One Good Reason the Average Texan is Wealthier than the Average New Mexican

Despite tough economic times and plummeting oil and gas prices, Texas maintains an $11 billion surplus (without forcing its citizens to pay an income tax). As this article points out, despite the surplus, politicians in the Lone Star State are not calling a special session to spend the money, unlike the Governor of a neighbor of Texas. According to the article, in Texas “new spending by lawmakers will be capped at about 9.1 percent over the current two-year budget.” New Mexico grew spending by this much in one year during the recent oil and gas boom.
Perhaps that is why the average Texan makes more than $5,000 more than the average New Mexican annually???