President Trump recently made news with a proposal to limit interest rates charged by credit card companies to 10%. This is similar to recent Congressional legislation from both parties. If enacted whether via independent executive action (likely unconstitutional) or via Congress these policies would have the same, negative impact on New Mexicans.

It’s not as if President Trump or a few members of Congress who have been pushing credit card interest rate limits are the first people to come up with the idea of government limiting interest rates. We know from years of accumulated observations of credit markets that when interest rate price caps are imposed, consumers lose access to high‐quality credit through the regulated financial system. For example:

• After a rate cap was imposed in Illinois, credit access for unsecured installment loans fell and the financial well-being of higher-risk borrowers worsened.
• A similar rate cap in Oregon was responsible for harming, not helping, consumers on average, and caused deterioration in the overall financial condition of Oregon households.
• In the United Kingdom, a rate cap on high-cost, short-term loans caused many families to lose access to loans, with those affected likely to be young, unemployed, and poor.
• And in Chile, a rate cap resulted in more than 80% of consumers being made worse off, including 200,000 families that were cut out of the credit market entirely, with young, poor, and less-educated families bearing the brunt of the burden.

These kinds of unnecessary and anti-market regulations will ultimately make life harder for tens of thousands of New Mexico families. Whether the effort is undertaken by the White House or Congress it must be rejected.

Good news, Deb Haaland’s campaign (she’s the frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Gov.) has put some actual public policy ideas out on her website. While we’ve done writeups on the other Democrats running (search for Bregman and Miyagishima) in the search box this is the first we’ve seen from the Haaland campaign. The Albuquerque Journal provided a writeup of Haaland’s education plans so we’ll concentrate on them here.

First and foremost, the fact that Haaland received the endorsement of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation should be a strike (arguably a disqualifying strike) against Haaland. The unions have played a uniquely harmful role in education policy. Anyone that supports their interests does so at the expense of our children. With that in mind, let’s consider Haaland’s policy plans:

• Teach kids to read earlier by detecting literacy problems sooner, bolstering universal childcare, boosting reading and bilingual instruction, and expanding summer reading programs and after-school programming: Our take: There are very few specifics with regard to effective learning outcomes. Her plan is to spend more money without changing anything of significance. 
• Expand career pathways starting in middle school through high school and provide hands-on career experience: Our take: this is fine, but NM already has a lot of career pathways. Also, nothing here is truly focused on improving outcomes.
• Create an Every Child Outdoor Initiative that incorporates outdoor learning into K-12 curriculums: Our take: There’s nothing wrong with outdoor learning, but will it improve student outcomes?
• Expand statewide Community School Models that provide wrap-around services like counseling, school based health care, dental, family support, and community engagement: Our take: Further turning schools into welfare providers does nothing to improve student outcomes, duplicates existing programs, and diverts attention from student outcomes.
• Direct uncommitted funds from the Public School Capital Outlay Fund to improve schools:  Our take: With plummeting student numbers APS and other districts should rightsize the number of facilities and use the savings to update and improve buildings.
• Expand the Opportunity Scholarship to provide free tuition for New Mexicans, including for graduate education: Our take: There’s no data on the impact of the Opportunity Scholarship which has cost taxpayers $1 billion. Shouldn’t we have better data on the existing program before we expand it? 
• Offer more opportunities for students to earn college credit in high school. Our take: This is fine, but hardly a game-changer.

Summary: Haaland’s policy prescriptions are both “big government/big spending” and more of the same. If New Mexico were a low-spending state on education with even mediocre results these ideas might be worthwhile. But we’re not. New Mexico is dead-last in K-12 outcomes and middle-of-the-pack in spending. No wonder the unions like her plan which amounts to weak tea.

This afternoon in a hearing, the Albuquerque Board of Ethics (BOE) unanimously dismissed a complaint filed by Daymon Ely for the Tim Keller campaign that was made against Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing. The complaint arose out of the Foundation’s reporting over the purchase and delivery of yellow hoodie sweatshirts to members of Albuquerque’s homeless population emblazoned with “I ♥ Tim Keller”  in the weeks before the runoff election, which ultimately saw Tim Keller win a third term as Mayor.

