Government-centric view of New Mexico’s politicians

09.18.2024

One of the serious “bugs” in the “software” of New Mexico politicians is their view that “government comes first.” In other words, economic policies should be designed to insure that State government and (to a lesser extent) local governments are funded while average citizens and businesses are an afterthought.

Speaker Martinez is by no means the ONLY New Mexico politician to have this mentality as outlined in his tweet below, but it is concerning to say the least. For starters, shoving money into “savings” overlooks the serious problems New Mexico is facing right now including: crime, highest in the nation poverty, lack of economic diversification, failing education system, and stagnant population growth (to name a few). While New Mexico government is thriving, New Mexicans are not. 

Even more troubling (to me at least) is the idea that in 15 years New Mexico government will have enough money that it can live off its endowment rather than relying on tax dollars. The implications for democracy and self-government are significant. Clearly, the Speaker of New Mexico’s House thinks this is all FANTASTIC.

But, a government that is sitting on so much money while the people of New Mexico face high poverty, crime, and a failing education system highlight the government-first attitude of too many politicians and the people who keep electing them. New Mexicans STILL hold the key to the future at the ballot box, but if the government doesn’t NEED the tax dollars they generate how responsive will they be?