New Hampshire conservatives and Libertarians are not living up to their own ideals. They should be donating more to their favorite Seacoast nonprofit organizations.

Aug. 4 — To the Editor:



New Hampshire conservatives and Libertarians are not living up to their own ideals. They should be donating more to their favorite Seacoast nonprofit organizations.



Advocates for limited government rightly oppose high taxes and redistribution of funds from private individuals through a central bureaucracy to third parties. They believe charity should begin and end at home and funds should not be confiscated against one's will in order to give them to someone else. Charity should be a voluntary activity. People should give to the things they support.



The problem is, New Hampshire citizens are stingy. They don't give much. According to data reviewed by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation in their recent report "Stronger Communities, Greater Giving," New Hampshire ranks 49th in the nation in charitable giving. We are one of the wealthiest states in the nation but we give the least (N.H. has been ranked #50 in the recent past). Like citizens in other New England states, New Hampshire residents apparently have shallow pockets when it comes to supporting charities. That is embarrassing.



Conservatives and Libertarians especially should be digging deep to support local charities if they want to keep taxes low. I believe this is a moral imperative, not an option. If we want to keep the government off our backs and out of our pockets, we should be acting voluntarily to support the things we like.



I would like Portsmouth voters to know that I will make this issue one of my chief concerns if I am elected to represent Portsmouth in Concord.



Kevin Kervick



Candidate for State Representative,



Portsmouth Floterial District 30



Portsmouth