To the Editor,
I’ve been wracking my brain for a name to describe the new class of ultra-wealthy billionaires—some 900 strong—who are making significant changes to our lives.
Some call them the one-percent. I find that’s not very descriptive. Since they give enormous amounts of money to influence state and federal legislation, political candidates, elections, judicial appointments, etc.—all to continue their own legacy at the cost of the rest of us, it seems fitting that they have their own name.
I’ll call them the Parasite Class. The dictionary defines a parasite as “a person who lives at the expense of another or others without making any useful contribution, giving nothing in return” and “one who derives sustenance or protection without benefiting the host and usually doing harm.”
These folks don’t need social security, medicare, medicaid, healthcare, good jobs, low drug, food or oil prices, low-cost housing, a clean, safe environment, etc., so they spend milliions trying to eliminate these pesky problems so there’s more money for them.
They love war because they make enormous profits while safely hiding behind their fortresses, while rigging the tax system so they can keep even more for themselves.
And they invest in AI and other technologies that benefit them at the cost of the rest of us.
They’re doing it so well that they really, really deserve their own moniker.
Parasite Class.
It seems to fit.
Bill Hamilton
Eliot, Maine
Bill:
Your logic is impeccable. Strictly speaking, in the abstract, the term fits the subject like a £6,000 Saville Row suit.
Actually using that term, though, in our gross and sweaty world, brings to mind the dehumanizing language used to justify one of the greatest crimes of the 20th century.
Those who were once victims now use similar language against new victims. That ought to be warning enough to us.
The Editor
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Why So Quiet, MAGA?
Dear Editor:
Over the past few months, I have noticed a conspicuous silence from the MAGA folks who often sent letters to the editor praising Mr. Trump and his policies. I wonder why this silence from the MAGA’s?
Could Mr. Trump’s policies, behavior, corruption, and mental decline have something to do with this silence? Inflation in May reached 4.2 percent up from 3.8 percent, the highest level since 2023. The ongoing, ill-advised war of choice with Iran has dragged on for months with no end in sight. Mr. Trump promised it would end very quickly. Fuel oil is up 59 percent, gasoline up 41 percent, airline fares 27 percent, and fruits and vegetables over 6 percent from last year.
Could it be his ongoing efforts to have his DOJ withhold almost half of the Epstein files, even after Congress ordered their full release? Maybe it’s his attempt to get a $1.776 billion slush fund established, to pay off criminals who attacked our Capitol on January 6, 2021? Possibly it was him having his DOJ settle with himself an agreement to prohibit the IRS from ever examining or auditing his taxes or those of his family and businesses? Of course, they also may feel some anguish over Mr. Trump’s efforts to build a huge ballroom onto the White House, install a grotesque fighting cage on the White House grounds, proposing an enormous arch that would impair the views of the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Or, just possibly, they have been concerned about Mr. Trump’s unhinged middle of the night postings on Truth Social?
Considering Mr. Trump’s record, I can fully understand why the MAGA cheerleaders have been so quiet these past few months. Sometimes it is wiser to remain silent than to attempt to defend the indefensible.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
It’s a hard thing to quantify, but there does seem to be a whiff of chagrin in the air. Whatever the reason—all of the above?—we welcome the relative quiet.
The Editor
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“New Hampshire Advantage” – Cui Bono?
To the Editor:
New Hampshire prides itself on the “New Hampshire Advantage,” but an “Advantage” for whom? An advantage for rich people and wealthy corporations, who keep getting their taxes lowered by the N.H. government. According to N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute [NHFPI], the top 1 percent of earners pay only 2.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the middle class and lowest earners pay 6.7 percent and 8.9 percent of their income respectively. We are becoming a haven for rich people.
As tax cuts are repeatedly made, should the needed revenue not be rerouted from somewhere else, the state government would not be able to function. At present, the revenue deficit is being made up by rising property taxes, exacting an undue burden on those who can least afford it. As U.N.H. demographer Kenneth Johnson has pointed out, New Hampshire has one of the oldest populations and one of the lowest birth rates in the United States. No wonder the young people are leaving our state even as the elderly with low incomes are being forced from their homes.
It’s time to ask ourselves, is it worth crushing those who can least afford it to provide the state’s necessary revenue in order to retain the “New Hampshire Advantage” for the few? Call Governor Ayotte at (603) 271-2121 and urge her to veto SB Bill 155, the most recent tax cut for big business.