Gessing stated repeatedly that he had nothing to do with the sweatshirts besides having information on who procured them and his own reporting at ErrorsofEnchantment.com, the Foundation’s blog site.

Said Gessing in response, “We are pleased that the Ethics Board did the right thing in dismissing this complaint. The Rio Grande Foundation is many things, a think tank, an advocate for sound policy, and we also report on the news through our websites and podcast. The idea that the Keller campaign could coerce me or anyone else into disclosing information on a source simply because we reported on it is counter to the First Amendment.

“While the Board may attempt to come up with a way to close this so-called ‘loophole’ in the future, we believe that this case highlights numerous ways in which the Board flies in the face of the First Amendment.”

Gessing’s attorney, A. Blair Dunn said, “While I’m glad to see some wisdom from the BOE, I am disappointed that we may not get the opportunity to explain the importance of the First Amendment going forward for BOE in court.”

On this week’s Tipping Point conversation:

Recently the Legislature put out their own budget. It is better than MLG’s. Prominent areas of disagreement include not funding universal free childcare, more $$ for roads, and a lower overall budget number.

More detail on plans for free child care scandal in MN (a Biden rule change allowed reimbursement based on “enrollment” as opposed to actual attendance):

MLG and the Legislature are spending $30 million on a “literacy center” under construction in ABQ

New Mexico was named the worst state in the nation to raise a family by Wallethub.

Rail Runner ridership remains at its depressed “new normal” level while emitting more CO2 than cars being driven to Santa Fe.

Sen. Jeff Steinborn has introduced an anti-data center bill.

A recent report from Wallethub labeled New Mexico the very worst state in the nation as a place to raise a family. We believe this to be a reasonably accurate report although we always like to explore the variables used in producing the study before passing judgement. What is the REAL issue here and what can be done to raise New Mexico out of last place?

1. Poverty drives the numbers: when it comes to quality of life poverty is hard to overcome. Poverty is the reason we’re at the bottom of the annual Kids Count report and it’s why we’re at the bottom of this one. It negatively impacts EVERY aspect of a state.  Economic freedom is the clearest way out of poverty, but New Mexico politicians (and voters) have not expressed an interest in improving economic freedom in their state.
2. When it comes to children having a strong education system is a must. New Mexico has the worst education system in the entire nation. Until that changes we won’t improve much.
3. New Mexico is in the midst of a profound medical provider shortage. This impacts ALL residents of the state including young people. There is talk of making some significant changes to medical malpractice law in the state, but those need to be made right away and the changes need to be profound.

What is the upshot of New Mexico being a poor climate for young people? New Mexico is seeing a dearth of young people (2nd worst to Illinois) which sets it up for profound challenges. In addition to a lack of babies being born here people are moving out of state.

While MLG and the Legislature have continued their “cradle to career” approach to expand government programs with the hope of improving outcomes the reality is that New Mexico’s big-government mindset hasn’t moved the needle in the same way that getting a diploma and a steady job would do. That’s not RGF from, that’s the Legislative Finance Committee. 

Check out the full Wallethub report here.

The following appeared in Albuquerque Journal on January 11, 2026.

The Albuquerque Journal recently made appeals on its pages for donations to increase investigative journalism efforts. Even though the Rio Grande Foundation is in direct competition for limited donor dollars, we applaud the paper for focusing attention on investigative journalism currently.

The issue of investigative journalism is hot right now. Revelations of fraud in Somali daycare centers by independent journalist Nick Shirley and the response by many media outlets like CNN (which seems to be to investigate Shirley, not the fraud) only further highlights the corporate media’s unwillingness to investigate and report on the important issues facing citizens.

Before elaborating, it is worth noting that we deeply appreciate the Albuquerque Journal. It is family owned right here in New Mexico. They do a great job of giving a wide variety of people a platform on their editorial pages. But we have also frequently called out the media and others for not digging into critical issues facing our State.

