Ed Sandoval Misunderstands His Role in NM Economy

On Sunday there was an interesting article in the Albuquerque Journal explaining that legislators have found $173 million worth of unspent funds that could be re-allocated for other uses. While the opportunity to re-allocate unspent funds that would have otherwise been wasted on a $22.3 million equestrian center would seem like a good thing, Ed Sandoval is skeptical. He is quoted in the article as saying “Capital outlay in essence drives the economy…we’ve got to be careful how we do this.”
Certainly, care is important whenever legislators are dealing with millions of taxpayer dollars, but the idea that the capital outlay process “drives” the economy is truly a joke. The private sector drives the economy and people like Sandoval (politicians) suck off of our productive activity and re-distribute it to others, often with highly unproductive results. Does anyone really believe that they couldn’t spent $22.3 million more effectively than the state has plans to do for this equestrian center?
In the best of times Sandoval’s economic ignorance should be of concern. In today’s economic situation, Sandoval’s ideas are truly dangerous.