Granite Staters Pay the Price

Your taxes are too high.

So are mine.

In New Hampshire, we pride ourselves on thrift, accountability, and a deep skepticism of wasteful government. “Live within your means” isn’t a slogan here—it’s a way of life. Which is exactly why what’s happening in Washington should infuriate every Granite Stater, regardless of party.

One of the biggest drivers of unnecessary federal spending is rarely said out loud: Donald Trump’s immigration policies and the unchecked expansion of ICE enforcement. These policies cost taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Not billions spent fixing a broken immigration system. Not billions spent making communities safer. Billions spent on cruelty, chaos, and political theater.

And the human cost matters.

Our tax dollars paid for the killing of two U.S. citizens on the streets of Minneapolis.

Our tax dollars paid for an untold number of people dying in federal detention facilities.

Our tax dollars paid for families to be separated—children taken from parents with no plan, no tracking, and no accountability.

That is not law enforcement. That is state-funded harm.

Granite Staters are constantly told there’s no money. No money for infrastructure. No money for housing. No money for public safety officers. No money for working families who are already stretched thin.

Yet somehow, there is always money for ICE expansion.

Always money for detention contracts.

Always money for cruelty dressed up as “border security.”

And when it comes time to pass spending bills, Congress stalls—not to protect taxpayers, but to protect politicians. Senator Lindsey Graham has openly acknowledged holding up legislation so certain Republican senators could secure protections and payouts tied to the preservation of their phone records after January 6.

Let that sink in.

There is money to protect politicians from embarrassment.

There is money for federal enforcement overreach.

But there is no money for the Capitol Police officers who were beaten and injured while defending our democracy.

That is not fiscal responsibility. That is moral bankruptcy.

New Hampshire didn’t sign up for this. We didn’t agree to fund violence, family separation, or political cover-ups. We didn’t agree to higher taxes so Washington could reward bad behavior and call it “security.”

If New Hampshire families are expected to balance their budgets, Washington should be held to the same standard—starting by ending wasteful, brutal policies that betray both our wallets and our values.

Our tax dollars should protect people.

Not tear families apart.

Not shield politicians from consequences.