It was hard to decide whether to laugh or cray when I saw this Associated Press article. To summarize, New Mexico’s “leadership” (Democrats) are having a hard time with the fact that New Mexico is the #2 producer of oil and gas in the country and that this is a difficult fact for them to come to grips with.

Of course, the REAL story isn’t (or at least shouldn’t be) Democrats’ “discomfort” with New Mexico’s dependence on oil and gas. The story SHOULD be: How is New Mexico so poor and dependent on Medicaid when the State is sitting on $70 billion and oil and gas money keeps rolling in?  

Sadly, the media never hold New Mexico Democrats responsible for their myriad policy failures. Sadly, the “plans” put forth by gubernatorial candidates Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman are weak tea indeed. Their various tax credits rebates will do nothing to move the needle and the same is true for “free” childcare schemes like the one implemented by MLG.

Republican candidates for Gov. include much more aggressive plans and ideas that are apt to actually improve New Mexico’s abysmal outcomes (like eliminating NM’s personal income tax).

New Mexico has a long history of spending taxpayer dollars on failed developments that don’t pan out. Going back nearly 20 years to the Unser Crossing development (originally slated for Unser and Central) was one such plan. Of course, RGF loves economic development. We want to see jobs and businesses locate to our state, but what we don’t like is when government spends our money on projects that don’t pan out or fail to deliver as promised.

In Albuquerque one such project was called Unser Crossing. It was supposed to bring development and amenities as well as jobs to Albuquerque’s West Side. To say the least it has not panned out, but the City spent millions on infrastructure.

RGF’s president recently talked to KOAT 7 about the situation.

Paul talks with Linda Stover, candidate for Bernilillo County Assessor about the importance of the office and how her planned administration of the position would differ from the current Assessor.  Learn about the importance of this office and the issues that have impacted property owners in Bernalillo County in recent years.

Saturday, May 16, marks the start of Expanded Early Voting for New Mexico’s Primary Election happening June 2nd.

This is the first year of New Mexico’s “semi-open” primaries, so if you are registered as an independent/decline to state you can now vote in EITHER the Republican or Democrat primaries.
As you know, the 2026 election cycle is crucial to New Mexico’s economic and business future. We need all New Mexicans to vote in both the primary and general elections. According to the New Mexico Secretary of State site, the overall turnout rate of eligible voters in the 2022 primary and general elections are abysmal:

• primary election turnout: only 25.52%
• general election turnout: only 52.38%

Should cities subsidize various art programs? This is in addition to what we believe is a big waste of money (this is in addition to the 1% for the arts program which requires 1% of city construction and capital improvement bond proceeds to be set aside for purchasing and commissioning public art). 

Here is a list of the funding including funding information from the last few years. Funding includes $15,000 annually for the Lowrider Supershow, $60,000 for Railyards Market, $5,000 for ABQPridefest, and $25,000 for World Refugee Day. Clearly, however, if you look at the hundreds of millions of projects that have been funded in recent years, the annual number is down.

Mayor Keller says the City’s budget situation has forced the City to cut back on some of these spending items. That’s why many of the items have no line item for 2027. What do you think? Are these events worth your taxpayer dollars being spent? Should the City be cutting elsewhere (like Mayor Keller’s highly paid and fast growing staff or taxpayer-funded buses) to name two.

On this week’s Tipping Point conversation New Mexico’s Steve Pearce was confirmed to head up Bureau of Land Management on a 46-45 vote. New Mexico Senators Lujan and Heinrich opposed him.

The Santa Fe New Mexican covers overspending in New Mexico’s “free” childcare program. Paul also highlights his recent Tweet on the program. Also, MLG’s early childcare claims are without evidence as NM’s workforce participation rate has plummeted since November 2025.

Another court rules against Trump’s tariffs w/ RGF signed on as an amicus. Wally and Paul discuss the case and why RGF takes issue with the tariffs.

APS adopts massive budget totaling $36,859 per student. Paul and Wally explore the situation.

MLG/NM courts are attempting an end run around Congress on EV mandates.

NM’s heavily subsidized film industry is failing (according to them, not us).

Talk about burying the lede! The Albuquerque Journal had a puff piece on Sen. Heinrich “pushing back against the rising cost of living.” Of course, he cares not at all about actually making living costs more affordable for New Mexicans, but that’s not what this story is all about. The article includes a woman named Giovanna Urbina, a film worker and member of IATSE (film union) local 480 where she says the following:

She may lose her health insurance by the end of September if she doesn’t secure a new film production job. At one point Urbina said there were between 10 and 15 film productions filming in the state. Now there’s only one.

