Deconstructing Carter Bundy (and Bloated Government in NM)

Carter Bundy of AFSCME recently wrote an article attacking the Rio Grande Foundation and its data on government employment that appeared over at www.nmpolitics.net. Wrote Bundy, in part:

In what is becoming an annual ritual, I have to point out the incredibly obvious statistical and analytical errors in the Rio Grande Foundation’s analysis.

Well, we certainly couldn’t let such a direct attack go without a response, so economists Scott Moody and Wendy Warcholik penned a response that appeared at NMPolitics today. While responding to several of Bundy’s points, Moody and Warcholik conclude that:

Despite Mr. Bundy’s wishful thinking, New Mexico is poorer thanks to its bloated government workforce. Not only would the average household save $3,732 in taxes per year with a right-sized government payroll, but over the long-run they would also have another $10,857 in personal income to spend on goods and services such as homes, cars, education and health care.