Recently it was reported that New Mexico’s Senate Majority Leader and longtime state senator Peter Wirth will not seek reelection (in 2028) and won’t be running for Leader in the 2027 session. Having interacted with Wirth a few times over the years I can say that Wirth is a nice and pleasant man. You certainly can’t say that for all legislators, especially so-called “progressives” that Rio Grande Foundation spars with on a regular basis.

But Wirth has been Majority Leader since 2016. He should be judged not on the basis of bills passed, but on outcomes for New Mexicans. And, as for nearly everyone involved in governing New Mexico, it is impossible to say Wirth has been a successful legislator or that he’s done much to improve conditions in New Mexico. Even amidst an unprecedented oil and gas boom Wirth has championed higher taxes, especially on those “evil” out-of-state corporations. In 2026 he led the charge for SB 151 which “decoupled” New Mexico’s corporate taxes from reforms enacted by Congress. Another tax hike at a time of record revenues and spending by the State.

While Wirth may think he’s bringing needed revenue to New Mexico, the reality is that he’s chasing businesses away from the State. Perhaps no other aspect of Wirth’s track record is more obviously harmful to New Mexico than these policies. New Mexico has zero major corporations headquartered here and PNM, by far the largest publicly-traded company in New Mexico, is desperately trying to find a buyer.

On the flip side, with a long track record of being in positions of power in New Mexico’s Legislature has Wirth ever stood firm AGAINST bad policy (MLG’s COVID regime comes to mind, but so does the gross receipts tax and so does our educational failures, not to mention the medical provider shortage)? Has he ever bucked his party to demand needed reforms? No, he has been a reliable voice in support of the same failed policies that have led New Mexico to 50th in education and poverty despite record oil and gas revenues and the fact that New Mexico is one of the most pleasant and beautiful states in the Union.

Adios Senator Wirth, but his legacy is one of failed policy.

The Albuquerque Journal recently published an interview with local home builder Mackenzie Bishop. The gist of the story is that despite his deep ties to New Mexico and passionate advocacy for our State, Bishop is now considering his options in other states due to the “state’s lack of population growth, heavy taxation, rising home prices and affordability challenges, and bureaucratic hurdles working with local governments.”

He’s not alone. Productive New Mexicans are looking for options in other states and they happen to live in a fast growing part of our country albeit in one of the slowest growing and worst performing states. New Mexico’s problems are easily solvable, but the people and politicians have to actually WANT to solve them.

Before he talked to the Journal he sat down with the Rio Grande Foundation.  Check out this important conversation with Mackenzie Bishop!

If you follow the Rio Grande Foundation’s work at all you may be aware that one of our absolute core efforts involves reforming and reducing the anti-business, regressive gross receipts tax. But, after eight years of Michelle Lujan Grisham’s governorship, we realize that she and the Legislature will take action.

But, with the State having $850 million in unexpected surplus revenues due to the war in Iran, we believe it is time for Gov. Lujan Grisham to call a VERY short special session for the purpose of providing a rebate to New Mexicans on all that extra money that New Mexico has been collecting. Remember, this $850 million is on top of the billions of dollars in annual revenues generated by the industry.

While it is hard to agree on exactly how much the rise in energy prices has cost New Mexicans, Ismael Torres of the Legislative Finance Committee says “the average household pays $750 more every month to cover the extras costs for groceries and gas, with one lawmaker saying it’s especially hurting low-income families.”

The next Gov. won’t take office until January. Regardless of what happens with the situation in Iran, it is high time for New Mexicans to see some relief. If you agree, send a message to the Gov. today asking her to hold a one issue special session to return that $850 million to New Mexicans! GOP candidate for Gov. Gregg Hull should echo this call for a special session to return this $850 million to everyday New Mexicans!

Trump and Iran have agreed to end the Iran War.  Is it real this time? What will it do to oil prices? What are the benefits and drawbacks of cheaper gasoline?

Appeals Court Judge Elaine Lujan rules “free childcare” adopted by MLG on her own without legislative approval is fine. 

The national group Independent Women’s Forum launches an ad campaign on NM schools.