To assist the Journal, the following is a top 10 list of issues we believe require further reporting by major media outlets in the year ahead:

1. Given what is happening in Minnesota regarding fraud in child care, what protections will New Mexicans have against similar fraud in our new “free” program?

2. Reports, including one by The Economist, have found that “free” child programs like the one being implemented in New Mexico harm children. What makes New Mexico’s program different?

3. With New Mexico general fund spending up 80% largely thanks to oil and gas growth since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham took office, why haven’t New Mexico’s economic and social indicators improved?

4. Why do our neighboring states including Arizona, Colorado and Texas consistently outperform New Mexico on a variety of economic and social indicators with lower government spending per capita and absent an oil and gas boom?

5. According to the Legislative Finance Committee, “New Mexico’s film incentives are less effective at attracting private investment, cost more per job, and have a lower return on investment than other incentive programs.” With the film industry in a nationwide recession why do New Mexico politicians continue to spend money on film subsidies?

6. Why is New Mexico’s workforce participation rate so low and what can be done to increase it?

7. According to the LFC, increased labor force participation correlates with economic growth, crime reduction and increased average per capita earned income. Why isn’t New Mexico focusing on increasing workforce participation rates?

8. Why was New Mexico’s COVID regime so ineffective despite being so restrictive? What information did the governor and her team use to make their decisions during the pandemic? Was the education of our children a consideration in the lockdowns?

9. New Mexico is dead last in K-12 education according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress test despite New Mexico spending more than other states and having taxpayer-funded pre-K. Do we have solid evidence that pre-K is working? Is New Mexico fully embracing the successful Mississippi Model? What other actions should New Mexico undertake to achieve educational success?

10. Is there any evidence that “free” college will improve New Mexico’s economy or help us achieve better social outcomes?

Editor in Chief Jay Newton-Small is certainly correct that “one of the fundamental strengths of American democracy is a free press.” There will certainly be more and less important stories to cover in the New Year and beyond, but we believe that examining that our state government is very large and well-funded, but ineffective while the population of our state remains among the poorest in the nation is central to understanding nearly every other issue we face.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility.

The Rio Grande Foundation sat down recently with KOAT Channel 7 to discuss Mayor Keller’s new police chief and the City’s plan to spend $100,000 on a national search. With the departure of Harold Medina the city has promoted Cecily Barker to the role of “interim” chief. 

We don’t take issue with her elevation and hope she does a fantastic job. Simply put, if she is going to be made the “permanent” chief should we really spend $100,000 on a national search? Certainly, the Mayor should consider other candidate especially if there is any doubt whatsoever about Barker’s readiness for the job, but we have a feeling (as do many others) that the Mayor will pick Barker for the job.

The Santa Fe New Mexican has an interesting article about MLG’s plans for “free” childcare and the Trump Administration’s attempt to root out fraud in the system:

One fascinating nugget from the story is that among the federal changes in response to the Minnesota scandal is a change in the way childcare centers are paid:

We commented on the Gov.’s proposed $11.3 billion budget last week. It’s no surprise that we don’t like it. But, in advance of every New Mexico legislative session there are TWO budgets put forth. The second budget comes from the Legislature, specifically the Legislative Finance Committee. You can read the full budget at the link, but here is the report on it from the Albuquerque Journal.

Here are three reasons the LFC budget is superior to the Gov.’s:

1. No funding for MLG’s expansion of childcare to include those making above 400% of the federal poverty level;
2. A much more reasonable increase in year-over-year state spending by about $268 million, or roughly 2.5%. In contrast, the governor’s budget recommendation calls for spending to increase by about $503 million, or roughly 4.6%, over current levels.
3. The legislative spending plan would authorize $155 million in one-time road maintenance funding. MLG’s budget only proposes $100 million for statewide road construction/repairs.

To be clear, this is NOT the budget the Rio Grande Foundation would put forth if we had the chance. New Mexico could eliminate most of the 80% spending increase of the past 7 years and be very comfortable with the size of government. Much of that money could and should be returned to taxpayers. BUT, we’re not in charge in Santa Fe. So, we’ll highlight that the LFC budget is significantly better than the Gov.’s.  The Legislature’s budget can be found here:

On this week’s Tipping Point interview Paul sits down with Republican Commissioner of Public Lands candidate Michael Perry. You can find out more about Michael and his candidacy here.

