much more varied. That reinvention
has been pretty successful, which links back
to that high human development index we talked
about earlier. Precisely. The state successfully
diversified into financial services, real estate,
education, transportation and high tech. And
while the massive mills are gone, manufacturing
output today, producing things like specialized
machinery, electric equipment, medical devices,
it still remains higher than the U .S. average.
This is higher value manufacturing. And this
shift in economic gravity, coupled with the decline
of the North Country industries, triggered a
dramatic demographic shift. A massive population.
migration southward. The statistics are clear.
The state center of population has moved a full
12 miles south just since 1950. That migration
directly reflects the rapid growth along the
Massachusetts border, where communities have
become economically integrated with greater Boston,
basically functioning as commuter towns. So the
population concentration is stark. The four southern
counties account for a massive 72 percent of
the entire state's population. Hillsborough County
alone is nearly 30 percent of the population.
Right. And this creates a kind of two -tiered
economy within the state. You contrast the affluent
growing South with the North country, the northern
third of the state. It's very sparsely populated.
Coase County, for example, covers a fourth of
the state, but has less than 5 % of the population.
And while the South benefits from Boston's economic
engine, the North country is suffering from economic
isolation, still struggling to recover from the
decline of logging and paper industries. The
only thing really keeping the economy afloat
up there is tourism. And speaking of demographics,
let's revisit that industrial legacy, the French
connection. That boom caused a massive sustained
influx of French Canadians and Acadians seeking
work in the mills. The resulting cultural influence
is profound and persistent. Today, New Hampshire
has the highest percentage, 22 .9 % of residents
with French, French Canadian or Acadian ancestry
of any U .S. state, nearly one in four residents.
And the language ties remain strong. In Coast
County particularly, nearly 10 % of the population
speaks French at home, reflecting that close
proximity to Quebec. It's so culturally embedded
that French is officially allowed for business
with Quebec. Okay, now we have to turn to the
famous tax paradox. This is the heart of the
live free or die economic philosophy. New Hampshire
is incredibly unique because it's one of only
nine states without a broad -based general income
tax. And that's just the start. There's also
no general sales tax, no capital gains tax and
no inheritance tax. It's an intentionally light
state tax burden by design, reflecting that longstanding
disdain for state taxation and bureaucracy. But
this raises the critical question that defines
the state's political conflicts. If the state
isn't relying on these broad taxes, how does
it fund its operations and crucially, public
education? And the answer is the sharp point
of the tax paradox. Since the state refuses to
rely on income or sales taxes, it delegates the
immense burden of funding essential services,
primarily schools, almost entirely to local property
taxes. So instead of the burden being spread
out through income or consumption taxes across
the whole population, it's concentrated heavily
onto property owners at the local level. Exactly.
And the consequence is that New Hampshire has
property tax rates that are shockingly high.
Our sources note they're the eighth highest in
the entire But that's the essential counterbalance
you have to consider. Despite that crushing local
property tax burden, when you combine all state
and local tax collections together, New Hampshire's
overall combined tax burden is still ranked among
the lowest in the country. Right. It creates
a system that heavily rewards high income, high
spending people who don't necessarily own expensive
property while potentially penalizing property
owners, especially those on fixed incomes. It's
a very specific arrangement that privileges a
certain kind of fiscal liberty. One final detail
on the economy. Energy. New Hampshire has low
overall energy consumption, but the way they
heat their homes is unique, with nearly half
of households using fuel oil for winter heating,
one of the largest shares in the U .S. But the
generation of power is hugely centralized and
non -carbon intensive. The Seabrook Station nuclear
power plant is critically important. It's the
largest individual electrical generating unit
on the entire New England power grid and provides
something like 57 percent of New Hampshire's
electricity. on nuclear makes its power profile
very different. So we have a state of high tech
manufacturing, nuclear power and radically local
tax control. Let's shift now to how this independence
translates into governance. Section four, politics,
liberty and the first primary. As we've established,
the political culture is defined by that powerful
libertarian lean. It encourages intense fiscal
conservatism, prioritizing that anti -tax stance
while often fostering cultural liberalism and
social independence. This environment is conducive
to nonconformity, shown by its status as the
least religious state in the union. Right. A
2016 Gallup poll found only 20 percent considered
themselves very religious. And more recent data
shows over 40 percent are religiously unaffiliated.