The Social Security retirement fund is projected to become insolvent by 2032. This will trigger an automatic, across-the-board benefit cut of roughly 22% for all retirees unless Congress acts.

Paul and Wally discuss interesting state by state data from Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Space X had an initial public offering and Elon Musk is now said to be a “trillionaire.” What does it mean? Are the lefties correct that this is bad?

RGF is hosting an America 250 event with Timothy Sandefur. 

This post will be a  lot less policy oriented than normal. That’s because as the head of RGF, this week has been VERY busy. It started with a HUGE win at ABQ City Council on Monday night when on a 5-4 vote Council (again) rejected a major tax increase. The vote was 5-4 against raising taxes with conservative Councilors Lewis, Champine, and Grout being joined by progressives Fiebelkorn and Telles to kill the tax hike scheme and NOT put it on the ballot.

Many news reports have covered this victory, but what is truly noteworthy is that for the first time I can remember opponents of the tax increase massively outnumbered supporters. RGF has been working closely with the revitalized Americans for Prosperity chapter (click to find out more or sign up with them). RGF has helped train their volunteers on how to participate in Council meetings and the AFP team has been highly effective at getting them organized to the point that the vast majority of comments at Council were against the tax hike. We cannot be more excited to have such effective grassroots partners and especially wish to call out Bobbi Curtis with AFP for her work in helping to organize activists to defeat the tax hike.

Unfortunately, we were unable to post much information about this huge victory, because the morning AFTER the meeting RGF’s president hit the road for series of events in Roswell, Artesia, Carlsbad, and Clovis over the span of the next few days. It has been a busy (and hot) few days but it is always good to see the great people of SE New Mexico and see where the State’s money comes from (Lea and Eddy Counties). It has been a very busy (and productive) road trip.

Take a close look at the following. It is directly from the 37th page of the 2026 Kids Count report. Notably, Mississippi is said to have finished 50th while New Mexico ranked 49th.

We realize that neither state is likely happy about being at the bottom of this report, but take a look at the rankings among each of the four categories. You’ll find that New Mexico’s numbers are:

47, 50, 41, 50. That’s an average ranking of 47th

For Mississippi which finished 50th overall, their numbers are:

49, 16, 50, 49. That’s an average ranking of 41st

So, would you rather be New Mexico with no “good” scores at all with massive oil and gas revenues, but no idea how to use them to improve outcomes? Or, would you rather be Mississippi which has made great strides in one (arguably the most) significant area of education? Notably, New Mexico got the lowest numerical score possible in education, 1 of a possible 1,000 points. Not to mention the fact that overall Mississippi’s average ranking is far better than New Mexico’s? Now, RGF has no doubt that New Mexico’s weather and oil and gas revenues COULD be used to quickly improve the State in ways that Mississippi could only dream of, but the question is about government policies and childhood poverty, not POTENTIAL which New Mexico has in abundance.

After having initially rejected a proposal could increase the GRT rate by 0.4875%  bringing the total rate up to a little more than 8.113% percent, the City of Albuquerque on Monday, June 15, is expected to vote on that increase AGAIN, but the question will be whether to put it on the ballot. The increase could generate $113 million annually in added revenue for the City, costing local residents more every time they make a purchase.

The hike is unfortunately being once again proposed by Councilor Brook Bassan who seems hellbent on obtaining more money for the swimming pool at North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center which has suffered from an original cost of $17 million,  an estimated current cost of more than $70 million. According to Bassan the City needs an estimated $36 million to finish the project.

We working to push ABQ City Council to oppose this tax increase and we need your help.

• Come to City Council and speak in opposition. You can sign up on Friday afternoon using the link at the bottom of this website. We recommend general public comment, but you are welcome to wait for debate on the bill as well.
• Send a note of opposition to city council here.

It is completely crazy to even ask voters to pass a $113 million tax increase to fund a swimming pool that needs “just” $36 million to be completed. Voters in Albuquerque would ALSO be crazy for embracing this unnecessary tax in November, but they shouldn’t even be asked. This swimming pool project is a disaster. Cost overruns of this size are completely unacceptable and quite frankly should be illegal.