Paul asks Michael about his background in land management and what qualifies him for the position, the role of the Land Commissioner and how he would handle that responsibility, and what the current occupant of the office has gotten wrong (and right). Land Commissioner is one of the most powerful and important offices in New Mexico. You definitely want to hear this important conversation!

It’s true, New Mexico performs poorly when it comes to literacy. For two cycles in a row New Mexico’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores have been the very worst in the nation across both reading and math categories. While never a high performing state MLG’s COVID lockdowns had a devastating impact on student outcomes in New Mexico.

So, you’d think that policymakers in New Mexico would have at least a game plan for improving student outcomes, right? Not really.

Certainly, school choice is off the table with unions in control of education policy. A full-throated embrace of the successful Mississippi model for early childhood reading would be worth trying, but it’s not. What IS New Mexico doing to advance reading? Mostly spending ever increasing amounts of money with little to show for it. Whether it is the costly and ineffective pre-K program which spends $284 million annually for dubious results or the K-12 system that has seen massive spending growth, New Mexico is spending more money than ever on education. And, of course, between state and local funding New Mexico already spends hundreds of millions of dollars on libraries (the original “literacy institutes”) which (in parts of Albuquerque) seem double as homeless shelters.

Rather than reforming the education system or imposing accountability on a system that is not getting the job done instead MLG and the Legislature have spent a whopping $30 million for a new “literacy institute” being built in Albuquerque. It is hard to say exactly how will this facility improve literacy in New Mexico, but according to the story it will “the have state-of-the-art technology and indoor and outdoor learning spaces.”

New Mexico has a long track record of wasting money, especially on failed capital projects. Not too long ago the taxpayer-funded $4 million “Camino Real Museum” was slated for demolition. What will happen with this “Literacy Institute?” Who knows, but we aren’t counting on it doing much for New Mexico’s flagging literacy rates.

Click on the image below to watch the KOB 4 story.

As the Rio Grande Foundation does every year we recently requested and received our request for annual ridership numbers on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express. As we have noted in the past the Rail Runner has been a massive money loser for the State of New Mexico from day one. Sadly, even though ridership had declined massively from the train’s early days and then collapsed during COVID, the train’s annual ridership has leveled off around the 600,000 number.

That, of course is a far cry from pre-COVID ridership numbers and even a further cry from the more than one million riders who took the train annually from 2010-2014.

Furthermore, while the train was sold as being beneficial to the environment, but as the Legislative Finance Committee pointed out in an October 2024 report, “while public transit can reduce carbon emissions, current NMRX ridership levels are low enough that, in FY24, train service generated over 2,000 more tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) than replacement car trips.”

In other words, not only is the Rail Runner a money loser for New Mexico, but it harms the environment at current ridership levels.

In his recent inaugural address newly-elected New York City Mayor told the people of New York, “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” Based on his own statements and the people he’s bringing into office Mamdani is going to push hard to bring his far left socialist agenda to fruition in The Big Apple.

Writing in National Review prior to the November election I made numerous parallels between Mamdani’s radical approach and the existing radical policies being enacted in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Needless to say, my article was a warning to New Yorkers that went unheeded.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, other news outlets like (NM Indepth) have made more favorable comparisons between Mamdani’s socialism and the socialism of New Mexico.

And then there’s avowed socialist US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). According to Daniel Chacon writing in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Sanders “took to social media to laud the state and, by extension, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, over her push to provide taxpayer-funded child care to every family in New Mexico, regardless of income.”

Does Sanders know that New Mexico AREADY provides “free” child care for those making less than 400% of the federal poverty level? Does he know that real world studies show that universal free child care actually harms children? Does he care that the program is funded heavily by oil and gas revenues?

No, he doesn’t care. Socialists like Mamdani, Sanders, and (sadly) many New Mexico politicians don’t care about outcomes. They care about political power and the fact that the more people that depend on government, the more they will support and vote for harmful collectivist policies.