And this political philosophy is structurally
embedded in its actual government, starting with
a powerful disdain for state bureaucracy. This
is perfectly exemplified by the structure of
the state legislature, the general court. The
structure is a true anomaly. The House of Representatives
has an astounding 400 members. That number makes
it one of the largest elected bodies in the entire
English -speaking world. Right, second only to
the British Parliament's House of Commons. 400
representatives serving a population of only
1 .4 million people. That means each representative
serves only about three 500 constituents. But
what makes this system truly unique. is how they're
compensated. They've fully embraced the volunteer
ethic. Legislators are paid a nominal salary
of only $200 per two -year term plus travel.
It's by far the lowest legislative pay in the
U .S. It is not designed to be a career. It's
designed to be a civic duty. $200 for two years
of service. That's a legislative body run entirely
by volunteers who realistically has the financial
freedom to do that. That's the critical sociological
consequence. Our sources note that nearly half
of them are retirees, but the rest are generally
people who are financially independent, wealthy
or have jobs with extreme flexibility. It inevitably
shapes the demographics of who's in power. So
while the system is designed to prevent a paid
professional political class from forming, the
consequence is the creation of an entrenched,
non -compensated political class from a pretty
narrow socioeconomic band. It's a fascinating
paradox of small government ideals. And beyond
the legislature, the executive branch is also
unusual. It's bifurcated. It's not solely run
by the governor. How does that work in practice?
The governor has to share power with a separate...
powerful five -member executive council. This
council has immense power. It holds veto power
over major state contracts, and it must advise
and consent to the governor's nominations for
all major state positions, including judgeships.
That is a huge check on the governor's power.
It reflects that deep -seated historical fear
of executive overreach. Yes, it's a systematic
diffusion of authority. Also unusual, New Hampshire
is one of the few states that doesn't have a
lieutenant governor. If the governor can't perform
their duties, the Senate president steps in.
And this decentralization extends powerfully
to local governance. New Hampshire is technically
a Dillon Rule state. Can you explain what that
is and why it matters here? The Dillon Rule is
a legal principle that says municipal governments
only have the powers expressly granted to them
by the state. The state keeps all unstated powers.
However, despite being a Dillon Rule state, the
New Hampshire legislature has historically chosen
to strongly favor local control, especially with
land use and schools. So the state could impose
massive centralization, but philosophically it
chooses not to. Exactly. This is why most towns
still operate on the town meeting form of government,
where the voters themselves physically meet,
debate and vote on the town budget. It's direct
democracy in action. This extreme focus on local
independence is why the state is so fiercely
protective of its national political role. Which
brings us to the New Hampshire primary. The New
Hampshire primary is, without a doubt, the state's
largest cultural and political export. It is
the critical first primary in the American presidential
election cycle, granting the state this outsized
influence. And its status isn't just tradition.
It's aggressively protected by law. State statute
explicitly mandates that the secretary of state
must schedule the election at least one week
before any similar event. And while the Iowa
caucus comes before it, Iowa uses a complicated
process. The New Hampshire primary is the nation's
first contest that uses the same standardized
secret ballot as the general election, which
gives the results immediate legitimacy and draws
massive media attention. And that leads to those
quirky traditions like the famous midnight voting.