UPDATE: You can help us fight back! RGF president Paul Gessing will be leading a training session for citizen activists with our friends at Americans for Prosperity to push back against this tax hike.

Details below:

 Friday, June 12

 11:00 AM

 3339 Central Ave NE

 Lunch provided

 Free parking on surrounding side streets. Metered parking is available on Central and in the parking garage beneath the AFP building.

Join your fellow concerned citizens and Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and Libre to learn how to:

 Sign up to speak at City Council meetings

 Build effective testimony

 Understand City Council meeting decorum

 Learn the facts about the proposed GRT increase and its impact on Albuquerque families.

 We cannot afford to sit this one out. AFP and Libre will equip, train, and empower you to confidently speak up before City Council decides whether this tax increase moves forward to the ballot.

 The people who support this tax increase will be there. The question is: Will the people who will pay it be there too?

Please RSVP to Bobbi Curtis of AFP at 505-385-5565 if you plan to attend. You can reach her at:

We look forward to seeing you there!

In what can only be described as a “nothingburger,” in the last year of Michelle Lujan Grisham’s time as governor of New Mexico, the annual Annie E. Casey Kids Count report finds New Mexico ranked 49th overall. New Mexico beat out Mississippi this year.

In terms of Economy, New Mexico ranked 47th, Education: 50th, Health 41st, and Family & Community 50th.

This is “more of the same” for New Mexico which has lagged the nation in this (and other) reports for years. It is impossible to see any sustained improvement despite New Mexico having benefited from tens-of-billions in new revenue from oil and gas and numerous new/expanded government programs including universal “free” pre-K, “free” college, massive new K-12 education spending, and a 75% increase in state general fund spending. “Free” childcare is too new and thus wouldn’t be included in this report.

The upshot is that amazingly Gov. Lujan Grisham and the Legislature have squandered tens-of-billions of dollars over her eight years in office in the midst of one of the greatest oil and gas booms in history with little to show for it in terms of better outcomes for New Mexico children. The Rio Grande Foundation has argued that free market tax reductions as well as regulatory and education reforms would have a much greater impact on New Mexicans and their children. Instead, the massive growth of government has failed to improve the lives of New Mexico children.

According to numerous news reports (this one from KRQE 13) in large part due to the war in Iran, New Mexico is experiencing yet another windfall from oil and gas. Estimates are currently that New Mexico has received an estimated $850 million (above and beyond the billions it receives from oil and gas every year). Of course, that money has to come from somewhere and New Mexicans (along with everyone else) are paying more at the pump.  LFC analyst Ismael Torres says the average household pays $750 more every month to cover the extras costs for groceries and gas.

But, don’t expect New Mexico’s “progressive” Legislature to return any of that money to taxpayers. Gov. Lujan Grisham has said nothing about a special session.  Representative Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla) made it clear that her intentions are to spend the money, saying “I hope we hold the purpose of those funds very close to heart and make sure when money comes to our coffers like that, we spend it and spend it well,”

The Rio Grande Foundation has long fought for tax cuts and broader tax reform, but even one-time rebates would be superior to more spending.

Summer is for road trips even when gas prices are high. RGF is heading to Southeastern New Mexico for a series of talks in mid-June. One of those events will be a “Lunch and Learn” with the Artesia Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, June 16. Details can be found below:

We have multiple other events coming up  while we’re in SE New Mexico.

Gov. Lujan Grisham (via her X account) recently celebrated the fact that New Mexico had “risen to 20th in higher education.” Sadly, but as per the usual, the Gov. did not include a source for the information. So, we went and found it: US News & World Report: Best States for Higher Education 2025. You can see the screenshot below and below that the original Tweet from MLG. So, MLG is touting being ranked 20th in higher education, but the SAME report highlights that New Mexico is ranked:

47th overall;

50th in education;

49th in college graduation rate

So yay! Spending lots of oil and gas generated tax dollars on “free” college has helped us move up somewhat in higher education rankings. But, NM isn’t exactly knocking it out of the park overall after 8 years of her being in office.

New Mexico’s kids deserve world-class opportunities — and they’re getting them. In 2019, New Mexico ranked 40th in the nation for higher education. Today we’re 20th — and climbing. We’re proud to be paving the way for New Mexico’s next generation. #NMKids pic.twitter.com/cxIaO6fEzv

— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) June 2, 2026

On this week’s interview Paul sits down with Anastasia Boden.  Boden is Director of Constitutional Scholarship at Pacific Legal Foundation, a non-profit law firm.  Anastasia recently spoke at an RGF luncheon on the US Supreme Court’s upcoming decisions. She recently launched a new podcast called “In Dissent.” Paul and Anastasia discuss some important dissents offered by the Court as well as some of the Court’s most recent decisions and the Court’s relationship with President Trump. Check out this important conversation!

Just a few weeks after the Legislative Finance Committee of New Mexico’s Legislature stated that “More than half-billion in tax breaks generated little economic return for New Mexico,” Bernalillo County Commission is contemplating a $1.2 billion tax abatement (IRB) for a massive solar facility to be built on Albuquerque’s West Side. More details from the Albuquerque Journal here.

There are MANY reasons to oppose this plan. Here are some:

1. 1. The article does not mention it, but it is estimated that a 400MW solar farm would consume between 1,600 and 2,000 acres of land. Considering that the site is near the Interstate (I-40) and Atrisco Vista, it would seem that there are better uses for land so close to Albuquerque. That’s 2.5 to 3.1 square miles. In familiar terms, this is equal to about 1,200 to 1,500 American football fields, or slightly larger than the size of Central Park in New York City;
   2. The project will create just six full-time jobs — four operators and two electricians. So, this is a lot of money and land for a project with nearly no economic impact;
   3. The article states that PNM is the likely purchaser of the power. PNM is legally mandated under the Energy Transition Act to fulfill MLG’s “transition” to 100% renewables. Why are we shifting the burden of this to New Mexico taxpayers?

You can reach out to the Bernalillo County Commission here: commission@bernco.gov

Albuquerque City Council votes to raise the City’s minimum wage albeit over three years to $15 an hour instead of right away. Paul and Wally also critique a video put out by Mayor Keller on the issue.

Paul and Wally handicap the Republican and Democrat primaries for governor.

In a bizarre comment MLG tells a group at a public speech that “Democrats don’t need men’s votes”

ABQ claims the “guaranteed basic income” is a success. What’s the real story?

NM’s Supreme Court recently ruled that APS had to disclose a big payout to a former superintendent.

What’s the federal SPEED Act & why would it be a win for both left and right?

Paul was recently on another podcast discussing data centers.

New Mexico’s teacher unions are 20th-strongest among US states. Why? What does this mean?

This week’s episode had to be split into two parts for technical reasons.

The Rio Grande Foundation pushed back last night against a hike in the minimum wage, but with 5 councilors going into the meeting broadly supportive of raising Albuquerque’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, it is hardly a surprise that something passed. Here are the details:

• Rather than going into effect starting in 2027 the $15 an hour wage will be phased in over three years starting in 2027. Not great, but better than the alternative.
• After 2030 the minimum wage will be tied to the Consumer Price Index (not the hybrid rate including rental prices).

This couldn’t be considered a win, but it is not as bad of a loss as it could have been. But, the die was cast in the last mayoral election. Reelecting Mayor Keller (who pushed the minimum wage hike) and the replacement of a conservative Democrat Louie Sanchez with a far-left Democrat Stephanie Tellez was enough to set the stage for a lot of bad policy.

Now, it looks like Councilor Brook Bassan is going to reintroduce a regressive gross receipts tax at Council. If passed, the proposal could increase the GRT rate by 0.4875% putting the rate above 8% costing taxpayers $113 million annually. The big change to this proposal is that unlike the last version, voters will have to sign off on this one. That means it requires only five votes to pass the council, instead of seven. The current total tax rate in Albuquerque is 7.625% in the City meaning the tax hike would take the City to 8.113 percent. Neighboring Rio Rancho which also has substantially lower property taxes has a 7.4375% GRT.

Bassan’s primary impetus seems to be to fund the vastly overbudget North Domingo Baca swimming pool (located in Bassan’s district), the cost of which has risen from $17 million to over $70 million. 