Lorraine Hansen
Rollinsford, N.H.
Lorraine:
Fifty years ago a certain bullet-headed bully—eventually exposed by his step-daughter as a sex offender—used his newspaper to put a Georgia carpet-bagger into the governor’s office. Together they pumped steroids into the state’s natural tendency towards frugality. Another GOP governor slapped a catchy name on the fetish. We’ve been stuck with it ever since. Is there any way out of this morass? Yes: continue spreading the work of the NHFPI. End our regressive system of taxation, and go progressive.
Yes, we’ll say it: tax the rich.
The Editor
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Beware the Bubble
To the editor;
Two classic bubbles in America’s economic history offer cautionary tales for the current AI spending mania. In the second half of the 19th century, there was an explosion of investment in railroads which were then seen as game-changing technology for the economic development of the West. Just as AI requires large investments in infrastructure, railroads required enormous capital for rails and rolling stock. The amount spent on early railroads as a share of GDP is still considered to be the largest private investment in U.S. history. Just as with AI, a handful of competitors engaged in a struggle to be the first to gain industry advantage. As should have been expected, many of the newly built railroads simply duplicated competitors’ roads and never achieved profitability. The collapse of the Northern Pacific Railroad precipitated the Panic of 1873, and a severe depression called the “Long Depression” which lasted for six years. A similar scenario played out in the ’90s with the dot-com bubble. Speculators invested in miles of fiber-optic cable and newly minted internet companies. Cable lines were overbuilt, and many internet companies never achieved profitability. The collapse of the dot-com bubble in 2000 triggered a recession from 2000-2001.
AI speculation has the characteristics of both these bubbles. The five major developers of AI have spent billions of dollars to build data centers and the computing power required for AI technology. The competition among developers will inevitably result in the duplication of data storage and computing capabilities. The enormous investment in AI capability is occurring when AI applications are not generally profitable, and the development path of the technology is uncertain. AI spending resembles a bubble, but when the bubble will burst and how large the economic fallout is unpredictable.
These bubbles share another commonality. Decisions related to the development and use of innovative technology have been made by a handful of industry leaders and investors. The history of technological change indicates that when it is left in the hands of a small group, the few survivors of the inevitable economic bust reap enormous financial rewards while the interests of the many are neglected. Elites tend to act to enrich themselves and to consolidate their power rather than to promote common good. The benefits of the innovations that created both the Industrial Revolution and the internet age were extracted by industrial and tech capitalists for their own enrichment while workers persisted on subsistence wages in the first case and were replaced by technology in the second. Only when government intervened or the working class developed countervailing power were benefits more widely shared.
The potential of AI to disrupt economic and social relationships is too great to be left in the hands of a small number of oligarchs. We cannot rely on feckless manifestos of tech lords that promise a vision of a beneficent AI that enhances the welfare of all. People deserve better than being helpless pawns of technological change that enriches a few oligarchs. AI must be designed so that its benefits are distributed widely, enhancing human welfare rather than further enriching tech billionaires.
Bernie Sanders has offered legislation that would ensure that the people have a say in AI development and use. He has proposed that 50 percent of the stock of AI developers be owned by the public. This would guarantee that the people would be represented in any decision regarding AI usage. No longer would the welfare of the many be at the mercy of oligarchs who act in their own financial interest. The legislation would ensure that AI profits would be used to benefit the common good. To quote Sanders, “When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth.” Over the past several years, Bernie has been proven to be a prescient proponent of the working class. We should all support his AI legislation.
Robert D. Russell, PhD
Harrisburg, Pa.
Robert:
The best news on this front is that people across the political spectrum seem to share a natural distrust of AI and an abhorrence of data centers.
The Editor
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Big Money’s Good Friend, John Sununu
To the Editor,
Our state is facing a severe housing shortage, and the growing influence of private equity firms buying up manufactured housing communities is only making the crisis worse, driving up costs and shrinking the supply of affordable homes.
While John Sununu cashed in with private equity executives, partnering with them in the private sector and accepting massive donations to his campaign, Congressman Chris Pappas is focused on delivering solutions for working families and standing up to corporate influence in the housing market.
That includes cosponsoring the bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, which would expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to help build more affordable housing and increase access for working families across New Hampshire.
