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I agree with some points in the previous three comments. But all these comments assume that people who run things or people elected to oversee things are really smart. Yes there is political cronyism. Yes, some politicians are willing to give away the store in order to get votes. But I've known several people in "power" and I've participated in the political process and I've been involved with various civic organizations. What I've seen mostly is an ignorance on the part of the voters. How many of us truly understand how our government functions, including how the many boards and agencies interact and under what laws they are given their powers? And more seriously, how many of our politicians understand this bureaucracy? I'm not very familiar with New Hampshire. But I can compare country life to more urban living. Here in Warwick we have good garbage pick up and snow removal, decent schools, a public pool and skating center, lots of ball fields and parks, recreational programs for children and for adults, good library, good fire protection and good police response the very few times I called. And we are living close to excellent medical facilities. . Just think about this: what would happen to you if you had a heart attack while camping in New Hampshire?? Volunteer ambulance comes and takes you how very far to a really great trauma unit?? We complain if our kids' ride to school takes longer than a half hour. Yet, in Montana the kids wait in sub zero weather before dawn for a ride that can last over an hour. And on the Navaho reservation, kids walk so far to their bus stops that you see kids waiting by the side of the road and NO houses in sight. So, the grass is often no greener on the other side of the fence. We need to understand how government works ourselves so that we can ask our candidates the correct questions. Campaigns should be so much more than a popularity contest. Is it any wonder that our schools , our agencies and boards, are so often run by those who are more talented at portraying themselves as wonderful, funny, sympathetic, and able to get the job done than they are at actually doing the job? We have to start taking some responsibility ourselves. Being angry does not necessarily mean we are informed. Our anger is often used against us by those persuasive pols who promise us they can fix our problems. Our world is very complicated. Our solutions will likewise be complicated. But it starts with electing the HONEST people, not the smoothest talker.