It’s a huge industry that we’ve seen all but disappear in New Mexico.

In other words, count Hollywood among the biggest Democrat-supported (both Richardson and MLG, not to mention the Legislature) have poured subsidies into Hollywood at taxpayers’ expense.

Under Richardson we (taxpayers) paid Hollywood back for 25% of their expenses in New Mexico.

Due to a cap imposed by then Gov. Susana Martinez, the State’s payouts were limited to $50 million annually which resulted in subsidy “debts” piling up. So, upon here election in 2019, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation to pay off an estimated $225 million to $300 million backlog in film tax rebate debt accumulated under the previous administration.

MLG and the Legislature ALSO increased the film subsidy to up to 40% of filming costs.

Seemingly, as the industry and economy change, even 40% film subsidies aren’t enough to goose demand. The upshot is that YET ANOTHER industry specific scheme undertaken by politicians in New Mexico has failed. Taxpayers have ALSO directly subsidized multiple studios (Santa Fe and Farmington to name two) IN ADDITION to the industry itself. But, to no avail. For the 100th time (at least), cut taxes, reform the GRT, make New Mexico a more attractive place to do business and let the jobs and industry flow into our state.

Back in July of 2025 Santa Fe Film Studios (recipients of more than $10 million from taxpayers) went up for sale. To date we know of no buyers.

How dependent is New Mexico on the federal government compared to other states? Paul talks with Mary Connaughton and Liam Day of the Massachusetts based Pioneer Institute regarding their recently released study “Dependency Index – Federal Money to the States.”

See how the various states compare using the Dependency Index using the study’s interactive web-based data analysis and display tool.

The Albuquerque Journal does a fantastic job in their article on the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) budget in terms of providing context. Among many impacts Rio Grande Foundation has had over the years, helping to transform how the media covers the size of education budgets is one of the big ones.

As the Journal points out:

• APS’ budget shakes out to a cost of about $36,859 per student — (that’s 22% more expensive than the $30,118-a-year tuition at the area’s most expensive private school, Albuquerque Academy).
• APS’ operating scale is so large, its budget surpasses the city of Albuquerque’s projected budget for next fiscal year by 60%, or $880 million.
• More than 20% of the entire New Mexico state budget for next fiscal year will go to APS.
• APS’ enrollment is down 20% from pre-pandemic levels (even as budgets continue to grow). The district had 63,726 students enrolled on the 40th day of this school year, down from 80,109 in 2019.
• The $2.35 billion total budget includes capital outlay funds — next year, APS has allotted almost $729 million for construction and renovation. The district plans to build a new special education facility on Albuquerque’s West Side, which will cost an estimated $15 million funded through bonds.

A few thoughts:

1. The amount of money APS (and New Mexico) spends has grown with no impact on student outcomes;
2. APS spends MORE per-pupil than ANY private school in New Mexico. Obviously results have not kept pace;
3. APS and NM’s Legislature/PED could easily “right-size” the District’s footprint in terms of buildings and employees, but has no incentive to do so;
4. APS’ enrollment is going to go down much further for the foreseeable future. A rational approach MUST be developed in order to at least allocate the District’s considerable resources to worthwhile spending.

According to Albuquerque Journal coverage of a New Mexico Appeals court the State of New Mexico can still plan to requires that electric vehicles comprise 43% of new passenger cars and light-duty trucks delivered to New Mexico for model year 2027, which starts this year. This, despite the fact that Congress (including New Mexico Democrat Gabe Vazquez) repealed California’s ability to set its own “clean air” standards and thus the ability of several “blue” states like New Mexico to follow along with those standards. 

As the Journal article notes there is simply no way (and never was) for New Mexico auto dealers to comply with the 43% EV sales mandate considering that EV’s comprised only 3.23% of vehicles sold in New Mexico in 2025.

Of course, New Mexico adopted its EV mandate via an unelected board with the members appointed by the Gov. Congress is at least elected.

Will New Mexico’s courts eventually back down? Will they attempt to foist EV sales requirements despite federal law to the contrary? Will New Mexico car dealers be pushed to accept and sell EV’s or will they simply ignore the law?

None of these questions have easy answers. We asked Carlos Garcia of Garcia Honda (interviewed in the Journal article) and he didn’t have any thoughts beyond what he expressed in the article.

No kings (or queens) indeed!

A lawsuit by Gov. candidate Duke Rodriguez voids MLG’s “free childcare.” What’s next?

MLG reinstates restaurant inspections by the NM Environment Department after the Department claimed they didn’t have enough money to do them.

Sens. Heinrich & Lujan cosponsor bill to kill federal school choice program.

RGF calls out ABQ turf waste on KOAT 7.

Las Cruces is in a budget deficit. Why? What could be done to improve the financial position of New Mexico cities?

Ebon Solar pulls plug on a proposed Albuquerque solar panel plant.

Developers overhaul Project Jupiter’s energy plan. What does it mean? Will it win support from the environmental groups?

RGF applies for certiorari to the US Supreme Court on a donor privacy case. Will RGF’s case soon be heard by SCOTUS?

Closure of Spirit Airlines highlights overreach by federal regulators.

In the Albuquerque Journal (today, May 6) Gov. Lujan Grisham is quoted as defending her unconstitutionally enacted “free” childcare program in the following ways:

“If we don’t build the workforce in the future and give parents real choices, you will not have a workforce in the future” She also claimed to be “as confident as you could be” that the courts will affirm the program’s legitimacy even though she created it w/o the Legislature back on November 1. While predicting actions of New Mexico’s courts is a challenging proposition the reality is that this case is clearly based on legitimate concerns over the process and the idea that the Gov. can create massive new government programs without legislative approval.

But what about the results of the program since November? We have a few months of data. Has New Mexico seen an influx into the workforce? Far from it. On November 1, 2025 when the program went into effect New Mexico’s workforce participation rate was 58.1. By March 2026 the rate had dropped significantly to 56.8. If this program is supposed to bring more workers (especially women who previously took care of children in the home) into the workforce it would seem that the rate should not plummet upon adoption of the program.

During the Gov.’s rollout AND legislative debate over “free” childcare there was NO evidence provided that the program would do anything to boost workforce participation in New Mexico let alone that this program was the most efficient way to boost New Mexico’s workforce. Low workforce participation IS a real problem in New Mexico, however as can be plainly seen in the chart below. Research for yourself here.

We’d rather see real reform to New Mexico’s tax structure, reform of the GRT and elimination of the income tax, but this Gov. and the Legislature believe New Mexico is JUST ONE MORE government program away from success. Sadly, even this limited workforce participation data seem to show otherwise.

A lawsuit by Gov. candidate Duke Rodriguez voids MLG’s “free childcare.” What’s next?

MLG reinstates restaurant inspections by the NM Environment Department after the Department claimed they didn’t have enough money to do them.

Sens. Heinrich & Lujan cosponsor bill to kill federal school choice program.

RGF calls out ABQ turf waste on KOAT 7.

Las Cruces is in a budget deficit. Why? What could be done to improve the financial position of New Mexico cities?

Ebon Solar pulls plug on a proposed Albuquerque solar panel plant.

Developers overhaul Project Jupiter’s energy plan. What does it mean? Will it win support from the environmental groups?

RGF applies for certiorari to the US Supreme Court on a donor privacy case. Will RGF’s case soon be heard by SCOTUS?

Closure of Spirit Airlines highlights overreach by federal regulators.

Which state gets the most money from the heavily indebted federal government? We know New Mexico is high on the list, but the results truly depend on how the data are compiled. New Mexico has large swaths of federal land, military installations, and national labs, but it also has massive welfare programs (like Medicare and SNAP) not to mention Medicare and Social Security and large numbers of federal bureaucrats of all kinds.

And then you need to figure out whether you want per capita numbers, as a percentage of income, or even as a percentage of personal spending. A new “State Dependency Index” from our friends at the Pioneer Institute (our sister think tank based in Massachusetts) allows you to slice and dice the numbers to get a handle on the numbers.

In terms of the map below, New Mexico is number 1 in intergovernmental transfers (like Medicaid) as a percentage of personal incomes in NM (which are very low by US standards). Click here or on the image below and enjoy.

On Saturday morning Albuquerque Journal readers were greeted with the front page above the fold headline that “Ebon Solar had abandoned plans for $942M Albuquerque facility.”

But, if you followed the Rio Grande Foundation you’d have known back on March 20 that Ebon had given up the ghost at Mesa del Sol as had Maxeon. There are all kinds of reasons for the failure of Gov. Luhan Grisham’s economic development agenda, but a big part of it is that SHE wanted to control it by picking and choosing specific companies rather than adopting tax and regulatory policies to make New Mexico more attractive to investors and businesses.

The GOOD news? Unlike these failed solar plans data centers are real. They are necessary and they don’t need direct subsidies to work (that doesn’t mean they won’t receive subsidies, of course). On the other hand, unlike solar panel factories data centers are NOT supported by radical environmental organizations. Thus, they will stir up far more controversy and opposition.

