A look at MLG’s remarks on economy/education/crime at NAIOP
The Gov. recently spoke to a business group (NAIOP) luncheon. You can find an article from the Santa Fe New Mexican discussing her remarks.
For starters, MLG LOVES to tout all the things New Mexico government is doing. She LOVES to take the credit even if the oil and gas industry is what is supplying the financial largesse. She doesn’t like to discuss the fact that all of her priorities are the result of oil and gas money. Sadly, MLG reiterates the “New Mexico is poor” canard. The people are poor, but the state has plenty of money.
The Sun Zia line is a fascinating item. The power lines are designed to transport NM produced wind to Arizona and California. There will certainly be construction jobs created, but the idea that this is some kind of win for New Mexico’s economy is half-baked at best.
New Mexico’s education system is indeed terrible, but MLG has completely refused to own up to her serious mistakes during COVID (like keeping schools closed for over a year). Nothing she is doing now will have major positive impacts on education outcomes, that’s why she transitions the discussion to “free college.”
The Gov. discusses the need for housing and (to her credit) even mentions permitting and zoning issues, but offers no specifics. What she fails to address is how her own policies are raising housing costs.
Finally, MLG addresses crime. To date she has done nothing to address crime, but has attempted a well-documented gun grab. We’ll see what her agenda looks like for the special session in July. She seems to be talking about some reasonable ideas, but we won’t know until we see the particulars (and whether “progressives” in the Legislature will go for them).
The Gov. SHOULD be talking about serious tax reforms like shifting the GRT to a sales tax and reducing rates, reducing income taxes, eliminating Social Security taxes and taxes on military pensions. She SHOULD be embracing school choice AND Mississippi-style education reforms. Sadly, she won’t do any of those things.