The media and left wing politicians often try to wish a “renewable” future into existence for New Mexico and the nation as a whole (they seem far less concerned about nations like China where CO2 emissions continue to rise dramatically).

The Albuquerque Journal published this gem recently which attempts to make the case that Farmington, NM is moving towards so-called “renewable” energy in some sustained way on a sustainable and economically sensible basis.

The reality is far different, however. All you have to do is read the article to discover that the facility isn’t using “renewable” power at all. It is using local natural gas (as the section highlighted in blue from the same article highlights). Notably, the article ALSO makes a glaring factual error in stating that the San Juan Generating Station was decommissioned in 2017. This is simply false as that date precedes the Energy Transition Act of 2019 and closure of the plant in 2022. 

The issue of investigative journalism is EXTREMELY hot right now. The revelations of fraud in Somali daycare centers by independent journalist Nick Shirley and the response by many media outlets like CNN (which seems to be to investigate Shirley, not the fraud) only further highlights the corporate media’s unwillingness to investigate and report on the important issues facing citizens.

Before elaborating, it is worth noting that we deeply appreciate the Albuquerque Journal. It is family owned right here in New Mexico. They do a great job of giving a wide variety of people a platform on their editorial pages. But they are now raising money ostensibly for investigative journalism. That’s great, we hope they succeed with their pitch and engage in some high quality investigative journalism regarding New Mexico’s myriad failures. We have frequently called out the media and others for not digging into critical issues facing our State.

In order to assist the Journal and other outlets the following is a top 10 list of issues we believe require further reporting by major media outlets in the year ahead:

1. Given what is happening in Minnesota regarding fraud in child care what protections will New Mexicans have against similar fraud?
2. Reports including one by The Economist have found that “free” child programs like the one being implemented in New Mexico harm children. What makes New Mexico’s program different?
3. With New Mexico general fund spending up 80% largely thanks to oil and gas growth since MLG took office why haven’t New Mexico’s economic and social indicators improved?
4. Why do our neighboring states including Arizona, Colorado, and Texas consistently outperform New Mexico on a variety of economic and social indicators with lower government spending per capita and absent an oil and gas boom?
5. According to the Legislative Finance Committee “New Mexico’s film incentives are less effective at attracting private investment, cost more per job, and have a lower return on investment than other incentive programs.”  With the film industry in a nationwide recession why do New Mexico politicians continue to spend money on film subsidies?
6. Why is New Mexico’s workforce participation rate so low and can be done to increase it?
7. According to the Legislative Finance Committee increased Labor force participation correlates with economic growth, crime reduction, and increased average per capita earned income. Why isn’t New Mexico focusing on increasing workforce participation rates?
8. Why was New Mexico’s COVID regime so ineffective despite being so restrictive? What information did the Gov. and her team use to make their decisions  during the Pandemic? Was the education of our children a consideration in the lockdowns?
9. New Mexico is dead last in K-12 education according to the NAEP test despite New Mexico spending more than other states AND having “taxpayer-funded pre-K.” Do we have solid evidence that pre-K is working? Is New Mexico fully embracing the successful “Mississippi Model?” What other actions should New Mexico undertake to achieve educational success?
10. Is there ANY evidence that “free” college will improve New Mexico’s economy or help us achieve better social outcomes?

Few public policy debates have been as debated and discussed while also impacting large numbers of New Mexicans in recent years as the the State’s serious shortage of medical providers. You can read the Rio Grande Foundation’s full analysis of the issue both here and here.

As 2025 ends and New Mexico heads into the upcoming 30-day legislative session we are treated to this opinion piece in the Albuquerque Journal from two “progressive” Democrat legislators Linda Trujillo and Katie Duhigg touting all the work that went into putting New Mexico in position to (this coming session) join the national physician compact. They tout the New Mexico-specific alterations made to the compact and all the hard work that went into making it “work” for New Mexicans’ interests.

Of course, this compact already has 42 states as members (and Washington, DC) so it is highly bipartisan and New Mexico’s prior lack of participation obviously made us an outlier. Being an outlier is not helpful when you face the worst medical provider shortage in the nation.

