Breaking down the Gov. candidates on economy/education (part 2)

Here is part two of our analysis (find part one here) of the two main gubernatorial candidates’ answers to questions posed by the Albuquerque Journal in their questionnaire: 

10) Do you support or oppose the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would withdraw more money from the state’s permanent school fund to increase funding for early childhood services and K-12 education?

MLG: Yes.

Ronchetti: Given the extraordinary revenues coming to New Mexico, and the now-massive (and still growing) early childhood trust fund, it’s not necessary to raid the permanent fund too.

RGF’s take: A few aspects of this amendment like home visits could have positive impacts, but a bulk of this money will be used in wasteful and unaccountable ways.

11. Do you support requiring the state achieve net-zero emissions by 2050?

MLG: Yes.

Ronchetti: No.

RGF’s take: Net-zero is an astonishingly bad public policy concept. The idea is to make New Mexico’s carbon emissions zero by 2050. If undertaken this would destroy New Mexico’s economy while doing nothing at all for the climate. According to the McKinsey Consulting firm, if enacted on a global basis net-zero would require $9.2 trillion in annual average spending on physical assets. That increase is equivalent to half of global corporate profits and one-quarter of total tax revenue in 2020.

This is a foolhardy effort especially when one considers that China continues to build coal power plants and increase its already world-leading CO2 emissions.

12. Do you believe changes should be made to the emergency powers held by a governor during a pandemic or other time of crisis.

MLG: No.

Ronchetti: Yes.

RGF’s take: More than 900 days after she declared COVID 19 an emergency in March of 2020 New Mexico remains in an emergency. No one is saying that for some period of time (30 days perhaps) that a governor shouldn’t have emergency powers, but we are LONG past any realistic definition of an emergency.

13. Would you support a merit-based evaluation system to determine how the state spends its capital outlay funding?

MLG: No answer.

Ronchetti: Yes.

RGF’s take: New Mexico’s capital outlay process is often ridiculed as taking a “Christmas Tree” approach to handing out money. All manner of groups supporting good government agree that New Mexico’s current system is broken.