It's a classic of New Hampshire politics. State
law lets towns with fewer than 100 residents,
like Dixville Notch, open their polls at midnight
and close as soon as everyone has voted. This
allows them to be the first precincts in the
entire country to report results. That primary
status is fiercely guarded. As we saw just recently,
the sources detail the 2023 political conflict
where the Democratic National Committee tried
to shift the primary calendar and put South Carolina
first. And New Hampshire officials from both
parties stood united. They explicitly stood by
their state's first in the nation law and basically
ignored the DNC's directive. They argued that
their state law takes precedence over the national
party schedule. That's that revolutionary independence
shining through again, even against their own
national party. They just refuse to relinquish
their power. And that independent libertarian
spirit has attracted a specific political migration
aimed at amplifying these ideals. The Free State
Project, or FSP, founded in 2001. Its explicit
goal is to recruit 20 ,000 libertarians to move
to the state to concentrate their political activism.
This is intentional long -term demographic engineering.
Why New Hampshire specifically? Because of the
structural features we just discussed, the massive
volunteer legislature means a concentrated group
of motivated activists can gain maximum influence
for minimum financial cost. By moving thousands
of participants to a state of 1 .4 million, they
have successfully elected FSP members into the
House of Representatives. It's a unique way to
shape the political landscape. Wrapping up the
election history, New Hampshire has proven to
be the ultimate swing state. It's supported Democrats
in almost every presidential election since 1992,
but it was also the only state to switch from
supporting Bush in 2000 to Kerry in 2004. And
this independent streak results in this intense
paradox in its current representation. As of
2025, Republicans control the state -level trifecta,
the governorship, the executive council, and
the legislature. But at the same time, Democrats
control the entire federal delegation, both U
.S. senators and both representatives. It shows
that voters are willing to split their tickets
completely based on the office and the candidate.
We should also highlight a remarkable footnote.
In 2012, New Hampshire became the first state
in U .S. history to elect an all -female federal
delegation. That sets us up nicely to finish
our deep dive by looking at some of the less
formal aspects of the state. infrastructure,
education, and culture, where you see more of
these conflicts between tradition and modernization.
Let's start with Section 5. On the transportation
side, New Hampshire is generally easy to navigate
thanks to a well -maintained interstate network.
I -93 is the main route connecting the dense
south to the more remote White Mountains. And
I love this small cultural detail about the highway
system. State highway markers still proudly depict
the old man of the mountain. Even though the
rock formation itself, that famous face -like
profile in Franconia Notch, collapsed back in
May 2003. Yet the symbol remains on government
emblems, highway signs, license plates. It's
a deliberate choice to maintain that connection
to the state's rugged heritage, despite the physical
loss. Regarding rail, there's a clear push to
integrate the state more closely with Boston.
There's an ongoing goal to extend the MBTA commuter
rail into New Hampshire, specifically to Nashua,
Concord and Manchester. But that project is currently
stalled, right? Largely due to political resistance
over the cost and the philosophical opposition
to state funded projects that might raise taxes.
It's another tension point between economic necessity
and political ideology. For tourists, though,
lines like the famous Mount Washington Cog Railway
remain a huge attraction. Turning to education,
New Hampshire punches well above its weight.
It's home to several incredibly prestigious prep
schools like Phillips Exeter Academy and St.
Paul School. And its higher education landscape
is also strong, featuring Dartmouth College,
an Ivy League institution, the University of
New Hampshire and Stephen New Hampshire University,
which is one of the fastest growing universities
in the nation, especially in the online space.
But again, that independent spirit and the philosophy
of local funding run head on into the issue of
school funding, leading to a massive decades
long legal battle known. is the Claremont litigation,
which started way back in 1993. This is a perfect
microcosm of New Hampshire's structural conflicts.