More importantly, even if New Mexico becomes a member of this compact it will have a minimal positive impact of 3% more doctors potentially coming to New Mexico (according to their article). If New Mexico joins the physician compact in 2026 we will be a member of 2 of the 10 compacts (nursing being the other) while NOT a member of the following:

• Psychologists (PSYPACT)
• Physical Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Counselors
• Physician Assistants
• Dentists and Dental Hygienists
• Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists
• Emergency Medical Services personnel 

We also impose an awful gross receipts tax that the Legislature and Gov. refuse to completely eliminate on medical providers. We have arguably the worst medical malpractice system in the nation. We have high income taxes relative to our region with the worst schools in the nation and high crime. Our Medicaid rate is #1 in the nation (highest) which further, negatively impacts medical providers.

In other words, New Mexico has a VERY long way to go and numerous issues to address to make itself a more attractive destination for medical providers. Sadly, after years of debate and widespread bipartisan acknowledgement that the medical provider shortage is real and a big problem all we can get in the upcoming 2026 session is membership in ONE paltry compact. No other aspect of the medical provider shortage is being addressed.

As with so many other serious issues negatively impacting New Mexicans their political leaders only address them after they’ve been dragged kicking and screaming to the table. Any thought of proactively and aggressively taking on the issues is simply beyond the capacity of the legislators and MLG.

Read their full article below:

On this week’s conversation Paul and Wally discuss MLG’s National Guard deployment in ABQ as they depart. MLG expresses disappointment while Paul’s views are more nuanced.

Inflation is actually much better under President Trump than under Biden.

This graphic highlights much of what we say about New Mexico:

Paul and Wally review 2025

The Holidays are usually a quiet time for news, but with the release of a VERY viral video by Minnesota blogger and journalist Nick Shirley (watch below) poses some serious questions for New Mexico politicians as they consider adopting an even more generous “free” child care system courtesy of both federal and state taxpayers. Check out the full Nick Shirley story below the post.

You can read up on Minnesota’s child care system, but there are a few critical points to be known that differentiate it from New Mexico.

Minnesota’s program is not free to the user. It is primarily federally funded. It is also limited to low income families and “only” 22,000 children. New Mexico’s program would be free, funded with a much larger percentage of state dollars. It would be universal and it already serves 33,000 children before it became “universal.” Minnesota as 5.8 million people to New Mexico’s 2.1 million so proportionally New Mexico’s “free” program is MUCH bigger than Minnesota’s and is set to nearly double in spending terms.

While it doesn’t seem like much enforcement is happening in Minnesota and we wonder about fraud and abuse beyond the Somali community (which of course is tiny in New Mexico) there are SOME safeguards here in New Mexico. Check out the website of the Early Childhood Department. There you can find information about all of the centers including information regarding on-site inspections.

Here is one such form from the Little Amigos Child Development Center in Las Cruces. There seem to be some significant issues at the center from May 2025 when the inspection was performed.

A second report from an Albuquerque area child care center also contains a great deal of missing information. 

With concerns already being voiced about the lack of providers what measures will New Mexico politicians put into place to ensure that not only are these centers safe places to send our children, but that they are servicing the kids as they are supposed to and not defrauding the taxpayers? This issue was bound to be a concern from the start, but with Minnesota’s fraud situation so clearly out of control the issue is even more pertinent.

🚨 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable

We ALL… pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a

— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025

RGF has raised concerns about the impact of the Gov’s plans to expand “free” child care to those New Mexico families who make MORE THAN 400% of the federal poverty level (about $128,000 for a family of four). Is the program financially sustainable at a time of moderating oil revenues? According to the Legislative Finance Committee, the Legislature’s own internal “think tank” the Gov’s plan will increase the annual price tag of “free childcare” from $450 million annually to $850 million.  

We sat down with KOAT 7 to discuss this issue for an indepth report. Click on the image below to watch the full story.

Paul talks with former New Mexican Congressman, Steve Pearce about his new book “You Had a Good Home, But you Left… ”  The book is the saga of Congressman Steve Pearce’s solo flight around the world and how it became a pilgrimage to honor fallen service members, weaving together aviation adventure and reflections on sacrifice.

