Quotes of the Year

Readers seemed to enjoy 2016’s top ten posts from the Foundation’s research director, so Errors of Enchantment thought another list might be fun. The following is a list of the year’s top ten enlightening and/or maddening and/or revealing quotes about public policy in the Land of Enchantment.

10. “As of our last valuation, PERA was projected to meet our goal of being 100% funded by 2043.”

Just 21 years ‘til solvency — what more could a taxpayer ask for?

9. “[T]he City Council supports the New Mexico State Legislature enacting legislation which requires comprehensive background checks for firearm sales and which strengthens the criminal background system.”

Municipal mission creep rolled on in 2016, with Las Cruces meddling in the gun-control issue.

8. “If I lived up there, I would get my children tested.”

The Environmental “Protection” agency committed its Gold King Mine boo-boo in 2015, but the legacy of the spill lived on in 2016.

7. “In fact, the study shows we’re losing ground.”

The Duke City, a high-tech metropolis? Even retiring Albuquerque Journal columnist Winthrop Quigley wasn’t buying it anymore.

6. “I haven’t seen it but I’ve heard it. I’ve had a rock thrown at me by one at night I think. And it certainly smelled. That’s because they have a very strong odor.”

Taxpayer-funded Bigfoot “research” — kudos to KRQE’s Larry Barker for this one.

5. “I’ve worked on a few films since up in Albuquerque, but those are few and far between.”

Brandon Carter, of Portales, got a gig on the critically acclaimed “Hell or High Water.” But his comment about finding further work doesn’t support the claims of New Mexico’s subsidize-Hollywood crowd.

4. “We’re doing this for 100 jobs and maybe some bragging rights around a name I don’t believe that’s worth it.”

Ben McAdams, the mayor of Salt Lake County, didn’t think much of the corporate-welfare package Utah was putting together for Facebook. Unfortunately, officials in New Mexico thought a sweetheart deal for billionaire Mark Zuckerberg was a terrific idea.

3. “The LFC survey found average wait times for the surveyed counties ranged from three weeks to nearly two months. The survey also found significantly fewer PCPs accepting new Medicaid patients than has been reported by the MCOs. The LFC’s review of Centennial Care MCO reports, combined with results from the LFC survey, lead to concerns that some Medicaid recipients in New Mexico may face barriers when they attempt to access the healthcare system.”

Aside from bankrupting the state, Medicaid offers lousy access to care, as an April report by the Legislative Finance Committee confirmed.

2. “We want to make it clear that the ACA has provided significant benefits to New Mexico. We compel you during your discussions to make sure that New Mexicans have viable options for affordable health care and that our state does not have the burden of taking on the uncompensated care costs for the under and uninsured.”

Governor Susana Martinez and John Franchini, the state’s insurance commissioner, pleading with U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to preserve Obamacare? Well, no. When the story leaked that New Mexico’s chief executive was urging Congress to “use caution in replacing aspects of the Affordable Care Act,” her spokesman corrected the record: “She never saw the letter, doesn’t agree with it, and never would have signed it. Governor Martinez has made it crystal clear that she opposes Obamacare because it hurts small businesses and raises premiums on our families.”

1. “I am a millennial, and I will never ride rapid transit.”

Pretty much says it all about the impending boondoggle that is “Albuquerque Rapid Transit.”

Did we miss any quotes worth noting? Let us know.