Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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After eight years of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez in office, what is her legacy? She was the first Latina governor in America soon to be followed by Michelle Lujan-Grisham who will be the second Latina to hold that position. By itself, this is an important legacy for Martinez, but what about her policies and their impact on New Mexico? At the Rio Grande Foundation we look at issues from an economic perspective and we make no bones about being fiscally conservative....
Appearing on New Mexicans’ ballots this fall is Constitutional Amendment 2, which would create an ethics commission. To New Mexico’s advocates for “good government,” it’s easy: With an ethics commission in place, corruption will fade, citizen activism will expand, voter turnout will balloon, and “public service” will again be a noble calling. Who could possibly be against that? The first argument against the ethics commission comes from the Office of the Secretary of...
The announcement that New Mexico’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year is now $1.2 billion in surplus is welcome news. After a decade of fiscal and economic challenges, there are signs of life in the Land of Enchantment. Nonetheless, serious public-policy issues persist in our state and the wealth generated by booming oil production in the Permian Basin should not be a license for policymakers to avoid much-needed reforms. In fact, this surplus presents a unique opportunity t...
Despite a $600 million surplus and an unemployment rate that has dropped to an almost-respectable 5.1 percent, New Mexico’s economy is in dire shape. This bearish view of New Mexico’s economy is not held by the Rio Grande Foundation alone. Bond-rating analysts at Moody’s Investors Service recently downgraded New Mexico’s general-obligation debt — the second time they’ve done so in the past 20 months. Moody’s downgrade is significant because the firm and its competitors in the...
New Mexico policymakers and citizens received some good economic news recently. Thanks to the much-maligned process known as fracking, oil production in the Permian Basin in Southeast New Mexico is booming. New Mexico recently became the third-biggest oil producing state in the nation and is now producing more oil than it ever has before. This has all led to a $673 million boost in state revenues. While the revenue picture has brightened significantly for state government,...
The Catholic archbishops of New Mexico have become the leading advocates of increasing the money taken out of the state’s “Permanent Fund” in an effort to create a variety of early childhood programs, including “pre-K.” This has been a controversial issue in the Roundhouse for years, but things really heated up when Catholic Church lobbyist Allen Sanchez accused opponents of the measure of “racism” in the wake of the proposal’s defeat during the 2018 Legislature. It is clear t...
The Food and Drug Administration is hardly a flashy agency. News releases about drug approvals and genetic testing don’t get quite as much fanfare as NASA’s latest mission or the Pentagon’s latest maneuver. But the FDA’s role as a gatekeeper of innovation has increased significantly over the past few decades, with billions of lives sitting on the sidelines. Now, with a rash of decisions awaiting the guidance of agency officials, New Mexicans have a lot to gain with prudent...
With tax reform taken off the agenda by New Mexico’s Democrat legislative leaders, it is clear that the 30-day session will be more about going through the motions and positioning for 2018 than about considering much-needed economic reforms. This is unfortunate because in spite of higher oil prices, New Mexico remains mired in an economic slump. The unemployment rate remains elevated at 6.1 percent (second-highest in the nation) and as Bruce Krasnow reported recently in the N...
It’s back to school time in New Mexico. But throughout the summer three big education-related headlines have framed education policy issues that will impact our school children this year and for years to come. 1) The recently completed court hearing as to whether New Mexico’s education system is “adequate” and whether the courts should attempt to force legislators to spend as much as an extra $600 million on K-12; 2) Sen. Mimi Stewart, a liberal Democrat and union support...
New Mexico’s Higher Education Department recently announced that New Mexico’s Lottery Scholarship will cover an average of “only” 60 percent of qualifying students’ tuition at New Mexico institutions. That’s down from 90 percent coverage this year thanks to long-term declines in lottery revenues, rising tuition and, most notably, the fact that liquor taxes will no longer be diverted to prop up the Scholarship program. These problems were easy to foresee. A few years ago,...
There has been a lot of criticism of Gov. Martinez in the wake of her use of the veto pen in the wake of the 2017 legislative session. Tough economic times are not fun and New Mexico (unlike most other states in the union) remains in the midst of tough times. Democrats in the Legislature recently spoke out saying “enough is enough” referring to budget cuts and there have been increasing calls for the Legislature to override certain vetoes. One can argue the merits or dem...
Recently, U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan-Grisham joined supporters of Obamacare in protesting the possibility that President Donald Trump will repeal or dramatically alter the law. She is not alone. Liberals are hoping to defend Obamacare, despite public-opinion polls, which continue to reflect majority opposition. There are many (and often, conflicting) aspects to Obamacare, but if Lujan-Grisham truly represented the best interests of New Mexico, she'd be working as hard as...
The U.S. Senate, with the support of New Mexico's Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, recently passed legislation called the "Marketplace Fairness Act." The idea is to set up a new taxation regime that would allow states to collect sales taxes on all online sales. The U.S. Supreme Court's Quill decision of the early 1990s established that online merchants must collect all sales taxes due if they have a physical presence in a particular state, but "mom and pop" merchants are not forced to act as tax collectors for the 9,600+...
Generally, the Rio Grande Foundation focuses primarily on state and local policy issues. Nonetheless, given New Mexico's status as one of, if not the, most reliant states on federal spending within its borders, the perilous condition of the federal budget must be of concern to all New Mexicans. Particularly in this political season, the tendency is for the media and politicians to ignore what then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, called, "The biggest threat we have to our national security is our...
Paul Gessing, president of New Mexico's Rio Grande Foundation, a research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico, writes about the perilous condition of the federal budget. Generally, the Rio Grande Foundation focuses primarily on state and local policy issues. Nonetheless, given New Mexico's status as one of, if not the, most reliant states on federal spending within its borders, the perilous condition of the federal budget must be of concern to all New Mexicans. Particularly in this...