RGF is supportive of data center development, but we STILL believe that New Mexico needs to adopt free market policies like GRT reform, elimination of the personal income tax, deregulation, education reform, and real anti-crime initiatives in order to be more attractive as a destination for jobs and economic growth.

The Rio Grande Foundation and numerous other organizations in New Mexico have been pushing for Gov. Lujan Grisham to embrace the federal school choice tax credit contained in the “Big Beautiful Bill” which passed Congress and President Trump signed last year.

The U.S. school choice tax credit scholarship is a nonrefundable tax credit, allowing individuals to receive federal tax credits for donations up to $1,700 to authorized scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). It is a dollar-for-dollar nonrefundable tax credit, meaning individuals can lower their federal tax liability by $1 for every $1 donated to accredited SGOs. If a taxpayer donates more than $1,700, they will not receive a tax refund for the amount over $1,700. The total amount of credits the program can offer is not capped.

The bill provides benefits for private, charter, and even traditional public schools. But, that’s not enough for bill sponsor Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and the shocking number (30 in total) of Democrat Senators (including Sens. Heinrich and Lujan of New Mexico) who wish to shut the program down before it even gets started.

There are MANY reasons why this move makes zero sense. For starters, considering that Republicans and President Trump remain in office through the end of this Congress, this bill is all about messaging, not policy. It is going nowhere.

New Mexico ranks dead last in education and has for years, so it is simply unconscionable that congressional “leaders” from New Mexico would be on board with killing one of the few ideas likely to help students in the state.

Naturally, the leading special interest groups in opposition to the federal tax credit are the unions which control much of the education system. Many of these same “education” groups are committed to outright socialism and even communism as signified in their sponsorship of Mayday celebrations. Nationally school choice remains overwhelmingly popular.

On this week’s interview Paul sits down with former Albuquerque mayoral candidate Alex Uballez. Despite major ideological differences Paul was impressed by Uballez’s communication skills and passion as expressed during his campaign for office.

Whatever you think of Uballez’s approach to the issues there’s no question he is a new force to be reckoned with in New Mexico politics. Check out this interesting discussion between two people of differing viewpoints!

The following appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News on April 26, 2026.

After years of overspending the City of Las Cruces, like Albuquerque, faces a budget deficit.  Unlike Albuquerque which has lost people, Las Cruces continues to grow and has seen a 7.08% increase since the 2020 census. That means that the City can and should be able to grow its budget albeit at a reasonable and steady pace with consideration made for rising inflation as well.

Unfortunately, it looks like the City’s spending has overshot the mark dramatically:

• FY24: The city approved a $519 million budget, which at the time was the largest in city history, with a 9.4% increase to the general fund.
• FY25: The city adopted a $596 million budget that added 21 new positions and increased personnel spending by $10.2 million.
• The FY 26 budget was $612.2 million.

In other words, in just the span of three years Las Cruces spending rose by an eye-popping 18%. Budget growth should generally track with the combined rates of inflation and population growth. Our estimate is that those have combined for a rate closer to 7 percent or so over that three-year period, so some budget cuts are in order.

The good news is that tax hikes do not seem to be part of the conversation at this point. That should continue to be the case especially since votes just approved a gross receipts tax in late 2024.

While cities should be more financially responsible, it is also true that Albuquerque and Las Cruces don’t benefit in the same way as the State does from New Mexico’s oil and gas boom.

As we elect a new governor to our State it is worth discussing innovative ways for the State to leverage some of the piles of cash to go along with much-needed reforms to the State’s broken and anti-business gross receipts tax.

In 2023 when bipartisan reform legislation with Gov. Lujan Grisham’s support was killed due to lobbying from cities that would have taken a trivial budget cut from lost GRT revenues in the proposed reform. A governor and legislature that cared more deeply about making needed tax reforms to grow New Mexico economically would prioritize innovative ways to bring these and the rest of New Mexico’s cities on board with needed tax reforms.

In the meantime, the State will continue to massively grow its budgets while compiling a permanent fund valued at more than $70 billion. Cities will face relatively constrained budgets, and the gross receipts tax will hold New Mexico back from real prosperity and economic growth.

This is NOT an argument for the State subsidizing local budgets, but if a compromise could be achieved that resulted in needed reform of the GRT as well as greater budgetary flexibility for cities it sold be a win-win.

Paul Gessing is president of the Rio Grande Foundation, an Albuquerque-based think tank focused on the importance of individual freedom, limited government and economic opportunity.

Thanks to our friends at the Liberty Justice Center the Rio Grande Foundation is appealing for certiorari (an appeal for our case to be heard) against New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. The case is called: Rio Grande Foundation v. Oliver.