So, while special interest sellouts like John Sununu may talk a big game about solving the housing crisis, Chris Pappas is actually working to address it. In the U.S. Senate, he’ll continue fighting to expand affordable housing and put New Hampshire families first—that’s why I will be voting for him this November.
Mary McCarthy
Hampton N.H.
Mary:
Few things in life have mystified us more than the apparent electoral appeal of this clan. Pity the poor Republican, torn between this charisma-free generic Republican and his opponent, the walking supplement advertisement known as Scott Brown.
The Editor
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He’ll Fail – Let’s Help Him Do That
To the Editor:
The ancient Athenian poet Agathon wrote that “Even God cannot change the past.” President Trump is attempting exactly that—rewriting history—through policy and rhetoric.
Testifying about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Officer Caroline Edwards described a scene of “carnage” where injured officers bled and vomited amid relentless hand-to-hand combat. There were more than 140 injuries to police officers on January 6, and a comprehensive review of police bodycam video revealed “approximately 1,000” assaults on law enforcement on that day.
In one instance, Andrew Taake, who has been pardoned by Trump, pleaded guilty to assaulting police with bear spray and a metal whip. One of the officers he sprayed in the face described the pain as the worst he’d ever experienced—“like living death.”
Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice recently deleted news releases from its website detailing January 6th charges, convictions, and sentences—including those involving violent assaults on law enforcement—with the DOJ calling the records “partisan propaganda.”
George Orwell, author of the dystopian novel 1984, wrote, “If the Leader says of such and such an event, ‘It never happened’—well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five—well, two and two are five.”
Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, argues that democracy cannot exist without history because it depends on citizens who can recognize patterns from the past, accept responsibility for what their nation has done and choose better paths for the future.
Let’s heed the words of Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.” We should refuse to participate in efforts to rewrite January 6th as anything less than a violent assault on democracy and the rule of law.
Terry Hansen
Grafton, Wisc.
Terry:
For the record: Taake was arrested last February on charges that in 2016 he solicited sex from a cop who was pretending to be a 15-year old girl.
The Editor
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SFPD on N.H.’s Independent Media
An open letter:
Currently, trust in national, corporate media has been dropping rapidly. As a result, our organization the Seacoast Friends Preserving Democracy (SFPD) recently organized a panel discussion in Portsmouth that included several representatives of New Hampshire’s independent and non-profit media outlets. As the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa observed, “If journalism, as it is practiced, is lost, democracy is lost as a consequence.” The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that no law should be established that abridges the freedom of the press, underscoring its importance to protecting our democracy.
The panelists included: Jim Schachter of N.H. Public Radio (nhpr.org), Dawn DeAngelis of N.H. PBS (nhpbs.org), Steve Fowle of the New Hampshire Gazette (nhgazette.com), Nancy West of InDepthNH (indepthnh.org) and Dana Wormald of the New Hampshire Bulletin (newhampshirebulletin.com).
During the panel discussion and the Q & A, each panelist described their unique mission and reporting that provide N.H. residents with reliable and insightful information to educate the public about the issues that affect our lives and our state and national institutions. Independent journalism promotes voting and the accurate and reliable information that is valuable for voters.
It is more important than ever for N.H. residents to step forward and support these media outlets financially or by becoming members or subscribers.
For SFPD: Linda Stewart, Brian Wazlaw, Michael Derhammer, and Peter Somssich. Website: seacoastfriends.org, tel. (603) 436-5382, or seacoastdemocracy@gmail.com.
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There Goes Readiness
Dear Editor:
In an April 21, 2026 letter to the Editor I stated, “Another Trump administration anti-vaccine, and anti-public health decision now adds a concern for national security. Secretary of Defense Hegseth recently issued a policy change that no longer requires service members to receive the flu vaccine. Hegseth stated that the flu vaccine mandate was “overly broad and not rational” and said it needlessly crushed individual freedom of expression and religion while denying “simple medical autonomy.” He went on to say, “In other words, our men and women in uniform were forced to choose between their conscience and their country, even when those decisions posed no threat to our military readiness.”
I predicted that this ill-conceived policy change would have serious implications for the health of our military forces and national security. Unfortunately, my prediction has already been proven correct. As a result of this new flu vaccine policy more that 160 Air Force recruits at Lackland AFB, Texas have contracted influenza, and the number of cases is growing. The death of a recruit is being investigated as a possible influenza related death.
