New Mexico’s amazing oil/gas boom continues

According to the latest data from the Legislative Finance Committee (discussed in the Albuquerque Journal) New Mexico piled up an astonishing $15.2 billion in oil and gas tax revenues in FY 2023.

Here are a few details:

Oil and gas revenue to New Mexico has more than quadrupled over the past five years, according to the LFC.

In a bit of good news, the LFC has even acknowledged that “New Mexico could still reap gains from high oil production for nearly a decade.” Some analysts have predicted imminent shortfalls.

Sadly, the same economic ignorance among policymakers and analysts DOES continue when the topic turns to potential uses of the massive windfall. When analysts claim that,  “(The windfall) makes it difficult to grow more independent from the volatile oil and gas industry” that highlights a serious lack of vision. New Mexico shouldn’t be this dependent on oil and gas forever because the revenue available should be used to lower taxes and bring new businesses and industries to New Mexico.

Of course, such thinking requires common sense and logic (both of which are in short supply in Santa Fe these days) so we continue to pile more money into a combination of government “permanent” funds, corporate welfare, and new spending (none of which do much for the state economy).