The case is based on the proposition that Americans have a constitutional right to support causes they believe in without sacrificing their privacy. Governments cannot suppress civic participation by forcing public exposure of donors to issue-focused nonprofits. This case seeks to vindicate associational privacy and ensure that individuals can advocate for policy positions—across the ideological spectrum—without being placed on a public registry that chills speech and favors entrenched political interests. 

You can find more information at our case at the link above and read our petition by clicking on the information below:

The Court should protect First Amendment rights of free speech and association by making clear: donor-disclosure laws must serve a specific informational interest—NOT act as unlimited tools for the government to obtain donor information from any organization that mentions a… pic.twitter.com/3hn5BnqJmw

— Liberty Justice Center (@LJCenter) April 30, 2026

President Trump again faced an assassination attempt. Paul and Wally discuss. .

MLG unveils State Energy Council. Paul and Wally have thoughts.

NM’s social studies standards are as bad as expected according to a new report.

NM climbs ranking for preschool access, but does it really matter?.

San Jon Schools $40 million new school for less than 120 students. This brings up numerous issues around New Mexico’s declining student populations.

Plans for an automotive kill switch generates debate online. Ben Ray Lujan has been a strong supporter of the “kill switch” technology.

A few years ago the City of Albuquerque spent $235,000 for turf (in Rio Rancho) for the Duke City Gladiators. The team folded and a new arena team by a different name now plays at State owned Tingley Coliseum. What happened to the old turf? Let’s just say it has been “repurposed.” As the City struggles with overspending it is worth highlighting some of the many ways in which wasteful spending has happened.  Check out the story here:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez has (so far) successfully challenged the creation by Gov. MLG of her “free” childcare program. You can read various perspectives on the case here. Here’s our take:

Clearly, the Gov.’s actions to institute “free” childcare BEFORE the Legislature created it (she started the program on November 1, 2025 but the Legislature didn’t pass the bill until 2026). The Rio Grande Foundation has consistently opposed taxpayer-funded childcare and has often questioned the Gov.’s ability to act BEFORE the Legislature to implement the program.

So, there is a worthwhile legal question to be answered here. BUT, the Legislature DID ultimately act during the 2026 session. Of course, the Gov. could use the pre-existing childcare program to pressure legislators to NOT change the program in ways that would impact families already receiving it (such as income limits).

And, of course, the ability for future governors to set up a new government program AND THEN demand the Legislature approve it and provide funding is highly problematic and worth the challenge. This IS absolutely a question that should be resolved by the courts. Kudos to Mr. Rodriguez for demanding answers.

The Gov. is right to be defensive. She is used to a compliant media as well as a Legislature and courts that have typically given her what she’s wanted during her 8 years in office. What will happen? We have no idea. The Legislature DID pass this into law, but in many ways they did so thanks to illegal pressure from the Gov. We’ll be watching!

Inspecting restaurants for safety is pretty close to a core function of government. The Environment Department and other parts of New Mexico government are happy to do things that have nothing to do with core government functions, but inspecting restaurants is apparently just too much to ask. It’s called Washington Monument Syndrome. 

KOAT TV and others are reporting that the New Mexico Environment Department has “temporarily suspended routine inspections of restaurants, public pools, and septic systems due to budget constraints, grounding 35 inspectors and raising concerns about safety.”

That’s because while $1.2 million was requested during this year’s legislative session to maintain staff salaries and the inspection program, the funding was not approved.

The department will receive a 9% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, starting July 1, but according to Environmental Health Director William Schaedla, “That 9% doesn’t keep pace with increasing costs. Vehicular costs have gone up. We’re mandated by the state personnel office to provide revisions to health care coverage for the staff.”

It IS worth noting that restaurants have a self-interest in being clean and careful with regard to how they produce and serve food, but  these inspections are still important and simply indicate that GOVERNMENT doesn’t care enough to fund them. As the New Mexico House GOP noted “The Environment Department has seen a 226% general fund budget increase since FY19. That does not include federal funding. Yet it cannot maintain a basic public safety function like food inspections. That points to misallocation, not scarcity.”

It is hard to disagree with them especially when you further consider that under Gov. MLG spending has grown 81% and the state is sitting on more than $70 billion in its permanent funds. But, the politicians who run New Mexico can’t find the money to inspect restaurants.

Recently RGF argued against various fee increases on restaurants (outside of Bernalillo County) and urged our friends and supporters to contact the Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) in opposition. We stand by that effort and believe that the State has more than enough money to do adequate inspections. If the Legislature and Gov. wish to increase fees, they should do that legislatively.

UPDATE: MLG has issued an order requiring restaurant inspections to resume.