New Mexico government: stretched to the limit?

With New Mexico facing budget deficits in excess of $600 million, one might be led to believe by some left-wing advocates that state government simply doesn’t have money to do the basics these days.

James Jimenez of NM Voices for Children blames “tax cuts” (too little money) for everything from the ” backlog of rape kits” to the backlog of applications for medical marijuana ID cards.

The reality is that New Mexico’s government is hardly starved for cash. The State spends far more per-capita than do its neighbors (nearly double what Texas spends). Original data available here, see the chart below as well: