Updated March 28, 2019

REMINDER TO MARK YOUR CALENDAR

APRIL 19, 2019

2019 Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF) and Drinking Water Groundwater Trust Fund Workshop

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Paige Relf

The New Hampshire Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Programs will be hosting a workshop with the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust (DWGT) Fund on April 19, 2019 at the Department of Environmental Services in Concord, NH. The workshop will provide program updates, past borrower experiences, and afternoon sessions geared towards drinking water and wastewater system operators, managers, engineers, decision makers, etc.

A preliminary agenda and registration information is available at: https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/dwgb/capacity/documents/srf-workshop.pdf

Love Money recently reported in 2019 that, "Fresh water only makes up 2.5% of the world's water, with the rest being undrinkable salt water. To add to the problem, 70% of fresh water is actually in the form of ice and permanent snow. It's not just drinking that we need fresh water for, but for washing and to produce food. High demand means we could soon run out.

According to the International Resource Panel, by 2030 half the world's population could be living in areas that don't have enough water to go around."

For over the past decade, private Wells have begun to go dry throughout the state of NH, while once again, the government of NH remains unknowledgeable or incapable to clarify why.  The same as for Breast Cancer and Pediatric Cancer rates now exceeding the rates of an entire nation, throughout the state for the past 5 years.  Finally in 2018, the NH government agreed to attempt once again, to thoroughly research only for the increase in Pediatric Cancer more thoroughly this time until they have clear defining answers.

Also keep in mind while even though New Hampshire has The Highest paid salaries ($258,670)for general practitioners in the country, NH hospitals through no fault of their own other than government, are now rated in 2019 with the 6th lowest mortality rate (12.3%) in the country, and have one of the highest (15.5%) rates of Hospital patients now requiring be to readmitted under 30 days.

"Water Sustainability in NH"

 Previously Already Reported By Citizens Count Editor:

"New Hampshire has a vast network of waterways, with 18 miles of coastline, nearly 1,000 lakes, and 17,000 miles of rivers. But with the population increasing and the integrity of our water system's infrastructure declining, the availability and sustainability of our state's water is at risk.

Aside from needing a potable water source for our daily lives, New Hampshire relies on quality water to sustain agriculture, wildlife, industries, and recreation. A balanced approach to water sustainability should protect the environment and public interest while at the same time managing property values, water fees, and our natural water supply.

Poor infrastructure

An aging system for water distribution means leakage of pipes, disruptions in availability, and potentially unsanitary conditions. According to a 2012 report from the New Hampshire Local Government Center,

many New Hampshire towns and cities have water infrastructure dating to the 1800s.

With the state acquiring new water users every day, and each user requiring upwards of 75 gallons per day, the system is also overloaded.

However, updating water infrastructure is expensive.  When she declared "Drinking Water Week" in May 2013, then-Gov. Maggie Hassan  noted that drinking water and wastewater infrastructure need roughly $3 billion in repairs and upgrades over the next decade.

Historically New Hampshire towns have often had assistance from state and federal government in paying for water infrastructure upgrades.  However, funds from the federal Clean Water Act are long gone, and since the 2008 recession the state government has cut back infrastructure grants. Municipalities still carry a large portion of costs.

Some towns also argue that the federal government should loosen clean water restrictions to lower the cost of water infrastructure upgrades.

In December 2015, New Hampshire was awarded $23 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade sewage plants and drinking water systems. 

It has been clarified that NH government reneges and never follows through because the state was  taking taxpayer's money and government grants that was suppose to go towards a specific need, to only play "tricks" with; that even required "unpredictable surplus revenue" from the state's "unpredictable previous budgets", making any attempt to balance an already continuous "unsustainable government spending;"  year after year, that is now causing "long-term operational obligations to become untenable."  This was simply reckless and dangerous stupidity of  "irresponsible practices", that caused the conditions and suffering in the state today. Who ever said NH isn't a gambling state was now clearly wrong, proven by the state's government itself. 

For decades, past NH governments have knowingly only been (and we do hope past tense) embezzling taxpayers money and government grants illegally by law.  Make no doubt, it is a premeditated crime that is performed methodically, with precautions that conceal the criminal conversion of the property or funds, which only occurs without the knowledge or the consent of the affected person or persons.)  

"Weather and the environment"
Previously Already Reported By Citizens Count Editor:

A 2012 report from Environment New Hampshire found that the frequency of "extreme rain events" in New Hampshire has more than doubled in the past fifty years.  The sea level is also rising, although there is debate over how quickly the level is changing.

New Hampshire's aging water infrastructure is not equipped to deal with the extra water from these environmental changes.  The use of impervious surfaces in construction, notably pavement, has also decreased the natural ability of the land to re-absorb water.  During heavy storms, overflow and run-off leads to water pollution, not to mention flooding.

Municipalities must decide which is less costly: updating storm-water infrastructure, or managing flooding and water pollution after extreme weather.

Water rights

Water is also becoming a globalized commodity. Hampton Water Co. and Pennichuck Water Works in Nashua have each been purchased by international companies, clouding the issue of who actually owns the state's water.

Moreover, because water does not respect political or municipal boundaries, water issues have to be addressed at the watershed level.  A watershed is an area of land that shares a common water course, and often includes multiple towns and cities. Those towns and cities may have independent and even conflicting water interests.

Regardless of the town they live in, private property owners who want to use water face regulations at the local, state, and federal levels regarding the building and use of private water sources. Water becomes a property rights issue in this context.

The Shoreland Protection Act provides an example of the tension between waterfront property owners and environmentalists.  Passed in 2007, the Shoreland Protection Act applied strict rules to the use and development of the land located from the shoreline to 250 feet inland. Permits from the state were required for all construction, excavation and filling.  Supporters argued the Shoreland Protection Act's uniform standards were necessary to protect clean, potable water - and therefore property values - across the state.  Opponents argued that the regulations on paving, tree-trimmings, and even removing poison ivy were far too restrictive, and made shorefront land unappealing to buyers. The Legislature worked with property owners to significantly revise the Shoreland Protection Act (now named the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act) in 2011 and 2013.

The Water Sustainability Commission

The Governor's Water Sustainability Commission was established on April 22, 2011, in order to "identify strategies and management measures for ensuring that the quality and quantity of New Hampshire's water resources in 25 years are as good as or better than they are today."  The Commission published their report in December 2012.

The final report of the commission uncovered the following observations, as reported by the Union Leader:

• New Hampshire's population of roughly 1.3 million is putting a lot of pressure on water resources
• New Hampshire needs to plan for a huge demographic shift. The "silver tsunami" of retiring baby-boomers wants to be near the lakes. This shift will increase human impact and run-off potential.
• The state's water-carrying infrastructure is nearing its expiration date. Most water systems were built in the early 1900s. 

"Repairs are estimated at $2.9 billion."

(Please also remember that in 2019, because of reckless NH government decisions, the state is now still struggling to dig it's way out from almost $900 million dollars in budget cuts from a decade ago because of NH's government taking taxpayer's money along with government grants illegally, to play these "tricks" that even required taking the previous years "unpredictable surplus revenues" from the state's already "unpredictable previous budgets" now from the state's "unpredictable spending", to balance a state's budget.   Therefore, clearly pointing out one fact that there never was or could ever be, a balanced state budget in NH to begin with.

The state was rated the third-worst rated economy among the 50 states and DC and this is why you are, or soon will be, affected or still suffering today. 

MoneyTalksNews reported another new fact in 2019.  NH currently remains with a negative -5.7 percent budget to be able to even maintain the state's financial demands, if and when a moderate recession were to occur in the economy.  

NH's economy might be improving at a snails pace but it still is a far cry remaining anything but, a "Booming" economy.  Let alone anything close to even becoming "nourishing again", as Governor Sanunu likes to claim and wants all to believe.  So Sorry governor, once again, it truly was a nice sell of a dream to come, but in the end there's still no cigars and celebrations to be handed out just yet.)

"Current Water Concerns"
Previously Already Reported By Citizens Count Editor:

"Pease well contamination

The city of Portsmouth is currently working with the Pease Development Authority and the United States Air Force to expedite the process of designing a water treatment system to remove contaminants in three drinking water supplies. Perfluorochemical compounds (PFCs) were discovered in the Smith, Harrison, and Haven wells at Pease International Tradeport (a former Air Force base) in 2014. The Air Force and the Environmental Protection Agency suspect the contaminants came from a firefighting foam once used on the base. People who work at Pease and children attending a day care there presented with elevated levels of contaminants in their blood in tests conducted after the discovery of the well contaminations.

The city and the Pease Development Authority reached an agreement with the Air Force in April 2016 to install a carbon filter system to treat the wells; the Air Force will reimburse the city up to $58,700 for the carbon filter pilot system and $831,000 for the installation and demonstration project. In 2017, the Air Force announced that it had already spent $25 million addressing the contamination but planned to spend an additional $30 million during the year.

PFOA contamination

In March 2016, the chemical PFOA was detected in private wells in several towns in New Hampshire. One source of the chemical has been traced to the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics facility in Merrimack; the state Department of Environmental Services took water samples from within a one-mile radius of the facility and found PFOA of various concentrations.

The EPA subsequently announced a lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion of the chemicals PFOA or PFOS in drinking water; previous provisional levels were 400 parts per trillion for PFOA and 200 parts per trillion for PFOS.

In 2018, Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill that requires the state Department of Environmental Services to reevaluate groundwater standards previously set for PFOA contamination. The law also created a state toxicologist position and requires DES to set standards for toxic chemicals detected at the Coakley landfill and the former Pease Air Force Base."

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund (Trust Fund)

The Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, established under NH RSA 485-F, was suppose to be intended to provide the protection, preservation, and enhancement of the drinking water and groundwater resources of the entire state.  So What happened?  The NH government happened.

"As part of the establishment of the Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund (Trust Fund), the legislature formed the Drinking Water and Groundwater Advisory Commission.  The Commission was (suppose to be so we thought) established to consult with and advise the Department of Environmental Services in the proper administration and management of the Fund.  The Commission consists of nineteen members, including representatives of five State agencies, members of the House of Representatives and Senate, municipal officials, and members of the public."

NH RSA 485-F requires that the Commission meets at least quarterly and provides an annual report to the General Court with information on the progress of the MtBE efforts, expenditures for the year, projects begun or completed during the previous year, the balance of the Trust Fund, and any other information the Commission deems appropriate.

The Commission awards grants, revolving loan funds and matching funds to projects on a competitive basis from the Trust Fund in a manner consistent with RSA 485-F.  All disbursements or grants shall require approval of the Governor and Council.  Funds may be awarded if the project meets one of the following criteria:

• “Emergency remediation is necessary where contamination of drinking water or groundwater is prevalent;
• Planning, design and building of aging infrastructure is involved;
• The project protects against future contamination or impacted drinking water sources through measures including, but not limited to, the expansion of drinking water infrastructure or drinking water source protection;
• The project assists local and regional entities in the development and administration of local wellhead protection programs, including delineation of wellhead protection areas and the inventory and management of activities which have a potential effect on groundwater quality; and
• The project provides funding though cost-sharing grants to municipalities, municipally-owned water utilities and water utilities regulated by the Public Utilities Commission for the design, construction and extension of public water systems, and the establishment and expansion of wellhead protection areas where they provide the most cost effective method for providing safe and clean drinking water.” (RSA 485-F,VII)

The Commission shall take land preservation into consideration and encourage all applicants to provide matching funds beyond the minimum established by the Commission.  Information on grant application forms and deadlines can be found at the following link.

In addition, for the grant program application requirements, the Commission develops criteria for selection, approval processes, and matching requirements for each applicant.  Similarly, the Commission also develops criteria selection, approval processes and funding qualifications for the revolving loan fund application requirements.

Also, RSA 485-F requires that the Commission, at least annually, review the work and projects funded by the Trust Fund during the previous year.  As part of the annual review, the Commission consults with the Department regarding these activities and provides advice and counsel to the Department regarding future work and project priorities.

At least every five years, the Commission prepares and files a report with the General Court evaluating the progress made relative to MtBE contamination, the efficiency of the program and whether the program continues to provide the maximum benefit to New Hampshire citizens.  The report shall provide any recommendations for additional tasks for which the Trust Fund could be used to improve access to safe and clean drinking water." 

“Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." 

                             President Theodore Roosevelt

THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO BE A CHEATER

There are so many reasons today why so many choose to cheat on others.  More than one study has now proven that infidelity can run through families the same as a genetic disease can.  For one example, both President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr., who's bibles are one in the same as the NH government playbook.

More and more studies are revealing that people who have parents or even other relatives who cheated, were sent mixed signals.  Therefore are twice as likely to cheat on their spouse, than those who had parents and/or relatives that had been faithful.  Even taking the saying, "Do as I say, Not as I do", and throwing it directly right out a window.

According to one author, “parental infidelity sends memorable messages to the offsprings about the greater acceptability of infidelity,” messages that are “internalized and used to construct offspring’s belief systems.”  Apparent society has become to accepting of cheaters in this world, chalking it up as just another part of life expected, while in marriage and divorce, and now in education and government too. 

In 2018, NH Governor Sanunu spoke of the errors made by NH's government's "previous" ways of doing things. But only after the fact it became public knowledge.  The state was incapable of paying it's bills and was essentially embezzling by robbing peter to pay paul, and doing it extremely very poorly at that.  

Governor Sanunu's explanation began by clarifying first that, "It has been my paramount duty as Governor to be a prudent manager of taxpayer resources; I have tasked the heads of the Executive Branch Agencies with finding efficiencies, controlling costs, and implementing innovative solutions. The state's preliminary surplus statement is a testament to the strong management by our team."  

He also said, "previous budgets used surplus funds from the preceding biennium to balance the books and to justify unsustainable government spending. Due to these financial tricks, long-term operational obligations became untenable and in 2011, almost $900 million had to be cut from the State Budget. 

He went on to even further explain that, "For Fiscal Year 2018-2019, we decided to leave this irresponsible practice behind, passing a budget that is truly balanced within itself,  Rather than using unpredictable surplus revenue to justify long-term spending, we used those one-time funds for one-time investments in our state, and we saw the benefits in FY 18.  After almost a decade of anemic growth, New Hampshire’s economy is flourishing again."

Sanunu also said, "New Hampshire’s Economy is booming, our Government is increasingly efficient and nimble, and our demographics are becoming younger and more diverse. The strong management reflected (in the report) has resulted in dividends which will be reinvested in areas from education, to housing, to transportation, to critical state facilities and systems. We have an amazing opportunity to use these surplus funds to make strategic one-time investments that ensure that New Hampshire remains the national standard for a small, effective, responsive, government."

However, taking money from others to play "tricks" that also require "unpredictable surplus revenue" from the state's already "unpredictable previous budgets", only in order to balance an already continuous "unsustainable government spending;" that repeatedly causes "long-term operational obligations to become untenable" year after year that only results in no dividends, only surpasses plain stupidity beyond reckless "irresponsible practices."  

 Last time I checked, embezzlement was against the law and is a premeditated crime.  It is performed methodically, with precautions that conceal the criminal conversion of the property or funds, which only occurs without the knowledge or the consent of the affected person or persons.  So who says NH government  truly doesn't like gambling?

Therefore, NH government has to now still support proof that the state is clearly capable of ever becoming of national standards first, before it can ever  "ensure that NH remains the national standard."

The state was rated the third-worst rated economy among the 50 states and DC.  Therefore the reality of a recent study just released in 2019 just confirmed one fact.

Currently reported in 2019, NH has a negative -5.7 percent budget to maintain the state's financial demands if ever a moderate recession were to occur in the economy.  NH's economy might be improving but it is far from "Booming", let alone close to even becoming "nourishing again."  Some analysts have even predicted that the U.S. could be in recession by the middle of next year.  Sorry governor, nice sell but still no cigar. 

Well the governor did at least get one out of 5 correct. NH truly is "small." 

But "Effective?", not even close. The state proved incapable to just properly correctly treat an outbreak of gonorrhea in 2016.  That was after the CDC had already warned the public that the treatment was becoming drug resistant. The state had to immediately report the following year in 2017 their error, and had to contact those who would require treatment again.

"Responsiveness"
For 10 years now, NH also has been living with increasing cancer rates and deaths from both breast cancer and pediatric cancer.  Yet the state still remains unknowledgeable to answer why.  However, in 2018, Governor Sanunu demanded both research and answers, but only for pediatric cancer.  Both breast and pediatric cancer rates, have now surpassed the rates for the entire country in NH.  NH's land mass is only 190 miles long by 50 miles wide. 

"Government"
It was over thirty years ago when it became very apparent the state required a secured medical facility.  But instead, the state decided to kidnap mentally ill patients who willingly admitting themselves into a hospital for proper treatment, only to be kidnapped and placed in cages for 23 hours a day in the men's state penitentiary. Without any round the clock care other than being tazored and/or being overmedicated, even to the point of death.  In 2019, NH still continues without a proper and legal secured medical facility. 

"Can NH Be Both Effective and Responsive?"
The Concord Monitor reported in 2017, that the CDC offered various guidelines for individuals pertaining to alcohol consumption, issuing recommendations for state and local governments. 

They said, "For example, the CDC’s Task Force on Community Preventive Services cited “sufficient evidence of a positive association between outlet density and excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.   New Hampshire doesn’t want to hear it."  According to the Monitor. 

"Seven new liquor and wine stores opened in 2016 and two more were completed by 2018.  One being the largest liquor outlet in New England for a total of 81 NH state outlets now. This doesn’t even include all the markets and restaurants that buy licenses to sell beer and wine." 

Evidence of NH Liquor Consumption
A.  New Hampshire already had an annual average of about 52,000 adults aged 18 or older (4.9% of all adults) in 2014–2015 had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. The annual average percentage in 2014–2015 was not significantly any different from the annual average percentage in 2011–2012.

B.  New Hampshire also already had about 11,000 adolescents aged 12–17 (11.1% of all adolescents) per year in 2013–2014 reported using illicit drugs within the month prior to being surveyed. The percentage did not change significantly from 2010–2011 to 2013–2014.

C.  New Hampshire also already had about 31,000 individuals aged 12–20 (19.5% of all individuals in this age group) per year in 2013–2014 reported binge alcohol use within the month prior to being surveyed. The percentage did not change significantly from 2010– 2011 to even 2013–2014.

D.  New Hampshire also already had about 2 in 3 (66.4%) adolescents aged 12–17 in 2013–2014 perceived no great risk from having five or more drinks once or twice a week—a percentage higher than the national percentage (60.9).  The percentage of adolescents aged 12–17 in New Hampshire who perceived no great risk from having five or more drinks once or twice a week did not change significantly from 2010–2011 to even 2013–2014.

E.  New Hampshire, an annual average of about 82,000 individuals aged 12 or older (7.2% of all individuals in this age group) in 2014–2015 had an alcohol use disorder in the past year. The annual average percentage in 2014–2015 was not significantly any different from the annual average percentage in 2011–2012.  In 2016, that number was increased to 87,000 per year.

New Hampshire government, being the responsible, "small, effective, responsive, government" they so claim to be, came up with one solution. They built the largest state liquor store in New England in 2018.  Then simultaneously lowered the drinking age to 20 years of age, that was signed into law by Governor Sanunu himself the exact same year.  The state's first choice was to immediately lower the drinking age to 18, but for obvious reasons that did not sit right with many.

The Concord Monitor also reported, "One way that the state has sought to ease its conscience is the Alcohol Fund, which was established in 2000 to redirect a small percentage of alcohol profits to education, treatment and recovery programs. The fund was originally supposed to receive 5 percent of the profits, but it has been funded only once at that level. Last year just 1.7 percent, about $3.3 million, went into the fund. That’s $6.6 million for the biennium when it should have been close to $20 million.

We are not teetotalers, and we don’t believe the state should shutter all of its liquor and wine outlets. But we do believe that when New Hampshire can’t bring itself to give up even 5 percent of its record profits each year to address the negative impacts of the product it sponsors, it reveals shortsightedness that approaches malevolence."

New Hampshire wages have also just recently declined 1.2% between August 2017 and August 2018.  Many have truly begun to question exactly what state does the NH government, actually truly living in?

Like the NH government, Infidelity is one of the most distressing things you can experience in a relationship. Everyone knows this, and yet, men and women continue to cheat all the time: A recent poll has now revealed that 68 percent of the American adult population has cheated not just in marriage, but in business and even in crime itself.  This does not account for all the ones who have cheated but never would willing admit to it.  A figure that now science itself cannot fathom or come close to calculating.

But the trillion dollar question that still remains is?  What is driving all these people to choose cheating over simply doing the right thing?  Common knowledge might suggest it’s nothing more than pure carnal desire, but, oftentimes, a cheater and/or an adulterer themselves, who may suffer anything from financial stability to personality deficits, adding now a possible poor childhood environment and upbringing, can and will lead to disaster most times than less.  This is no great shock to anybody by any means.  There are countless factors that will produce cheaters and adulterers that are far from supporting innocence and/or that are excusable when it involves a cheater.

Even if your judge doesn’t consider the cheating or adultery relevant, the possibility of even just being capable to claim financial credit, under a dissipation of assets claim, clearly is most highly to unlikely ever occur in the state of NH.


For one, the NH supreme Court now wrote an illegal mandatory family court rule 1.25a in 201o stating, "The parties may redact all but the last four (4) digits of any account numbers and social security numbers that appear on any statements or documents."  

Not only does this sentence defeat the purpose of evidence and the entire rule to begin with, but it most certainly breaks even more than just one NH state law.  Three government branches and none of them have a clue of what the other is doing, or any knowledge of any laws, or rules of government, let alone the Constitution of the United States or the one written by NH state government themselves.

FACT: Title LXII - CRIMINAL CODE
Chapter 641 - FALSIFICATION IN OFFICIAL MATTERS
Section 641:7 - Tampering With Public Records or Information.                

Universal Citation: NH Rev Stat § 641:7 (2015)

    641:7 Tampering With Public Records or Information. – A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he:
    I. Knowingly makes a false entry in or false alteration of any thing belonging to, received, or kept by the government for information or record, or required by law to be kept for information of the government; or
    II. Presents or uses any thing knowing it to be false, and with a purpose that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records referred to in paragraph I; or
    III. Purposely and unlawfully destroys, conceals, removes or otherwise impairs the verity or availability of any such thing.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.

FACT 48: Title LXII - CRIMINAL CODE
Chapter 638 - FRAUD
Section 638:2 - Fraudulent Handling of Recordable Writings.

Universal Citation: NH Rev Stat § 638:2 (2015)

638:2 Fraudulent Handling of Recordable Writings. – A person is guilty of a class B felony if, with a purpose to deceive or injure anyone, he falsifies, destroys, removes or conceals any will, deed, mortgage, security instrument or other writing for which the law provides public recording.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.

A dissipation of asset claim asks the court to award you money to offset the money your spouse has spent on himself or someone and/or something else. Other than what is known or agreed upon for marital purposes.  In other words, you want to get relief from all the pain and suffering you occur when your spouse embezzles and commits grand theft in your marriage.

according to an article in BESTLIFE, here are what some experts suggest to look out for in a cheater and/or an adulterer

"There’s Sizable Income Disparity

According to an intriguing American Sociological Association study from 2015, people are more likely to cheat when their partners are doing better than they are, financially speaking. “You would think that people would not want to ‘bite the hand that feeds them,’ so to speak, but that is not what my research shows,” said Christin L. Munsch, the study’s lead author and assistant sociology professor at the University of Connecticut, in a press release. “Instead, the findings indicate people like feeling relatively equal in their relationships. People don’t like to feel dependent on another person.”

They Want To Be A Better Partner

A study conducted by Alicia Walker, a sociologist and the author of Secret Life of the Cheating Wife, found that women may cheat on their partners to become—get this—better partners. Study participants who cheated said that getting their rocks off elsewhere made them better partners because they didn’t resent a spouse for not putting effort into their sex life.

They Have a Suspicious Partner

“We can’t go on together, with suspicious minds,” sang Elvis back in 1969. The King had it right—and, if you’ve been cheated on before, it’s especially understandable that it left a mark. But constantly suspecting that your partner is up to no good is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“If you start questioning them about whether or not they are cheating, confronting someone with no proof will make them uncomfortable and put them on the defensive,” spiritual counselor and relationship expert Davida Rappaport told Bustle. “Once you start doing that, your partner may decide to cheat after all, simply because you are treating them as if they were cheating.”

A Big Birthday Is Approaching

A 2014 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that people were more likely to cheat in the years before a new decade (i.e., 29, 39, 49, and so on). It turns out that the likelihood of a man committing adultery increases with age, especially once they hit a point at which they feel like it’s their last opportunity to sleep with other women before they’re officially decrepit.

She’s Playing The Odds

Male attractiveness peaks at 50—if you put any faith in a recent study of online dating behavior, that is. That same study found that, while the average woman’s desirability begins to drop when she is in college. As a result, women are more likely to commit infidelity when they are younger; that’s when they have the most extensive choice of prospective partners.

They’re Lost In The Relationship

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in being in a relationship that you somehow lose your sense of self along the way. When someone feels like they don’t know who they are anymore because cheating can be the way they look to escape.

They Need An Ego Boost

A driver of cheating for both men and women is insecurity about one’s own attractiveness levels. People who have lost their mojo are more likely to cheat because they crave reinforcement, and getting it from just one person isn’t cutting it.

“If the partner gets to a place in the relationship whereby they are unable to fulfill that void any longer, the cheating individual continues to stay in the relationship (because they fear being alone) but gets the validation that is now missing from an extra-marital affair,” Kelly Armatage, a cognitive behavioral therapist, relationship coach, and speaker, told Fox News.

They Have Long Ring Fingers

People who have longer ring fingers than pointer fingers are more inclined to cheat according to a study conducted by the University of Oxford. It’s a consequence of more testosterone exposure in the womb. Interestingly, this is true for both men and women.

Their Friends Cheat

If your friends get divorced, you are more likely to get divorced. If your friends earn more, you’re more likely to earn more. So it should be of little surprise to learn that social networks also affect infidelity. According to M. Gary Newman, psychotherapist, rabbi, and author of The Truth About Cheating, 77 percent of cheating men also have cheating friends.  Now, that doesn’t mean 77 percent of men with cheating friends cheat, of course. But if your partner isn’t bothered by his friend’s cheating, it could be a red flag.

They Look Like A Cheater

On the face of it, this reason doesn’t seem that it would pass scientific muster; don’t ever judge a book by its cover, after all. But research conducted at Brigham Young University found that people were pretty good at “guessing” whether or not someone was a cheater based on their appearance.

Cheating’s Never Been So Easy
Morality aside, finding someone to have a fling with has never been easier. In days of yore, the sheer leg work involved in making it happen kept all but the most committed of adulterers on the straight-and-narrow. These days, you reach in your pocket, open an app, and see who’s around and available.  (Like the 60,000 NH Granite Staters that are already known for their membership on the 2015 "Ashley Madison's Life is Short, Have an Affair" website breach fiasco.)

They Have A Fear Of Commitment

According to psychotherapist Charlotte Howard, some people are “scared of intimacy in a way that allows sexual desire to only be felt outside of a deep partnership, because there is too much closeness with a partner to feel safe merging through sex.” To avoid being vulnerable, they place barriers with the person by never fully committing to them.

They’re Moving On Up

Experts say that while happiness increases with wealth, the correlation peaks once you’re earning $75,000 per year. According to a 2002 study out of the University of Washington, something else happens when you reach this threshold: You’re more likely to cheat. Further, you’re one-and-a-half times more likely to cheat on your partner than if you earn $30,000 or less annually.

She Feels Neglected

“In my experience, most women cheat—or explain or justify their cheating—because their emotional needs were either not being met or were perceived as not being met by their partner,” Marilyn Williams, founder of the MEDIAN Center for Resilience and Brain Training, told the List. “They feel lonely, ignored, not paid attention to, that sort of thing. Most of the time the cheating was not premeditated; they realized how lonely or vulnerable they were once someone else started paying attention to them.”

You Live In A Big City
It’s simple math. The larger the city you live in, the more opportunities you’ll have to cheat. Being an adulterer is much easier in New York City than in, say, McMullen, Alabama (Population 9).

Your Relationship Is Happy and Stable

One of the most surprising things that can lead partners to cheat is happiness and stability. Yes, you read that right. Of course, as with all things, it’s situational—and is rooted in your nascent years.

“We repeat states of instability and chaos if that’s what we grew up with,” psychoanalyst and author Dr. Claudia Luiz  told Bustle. “It’s an unfortunate aspect of brain function that we become familiar with synaptic brain activity that we are used to.” Luiz explains that becoming conscious of your unconscious desire to throw a wrench in the works will ultimately lead to greater depth and intimacy.

Old-School Thinking

For centuries, we’ve been fed the idea that men are biologically programmed to “spread their seed” as widely as possible, whereas women are hardwired to hold onto the prospective father of their children so that he can protect her and her offspring. This theory doesn’t really hold anymore, but some more, ah, chauvinistically-inclined males still inclined to think it—and therefore live it.

Vengeance

Talking to INSIDER, psychotherapy counselor Claire McRitchie said that said infidelity could be used for vengeance. She explained that, in such a scenario, anger is often suppressed and then released in the act of cheating. Why? Because it offers the aggrieved party a feeling of power and control. “The knowledge that the other person is being punished without realizing is for some people a cruel and unusual way of punishing them—sometimes for perceived slights rather than real ones,” she said.

They’re Lonely

McRitchie also flagged loneliness, and a feeling of isolation can make people do some out-of-character things—such as cheat on their partners. “Communication between couples is often only at surface level [and doesn’t] delve too deep into a person’s real psyche,” McRitchie said. “Add a third person to this mix, and suddenly the invisible person feels wanted, important. The person cheating is often trying to jolt themselves alive again in the form of cheating.”