In a unique example of the Rio Grande Foundation being more positive about the Gov.’s policy than the Gov. herself, the Rio Grande Foundation was asked to comment on whether MLG’s deployment of the National Guard to Albuquerque was “a disappointment.”

On the one hand, while we 100% agree with the Gov. that “lax engagement by local partners (Mayor Keller)” and also “because New Mexico’s criminal justice system too often allows serious offenders back on the streets within days or even hours of an arrest” are serious problems, the deployment cost $7 million and had a significant, positive impact on crime.

Unfortunately, with voters having given Tim Keller to another four years in office and soft on crime judges on the bench, MLG is correct in being frustrated overall with the lack of leadership and support for her anti-crime efforts.

Check out the full story and RGF appearance below:

There was a lot of action in New Mexico politics and policy in 2025. Overall, New Mexico both continued to be held back by the awful politicians it elects and their failed policies and voters this fall continued to elect and reelect politicians that will continue down the same destructive path we’ve been on for years.

The Rio Grande Foundation (of course) continued to fight for freedom in a hostile environment. We won numerous defensive struggles, highlighted the myriad failures of our political classes, and celebrated our 25th anniversary. Check out our “year in review” below:

In January NAEP (known as the Nation’s Report Card) scores were released: New Mexico dead last in all four categories (again).

RGF’s campaign to protect 4 day school weeks is successful

2025 was a 60-day Legislative session. As usual there were wins and losses. RGF was very active throughout the session in supporting economic liberty and opposing government schemes.

• RGF provides expert testimony in support of eliminating personal income tax and setting up DOGE-style effort.Paid sick leave fails after numerous attempts/changes. RGF Action engages in its first public effort.
• Numerous bad bills including SB 4 (net zero) and SB 85 (anti-free speech), and HB 476 (price controls on credit cards) fail.
• MLG vetoes harmful tax bill (HB 14) and we agree with her on that.
• Royalties on oil and gas go up and a $2 billion Medicaid trust fund passes
• Nothing good comes of the session, but many bad things were killed

RGF tracked and rated all New Mexico legislators and their votes at our Freedom Index.

New Mexico’s Supreme Court rules in March that emergency orders issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2023 that attempted to eliminate gun possession in Bernalillo County did not violate state law. Fortunately other judges who actually understand the Constitution already overturned the Gov.’s overreach. 

RGF releases “Economic Freedom in the Land of Enchantment” report detailing how NM is the only state to have lost economic freedom since 1981.

In April RGF helped kill a GRT increase in Albuquerque.

In May Congress passes and Trump signs bill to end EV mandate. RGF fought hard for automobile freedom here in New Mexico. Trump and a bipartisan coalition in Congress restored that freedom.

RGF makes headlines over state support for “anti-Israel woke okra farm”

Heat Rule proposed and RGF pushes against it helping to kill it

RGF plays a starring role in Steve Cortes anti-wind energy documentary

RGF surveys and interviews  (on Tipping Point NM) candidates for Mayor/City Council in ABQ

Kids Count report (again) places New Mexico Dead-last

RGF defends Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill

RGF highlights the reality of the film industry recession and its impact on New Mexico

RGF speaks out against ABQ campaign finance system

RGF takes up mantle of road repairs/questions status of Maxeon

Billboard campaign/podcast/RGF highlights APS $350 million bond, lack of necessity

Socialist Mamdani of New York would love New Mexico’s policies

New Mexico court ratifies ABQ “donation” of $250K to Planned Parenthood

RGF highlights problems with “free childcare”

RGF highlights data centers and their impact positive and negative

RGF has successful gala celebrating 25 years

New Mexico dead last in 2025 economic freedom index

Hoodie-gate takes the City of Albuquerque’s elections by storm.

Meanwhile, RGF recorded 102 episodes of the podcast Tipping Point NM while appearing regularly in print, on the radio, and on TV, and presenting to numerous civic and political groups, while maintaining a robust presence on social media.