To her credit Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, who introduced several amendments to the original proposal before it was ultimately voted down, told KRQE News 13 on Monday, “If it’s still using increased regressive taxes to pay for vanity projects, I’ll oppose.”

The New Mexico Chamber of Commerce recently produced a report that makes an important contribution to the State’s economic development conversation. While RGF and the various chambers of commerce aren’t  always on the same page and this report is obviously not the kind of report RGF would come up with, the primary findings about what ails New Mexico are in lockstep with us. Before getting to that, what we mean is that the Chamber focuses heavily on attracting specific industries to New Mexico. Those are:

Quantum and Advanced Computing,
Intelligent Manufacturing,
Advanced Energy, and
Space, Aerospace, and Defense.

These are fine industries, but as we have seen with Spaceport America, it isn’t easy to predict “the next big thing.”

The report’s critical findings start on page 63. Again, you can download it here. The section is entitled: FACTORS IMPACTING NEW MEXICO’S COMPETITIVENESS. While there are some positives, the negatives include things that RGF has worked on extensively:

Lagging Workforce Participation and Population Growth: At 57.7 percent, New Mexico’s labor force participation rate is in the bottom 10 among all states. Compounding this, its
population has grown by only 0.5 percent since 2020, far behind the national rate of 2.6 percent, limiting the available talent pool.

Deficient K-12 Educational Outcomes: U.S. News & World Report ranked New Mexico last among all states for PreK-12 education. This is driven by low college readiness, poor math
and reading scores, and a high school graduation rate of 78.05 percent—nearly nine percentage points below the U.S. average.

High Crime Rates: Public safety remains a major concern. The state had the second highest rate of violent crime and the highest rate of property crime in the nation,
impacting both quality of life and the ability to attract talent.

Challenging Business and Regulatory Climate: The state ranks 44th overall in CNBC’s “Top States for Business,” with a particularly low rank for Access to Capital (46th).
Stakeholders consistently cite uncertain regulatory processes and a sales tax structure that resembles a gross receipts tax as significant impediments.

Infrastructure Deficits: New Mexico ranks 42nd overall for infrastructure, according to U.S. News. Challenges include limited broadband access, worsening housing affordability,
and a road infrastructure system ranked 48th in the nation.

There’s a lot to the report. It is a worthwhile read for policymakers or anyone who cares about turning around our beautiful but troubled state.

After a year of handing $750 monthly checks to low income and other struggling residents of Albuquerque, the Journal reports that ” young adults and teenagers have reported more savings in the bank and food in the pantry.”

This may be the least surprising finding in the history of economics, but it is utterly meaningless as public policy. You see, for a year Albuquerque has been handing $750 checks out to families and struggling teens. The money is from taxes collected on sales of marijuana and totals about $1 million annually.

The problem is that while a “free” $9,000 a year is beneficial to those who receive it, the idea of a “Universal Basic Income” is to replace government welfare programs with cash payments. It is something that many free market advocates have supported over the years. But, that’s obviously NOT what is happening here.

This program wouldn’t exist if marijuana hadn’t been legalized and taxed (suddenly creating a new pot of money). In fact, we’d go so far to agree that handing cash out to people is BETTER public policy than 90% of what government does with its welfare programs.

Finally, and most critically, the “pot” of money from legalized weed is relatively small. Are politicians going to impose new economically-harmful taxes to then hand out the money or are they going to reduce other government benefits and redirect it to cash payments (the better option).

We discussed the prospects for this program here over a year ago as the program got started. Also, there is no detail provided about the teen recipients staying in school as opposed to dropping out which was originally touted.

In his push for a shift in the local minimum wage from $12 to $15 an hour (and index the wage to inflation and apartment values) Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller made a video. Not surprisingly, it relies on numerous economic fallacies and misguided economics. Here’s our response to the Mayor:

1. The Mayor claims that raising the minimum wage “much.” The reality is that businesses don’t simply deal with minimum wage increases by raising prices. In California which imposed a $20 minimum wage on the fast food industry prices increased by 8-12%. Instead, they do a combination of things as was discussed in a recent UC Santa Cruz report businesses raised prices, reduced hiring (between 12 and 21% according to the California report), and automated. Not surprisingly businesses attempted to minimize the negative impact of an artificial minimum wage hike in a variety of ways.
2. Raising the minimum wage provides more stability and spending money: If raising the minimum wage had no negative impact why stop at $15 an hour? If it’s all “gravy” why not go with a $25 an hour wage?
3. Keller claims that “he doesn’t think politicians should set minimum wages.” We agree with that, but find it weird because Keller is actually the one pushing this issue at City Council.

