I don’t read Joe Monahan’s blog (unless someone directly tells me to) so I just ran across his not-so-thinly-veiled attack today on yours truly and the Rio Grande Foundation. Monahan claims that New Mexico is suffering from “austerity” as advocated by the Rio Grande Foundation (technically, he refuses to mention us and instead calls us a “right wing think tank”).
For starters, New Mexico’s spending has grown in real terms under Gov. Martinez. According to the LFC, Martinez’ first General Fund budget was $5.43 billion and it is now $6.16 billion. That averages out to about 3.58 percent growth on an annual basis. Given low statistically-low inflation rates and New Mexico’s barely-there population growth, New Mexico’s budget has grown every year (on average) under Martinez.
Monahan moves on to attack our advocacy and research on a right to work law for New Mexico, but rather than doing so, he makes the bizarre claim: “Remember, a couple of years ago when the mantra was cutting corporate taxes and economic paradise would result?” No, I don’t remember that. RGF detailed the benefits of previous, not-enacted bill reducing corporate income tax rates, but we were never asked to testify on the bill that passed with its potential tax hikes and expansion of the film program . More importantly, Martinez’ small corporate income tax cuts are not even half-implemented yet.
What Monahan and his ilk refuse to acknowledge is that states that have right to work laws consistently outperform non-right to work states. The most recent data available show 8 of the 10 fastest-growing states have such laws on the books.
HoJoe is the biggest media whore in New Mexico, bar none. Only NM Democrats crawl into bed with that skank.
Monahan is a typical, liberal. political hack. Sadly, he has the attention of media, so his lies and idiocy are easily spread to the ignorant masses that buy into that rubbish.
I follow Monahan’s blog, and appreciate his insight into New Mexico politics and its mud-wrestling comedy. As an ex-journalist, I understand where he’s coming from and find him much less partisan than, say, the average NY Times critter. Joe occasionally quotes my comments in his blog, and I find it amusing that he labels me a conservative or a Republican rather than a politically-independent raging moderate who takes potshots at both sides. I give him credit for hammering away at New Mexico’s economic woes even if I disagree with his solutions.
Rio Grande foundation shouldn’t issue tax breaks for that matter. If people want to give you money fine, but given your political objectives it shouldn’t be tax deductible.
In an ideal world, income wouldn’t be taxed at all. The problem is the tax code itself. How about non-profit hospitals? The list goes on. The difference is we’re not lobbying for our own exemption or added exemptions. We’re just playing by the rules.
Every politician in this sate wants more money as if that solves everything. I have heard it a thousand times in my 37 years in NM. “We are such a poor State”. I think the question should be WHY!
I agree! Other states were poor and built themselves up. New Mexico has remained poor.