This influenza outbreak among military recruits was totally preventable and reflects the danger posed by Mr. Hegseth’s anti-vaccine policy. This outbreak most likely will be the first of others that will result because of this policy. So, when Mr. Hegseth says that deciding not to get vaccinated against influenza poses no threat to our military readiness, he clearly demonstrates that he has no understanding of how quick and devastating an outbreak of influenza can be among military personnel sharing close quarters in barracks, ships, submarines, common dining areas and other confined spaces. Mr. Hegseth should admit that his policy was wrong, and he must rescind it before additional outbreaks occur.
Rich DiPentima, RN, MPH
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
During the Vietnam era trainees were ordered to keep their barracks clean enough to eat from the urinals. Part of that fanaticism was just to build a reflex: follow all orders immediately, no matter how absurd—in fact, the more absurd the order, the more scrupulously it must followed. It was also practical, though. Crammed in like that, contagion spreads rapidly, and there goes your readiness.
The Editor
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Corruption = Less Affordability
To the Editor:
On April 12 the unthinkable happened. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, a seemingly invincible autocrat and role-model for European oligarchs and conservative U.S. politicians was voted out of office.
Hungarian voters flooded the zone with their ballots with 80 percent turnout, and handed the opposition party, TISZA, and their leader Peter Magyar a 70 percent majority of the parliament seats.
Mr. Magyar won his election by highlighting that the reason for Hungary’s affordability crisis was the direct result of corruption by the government and its allies. If voters want to continue this path, Mr. Magyar stated, they should vote for Orban. However, if they want change, they should vote for TISZA.
The complaints of Hungarians resemble those in our country. For them, everyday essentials including food were getting too expensive. Medical care, housing costs, education expenses were getting out of reach for most, while the government was catering to the rich and politically connected, even those living outside of the country. Hungarian voters connected corruption to their own quality of life and voted accordingly.
Here in the U.S., we see daily events that look very much like corruption, self-dealing and conflicts of interest which benefit President Trump and his family. But these self-interested actions also have a direct impact on our lives. Instead of investments in our schools, medical care, day-care, more secure retirement and improving our nation’s infrastructure, money is diverted (usually without approval by Congress) for the personal gain of Trump and his allies.
Here are a few examples:
1) Fake charges against Democratic office-holders, e.g. governors accused of defrauding the federal government,
2) Offering pardons to businessmen and politicians convicted of financial crimes in exchange for donations to President Trump and his family,
3) Dropping investigations of political donors to the President’s campaign, in exchange for business benefits to the Trump family,
4) Pardoning the duly convicted and sentenced Jan.6 criminals, and even offering them compensation, in exchange for political support,
5) Using no-bid contracts to businesses for government work if they support Trump’s family, even when, like the Reflecting Pool, the final cost is far beyond the initial bid,
6) Using presidential power to enrich the Trump family, and
7) Blocking agencies from investigating fraud and criminal behavior, if the party involved is a Trump supporter,
Just like in Hungary, in our country too, once corruption has depleted our treasury’s funds, there is not much left to make life affordable for Americans.
We also hope that American voters will be inspired by some of the Christian values we often hear mentioned but not spelled out. We are thinking of the simple injunctions by Jesus in his well-known Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the merciful. Or, no man can serve two masters, either God or mammon by whom he clearly meant the money changers and the rich (the eye of the needle).
Since we seem to have similar problems, perhaps American voters will be inspired in November by Hungarian voters and by basic good values.
For more in depth info see: “This is the Formula that defeated Orban, It could defeat Trump Too,” by M. Gessen, New York Times, May 29, 2026
Brad Greeley, New Castle N.H., retired Unitarian Universalist minister.
Peter Somssich, Portsmouth N.H., former State Representative and dual citizen of America and Hungary.
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“Off the Rails”
[Subject Line of Sender’s Email]
[No salutation.]
I read your rag every now and then for a mundane laugh. Do you really believe the horsecrap you publish?
I don’t believe you do[.]
Timothy Bowen
[Location unknown]
Timmy:
It’s kind of you to write. Thank you. We have long felt that we do not receive the volume of hate mail that we rightly deserve. Like a true patriot, you have stepped into the breach.
Unfortunately, this is pretty weak tea. “A mundane laugh”? Is that supposed to suggest that the content of our paper fails to engage you? Why, then, go to the trouble of writing?
You say you do not believe that we believe what we publish. You mistake us for one of the legions of well-compensated propagandists who spout the corporate line.
The Editor