Kids Count Report (yet another fail): the left responds
There is no question that New Mexico’s consistent “dead last” ranking in the annual Annie E. Casey Kids Count report is a serious and downright tragic situation. That’s because these awful rankings have real world consequences for our children and the future of our rapidly-aging state.
But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t laugh about aspects of the situation, especially the responses of New Mexico’s numerous left-wing activists and politicians to the ongoing failure of their policies. One might think that Michelle Lujan Grisham JUST took office given their “we’ll get ’em next year” rhetoric. Check out the Albuquerque Journal story on the results for details. We especially like the comment of the head of Voices for Children which seemed to throw water on the entire idea of the report itself:
New Mexico Voices for Children — which partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on the report — believes the state’s ranking could change in the coming years. They also think the state’s circumstances and demographics don’t warrant a comparison to others.
“Other states have vastly different circumstances than New Mexico, whether that’s their population, their racial and ethnic makeup, their just general structure,” Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of the organization, said in a May interview. “We like to look at comparing New Mexico to itself.”
This is bordering on outright racism although the left NEVER gets called out for it. Of course, last year (2024) Voices strongly hinted that minorities can’t do well on standardized tests. They said in part, “New Mexico K-12 students of color and those who are Native American, from low-income families, and who have disabilities tend to not fare as well as their white, more affluent peers.”
And, of course New Mexico has many advantages, not just disadvantages. We have great weather and are located in a fast-growing, favorable part of the country meaning that we COULD be wealthier and more prosperous (and thus not so dependent on government anti-poverty programs). New Mexico is also sitting on more than $60 billion and has the 2nd most oil production in the nation, so we SHOULD have numerous advantages over other states. Meanwhile, Mississippi with serious poverty issues like New Mexico has improved its education outcomes dramatically. In fact, the State now ranks 16th overall in education as compared with New Mexico’s 50th ranking.
Even on her own terms, the Kids Count results are awful. From just last year (2024’s report) New Mexico’s economic well-being dropped from 48 to 49. Education remained at 50. Health dropped from 44 to 46. Family and Community dropped from 49 to 50.