You can watch Keller’s video below:

Albuquerque, you’ve been sharing your questions about our minimum wage proposal. Here’s what you need to know. pic.twitter.com/jMlVYHm4nr

— Mayor Tim Keller (@MayorKeller) May 31, 2026

On this week’s interview Paul sits down with Reeve Bull of the newly formed Fulcrum Institute. Bull worked for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on regulatory issues and has started Fulcrum Institute to spread some of those successful ideas elsewhere. Paul and Reeve discuss how New Mexico could achieve similar regulatory reforms right here in “Blue” New Mexico.

In the latest episode of the Powering America Podcast, Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, discusses data centers and energy policy in New Mexico. Gessing highlights the state’s potential for data center development due to its natural resources and stable environment, while also addressing the challenges posed by political opposition and environmental concerns. The conversation touches on the impact of energy policies, including the Energy Transition Act, and the role of water resources in supporting data center operations.

Data centers are a hot topic all over America. New Mexico (a blue state) has some unique political forces currently driving the debate. Check out this important conversation here. 

According to a new report from the Fordham Institute (an education reform non-profit), New Mexico’s teachers unions are the 20th strongest in the nation. Not surprisingly, union strength is concentrated in “blue” predominantly northeastern states. Check out the chart below for details.

If you look at the report variables at the link above, New Mexico’s teachers unions score highest (#2) in perceived strength and (#10) in policy wins and losses. New Mexico overall ranks far more friendly to the unions than any state around us which is no surprise. It is of course worth the reminder that New Mexico also has the worst performing schools overall.

Check out the map below or graphic below that:

The Rio Grande Foundation intends to file a formal ethics complaint with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission regarding Representative Micaela Lara Cadena following the conclusion of the upcoming election.

RGF has made the decision to wait until after Election Day to formally submit the complaint out of respect for the electoral process and to avoid any perception that the filing is intended to influence voters. At the same time, RGF believes the public deserves transparency regarding the concerns identified through publicly available campaign finance disclosures.

After reviewing Representative Cadena’s campaign finance filings, RGF believes there is a clear pattern of campaign expenditures that fall outside the uses permitted under New Mexico campaign finance law. The expenditures identified in the complaint total tens of thousands of dollars over an extended period of time.

The complaint details recurring payments for office rent, utilities, internet services, office-related expenses, and equipment purchases, including expenditures that continued well after the 2024 election had concluded and during periods in which Representative Cadena faced no active electoral opposition.

The complaint also outlines expenditures tied to food purchases connected to protest activity and political advocacy efforts unrelated to an active campaign. Additionally, the complaint questions the use of campaign funds for travel expenses that were later reimbursed by the State of New Mexico.

RGF believes these expenditures raise serious ethical and legal concerns under New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act, which places strict limitations on the use of campaign funds and prohibits expenditures that would exist regardless of whether someone is actively campaigning for office.

The complaint requests that the New Mexico State Ethics Commission formally review the expenditures identified in the filings, determine whether violations of the Campaign Reporting Act occurred, require repayment of improperly used funds if appropriate, and impose any penalties authorized under law.

Importantly, the complaint has not yet been reviewed by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission, and no findings or determinations have been made. The purpose of the forthcoming filing is to ensure the matter is reviewed through the proper legal and administrative process.

RGF believes ethical standards and public transparency matter regardless of political affiliation. Public officials entrusted with campaign contributions and public trust should be held to consistent standards under the law.

You can find the official complaint here.

Publicly available campaign finance filings referenced in the complaint can be viewed here.
Click here for a link to the New Mexico SoS profile for Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (select “Filings” tab)