I've been talking about Vermont and Maine, but of course we traveled in New Hampshire as well. We had been in New Hampshire before, but had not gone to Concord.
Since we "collect" Capitol Bldgs., we decided to hit New Hamphire's capital and see the state house. It's very nice on the outside, not very showy on the inside. Still nice. Godlessmom has seen more Capitols than we have, but we've seen quite a few. We've now been in every state in the "lower 48" except North Dakota. In some of our travels we didn't go to the capital city. Oh, well.
New Hampshire is an interesting state! They don't have a sales tax, or an income tax. They pay their state senators and representatives $100 a year, period. That's it. They get no benefits at all. They get the privilege of serving. The reps don't even get a parking lot. We drove right up to the building and walked right in. No special security, etc. If you have been to any Capitol since 9/11, you know how unusual that is.
We walked into the governor's office, accidentally. No one thought that was a big deal. The receptionist just asked if she could help us! Very refreshing. The Senate was in session, and the public can watch. Truly a welcoming place. They finance the schools with a statewide property tax, which seems more fair than PA's system of a local property tax. In our PA system, a rich area can spend far more on the students than a poor city. I was impressed with N.H.
We enjoyed Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, but as usual, I'm happy to be going home soon. .
4 comments:
This is really nice and interesting. I like this. And I like the idea of collecting capitol buildings sort of like bird watchers collect birds. I have dozens of folders on my computer where I collect various things via photos -- they don't clutter the house and get dusty. I enjoy reading this. But all seriousness aside, Icy says it tingles when she gets edified and makes her tail flutter!
What a beautifl building and worthy effort to visit so many of the state capitol buildings. Come to think of it, I have not seen too many, but think that it would be a great way to travel around this country by hitting the thresholds of democracy! (purported, perhaps??)
It's so interesting to see gov't working in session. We did that in D.C. once, and my kids got to see the senate in session. I pointed out Strom Thurman to them since I knew his days were most likely numbered, and he died not too long after. It was just a really neat educational experience.
Hey, thanks for the link! I was eight years old when I collected the New Hampshire capitol building so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy but I definitely remember the trip to McDonalds afterwards! Sigh...youth. Isn't it funny how all capitol buildings smell the same? :)
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