One Chart Says It All

If there’s an image that should be ingrained in the minds of New Mexico’s governor and legislators, it’s the one above. It depicts the number of individuals on the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as “food stamps.”

Since April 2014, the number of SNAP beneficiaries has risen, every single month.

Every. Single. Month.

Nationally, “American businesses have added 15.5 million jobs since February 2010 … the longest streak of overall job growth on record.” The unemployment rate is down to 4.9 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has soared past 19,000.

But in the Land of Enchantment, the unemployment rate is the highest in the contiguous states, and 26 percent of the population is on food stamps.

In two weeks, legislation for the 2017 legislative session will begin to be prefiled. With no serious alterations in public policies, implemented awfully quickly, New Mexico’s economic, fiscal, and welfare woes are sure to continue.

We are still waiting for the food stamp-induced economic stimulus.