The core issue stems directly from that reliance
on local property taxes. Since school funding
was handled almost entirely locally, property
poor districts just couldn't generate the same
revenue as wealthy suburbs. So the quality of
your child's education was directly tied to the
value of your neighbor's homes. That's the definition
of inequity. Absolutely. The New Hampshire Supreme
Court ultimately made a landmark ruling. They
said the state constitution required the state
to fund education adequately and uniformly across
all districts. This ruling demanded the state
take on a massive financial responsibility to
bridge that gap, which essentially challenged
the entire local control tax philosophy. If the
state is constitutionally responsible for funding,
it can't just delegate the whole burden to towns
precisely. To address this, the legislature enacted
a statewide property tax in 2002 to collect revenue
and redistribute funds. But the system was riddled
with loopholes and political fights, and it failed
to fully solve the underlying issue. And the
legal battle continued, culminating in 2023 when
a judge set a new, higher amount for what constitutes
that constitutional adequacy, arguing the state
still hadn't fulfilled its mandate. This just
illustrates that the tension between local financial
control and the state's constitutional mandate
to provide uniform education is an expensive,
ongoing fight that refuses to die. It's a perfect
circle. Radical local freedom combined with persistent
structural conflict over who ultimately pays
for the fundamentals. Let's end on a lighter
note with some unique cultural nuggets, starting
with a quirky invention. We're talking about
paintball. It was invented in Henniker in 1981
by a group of friends who originally intended
it as a way to mark trees or cattle. They quickly
realized it was an excellent competitive sport.
And Sutton, New Hampshire, was home to the world's
first commercial paintball facility. a true New
Hampshire original that took an industrial tool
and turned it into a global pastime. And for
classic entertainment, Fun Spot in Laconia is
a major institution. It's recognized by Guinness
World Records as the world's largest video arcade,
though it's now more like an impressive museum.
New Hampshire has also lent itself well to fiction.
The fictional town of Grover's Corners and Thornton
Wilder's classic play Our Town is based partly
on the real town of Peterborough. Wilder spent
time there at the McDowell Colony. And its famous
motto and remote geography have made their way
into modern TV, usually as a place of escape
or isolation. Breaking Bad had a famous episode
titled Granite State, where the lead character
flees to a remote cabin there. And an episode
of The Sopranos was titled Live Free or Die,
reflecting a character fleeing to New Hampshire,
leveraging the state's reputation for rugged
independence. Finally, in sports, the state is
a major hub for motorsports, home to the New
Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudoun, which hosts
NASCAR and IndyCar. And you can't forget the
collegiate scene, anchored by Dartmouth and the
University of New Hampshire. It's a complete
and complex picture, isn't it? From its granite
peaks and world record weather to its deep French
-Canadian roots and its fierce... This deep dive
really reveals New Hampshire as a state defined
by this intense duality. On one hand, you have
the rugged, dramatic geography of the White Mountains
and a history of radical first rebel political
action, the Granite State. On the other, you
have the modern identity centered on the low
tax, fiercely independent philosophy of live
free or die. And what's essential to grasp is
how that low tax philosophy plays out structurally
in real life. The state prizes individual liberty
and local control, achieving one of the lowest
overall tax burdens in the country. But that
freedom comes at. a specific localized cost.
That cost is twofold. A deep reliance on the
immense, uncompensated work of volunteer, extremely
low paid legislators running one of the largest
legislative bodies in the world. And the absolute
necessity of imposing the U .S.'s eighth highest
property taxes at the local level to fund essentials
like education, which, as the Claremont litigation
shows, leads to decades of structural conflict
and questions of equity. It's a powerful model
of decentralized governance, yet one that places
an incredible burden on local communities and
unpaid volunteers. The whole system relies on
the premise that citizens will be engaged, affluent,
and dedicated enough to run the government without
being paid. Exactly. And that brings us to our
final provocative thought for you, the listener.
Given New Hampshire's powerful tradition of radical
independence, its high level of education, and
its fierce adherence to that first -in -the -nation
primary status, what does its extreme decentralized
structure, from its volunteer legislature to
its reliance on local control for school funding,
reveal about the true cost and function of small
government libertarian ideals and practice? Is
this model sustainable? And does the high cost
borne by local property owners and volunteer
legislators ultimately undermine the intended
liberty of the live free or die experiment? In
an ongoing real world case study right there
in New England.