Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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For all intents and purposes New Mexico is closed for business until at least May 15. Whether you agree with the way Michelle Lujan Grisham has handled the COVID 19 crisis or if (like me) you think some of her measures have been unnecessary and heavy-handed, the fact is that New Mexico has done better than most other states in terms of preventing the spread of the virus. The governor deserves credit for that. But, every day that goes by the budget and economic state of New...
When the 2018 election results were tallied and it was clear that New Mexico had moved into the “progressive blue state” category, it was destined to be a tough couple of years for fiscal conservatives. The 2019 session was indeed the worst we’ve seen. The just-completed 30-day session was not quite as bad, but again needed economic reforms took a back seat to round 2 of the Legislature’s spending binge. Thanks to the oil boom still going on in the Permian Basin, New Mexico...
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently released her budget to be considered by the Legislature in the upcoming 30-day session. As expected, there is a lot of new spending thanks to the continued growth of oil and gas production in the Permian Basin. After a 12 percent boost in General Fund spending last year, the governor is requesting yet another big increase. This year she’s asking for 8.4 percent. According to news reports, the nearly $7.7 billion spending plan includes a p...
According to the latest estimates from Santa Fe, the state’s general fund budget is expected to be $7.882 billion next fiscal year. When Gov. Martinez left office in 2018 the budget was “only” $6.3 billion. In two short years, New Mexico’s budget will have grown by more than $1.5 billion, a 25 percent increase. With the current group in charge, New Mexico government is going to grow fat on oil and gas revenues while average New Mexicans pay higher taxes due to hikes passed...
House Democrats have revamped and are now pushing House Bill 6, legislation that ostensibly “reforms” New Mexico’s tax code. In reality, the legislation would impose a variety of tax hikes and raise New Mexicans’ overall tax burdens by $120 million a year. The bill would have the positive impact of reducing the State gross receipts tax rate by 0.5 percent, but the legislation includes numerous taxes including but not limited to motor vehicle excise taxes, a 10 cent per gal...
As the 2019 Legislature kicks off and budgets are issued by Governor Lujan-Grisham and the Legislature, New Mexicans should be worried about the future of their state. The $1.1 billion surplus generated by oil revenues is a one-time surplus. Prices have gone down significantly in the oil patch and the revenue picture is uncertain. Unfortunately, at least if their budget proposals are any indicator, the Legislature and governor seem to think, at least that big new government...
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+... Full story
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... Full story
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...
