Y'all might be aware that I'm often not pleased with the political and social climate of Minnesota. More than most states, Minnesota is friendly to socialistic attitudes, and admires "big brother" like he was a father, mother, and nanny rolled into one. We are a state that seems willing to be forced into being good, clean, tidy and obedient little servants. We are characterized as "Minnesota Nice", which becomes a message to government saying "Do what you want... I'm too busy earning enough to pay taxes." If one could identify those who are the "silent majority" and color them red on a U.S. map, I suspect Minnesota would look like a big zit on the face of America.

While Minnesota "progressives" harangue us about corporate America taking over, what has actually happened here is quite the opposite:

Twenty years ago the largest Minnesota employers were Honeywell, 3M, General Mills, and Pillsbury. Today, the largest employers are State Government, Federal Government, Target Corporation and the University of Minnesota. How do so many employees get sucked out of private companies and into government?

That great sucking sound we hear is socialism in action.

Tax everyone, create big bureaucracies, and pay more than the private companies can afford to pay. More power for everyone who works for government, and for their friends, balanced by less opportunity for those left outside. The average state employee makes 22% more than the average Minnesotan. In the past three years, wages for state employees have grown almost twice as fast as wages in the private sector. The state pays 68 percent more for health care coverage than the average private business, and those of us on the "outside" don't even want to hear about government job security and retirement plans. It's really a great black hole, sucking the life out of Minnesota.

I could continue this tirade, showing that we're well on our way to becoming a totalitarian, über alles state, but instead I want to paint a portrait of what a libertarian dream state might look like.

For some of you, this may be a little scary.
Just think of it as a science fiction movie,
and try not to close your eyes.

1. We would have the lowest taxes in the nation
2. No state income tax
3. No state sales tax
4. No state capital gains tax
5. No state tax on inventory, machinery, or equipment
6. We would have open carry of firearms, with almost automatic permit issue.
7. Schools would have to get almost all their funding locally.
8. No motorcycle helmet law
9. No mandatory seatbelt law
10. No mandatory auto liability insurance
11. We would have a much larger legislature, with small districts, so that we might actually know whom we're voting for, and so that major parties couldn't so easily dominate.
12. We would pay legislators almost nothing, to encourage citizen legislators rather than career politicians.
13. All voting would be done on paper ballots, to discourage election fraud
14. Candidates could be endorsed by more than one party (fusion).
15. Our state constitution would give us the specific right to revolt against our government.
16. Our state constitution would allow our state to secede from the U.S. if necessary.

To a libertarian, this would be akin to a dream state. To a socialist (or as they may prefer to be called, progressive), it sounds like a frightening amount of freedom. Visions flare in their minds of gunfights on the street, road rage gone mad, starving citizens in our alleys, and general chaos that would make us all a nervous wreck. A state with no "safety nets"? A state where people do whatever they want?

Truth is, I haven't been describing a libertarian "dream" state at all... but a very real American state, and I wasn't exaggerating. The state is New Hampshire, and the contrast with Minnesota is even more striking than I've painted it. New Hampshire citizens have a deep tradition of keeping their government under control, and a basic mistrust of anything political. They hate taxes.

The NH House of Representatives has 400 members, each representing only about 3,150 citizens, compared to Minnesota's 134 members, each representing about 32,650 constituents. NH pays it's representatives $100/year (yep, that's ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS per year) while the Minnesota salary is $31,141.

You may know that New Hampshire's state motto is "Live Free or Die"... sort of a clue as to how serious they are about freedom. What do you suppose are the results of essentially having a reverse attitude, from Minnesota, about government?

What happens when you take away all those government services and just let folks live free?

New Hampshire citizens enjoy the lowest taxes, as a percentage of gross income, IN THE NATION. It's 3rd for the having the highest percentage of high-tech jobs, 8th in the percentage of knowledge jobs, 4th for the highest dollar amount of venture capital invested in the state, and one of the highest ranked for R&D expenditures.

• NH is #10 in the nation for the lowest poverty rates.
• Unemployment (4.2) is a full 1.5 percentage points lower than national average.
• NH is consistently ranked among the top of all states nationwide for:
• "Quality of Life and Livability"
• "Least Overall Violent and Property Crimes in the Nation"
• For cities that are the "Best Places to Live in America".
• Based on 2001 FBI figures, New Hampshire has the least overall crime
• New Hampshire is the #1 healthiest state in the NATION, tied with Minnesota.