Errors of Enchantment

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The latest on EV sales/mandates in New Mexico

04.25.2025

The Rio Grande Foundation has continued in its efforts to both track and overturn MLG’s electric vehicle mandates. These mandates take effect in model year 2026. Those cars will start appearing on dealer lots early this fall. Under the Gov.’s mandate 43% of them will have to be electric.

According to the Center for Automotive Innovation as of the fourth quarter of 2024 (the most recent information available) just 5.35% of all vehicles sold in New Mexico are currently electric. In other words, it is impossible that New Mexicans will willingly ramp up purchases of EV’s by a factor of nearly 10 in the span of less than a year.

Sadly, despite the fact that some Democrats in New Mexico’s Democrat-controlled Legislature oppose the Gov.’s mandate they (again) did nothing to restore their policymaking power by eliminating this absurd EV mandate and prohibiting unelected bodies from imposing similar regulations. What will happen next?

The US House is poised to vote to overturn the Biden Administration’s waiver which allows California to set its own EV mandates (and states like New Mexico to follow them). That may be the best option available at this point. MLG could choose to not enforce the mandate when it starts later this year due to the impossibility of achieving it, but it is impossible to say at this point. At this point I wouldn’t want to own or work for a New Mexico car dealership.

 

Tipping Point NM Episode 702: Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez introduces herself and wraps up the 2025 legislative session

04.24.2025

On this week’s interview Paul talks to Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez a freshman Republican from Hobbs, NM. Cortez has a unique and compelling story that has led her to the New Mexico Legislature. Paul and Elaine discuss the recent session, some of the bills she sponsored, and her philosophy as a legislator. Sena Cortez is an energetic and exciting person to have in New Mexico’s Legislature!

RGF president to make two presentations in Las Cruces May 1 & 2

04.24.2025

RGF is heading to southern New Mexico next week for two presentations in Las Cruces (both of which are free, but please RSVP for the Americans for Prosperity event):

On Thursday, 01 May 2025 @ 6pm Paul will talk to the Coalition of Conservatives in Action meeting   CCIA meets at Kitchen Kraft, 980 N Telshor Blvd., Las Cruces.(next to Rudy’s BBQ)

He’ll discuss the recently completed New Mexico legislative session and the Foundation’s new report on declining economic freedom in New Mexico and the reasons behind it.

Then Paul will discuss the critical need to reform New Mexico’s tax structure. Details on that event (including RSVP info) can be found on the graphic below:

What Should Society Expect from Business?

04.24.2025

Commentary by Kenneth Costello
Costello is an adjunct scholar with the Rio Grande Foundation

What societal purpose do private companies serve, and what are their roles in society? Those questions are fundamental to the topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) or the interchangeable term “stakeholder capitalism.” One generic definition of CSR is a company integrating the interests of those directly or indirectly affected by it (e.g., the community as well as its customers and investors) into its business model and activities. Those affected are referred to as “stakeholders”, which is the reason for labelling CSR as stakeholder capitalism.

As I discuss below, the concept of stakeholder capitalism is redundant: in free markets, successful companies must accommodate the interests of their customers, investors and employees and not do serious harm to their communities. That, in fact, is one of capitalism’s
most admirable aspects, which many politicians, NGOs, and the general public often fail to recognize. Government-induced (or hereafter “contrived” because of mandates or out-of-market incentives) CSR activities involve companies doing many of the things that markets demand them to do but less effectually. Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility | 1st Formations

In other words, CSR, reflecting the preferences of a company’s customers, employees and investors, is the preferred approach for achieving many of the goals in a contrived CSR world. The latter world contains fundamental problems that either (1) ironically, act at odds with the intended goals or (2) leave the job of addressing social problems like climate change and income inequality in the hands of a company’s management and their boards, who have dubious incentives to execute this task effectively when it lies outside its financial interest.

We observe that when companies get entangled in political matters, they will become vulnerable to criticism by their customers, employees, investors and others who now recognize them simply as an extension of government. This relationship resembles “corporatism” where the
government acquires more control of large companies, who reciprocate with undue influence over the government. Under corporatism, the private sector coordinates its activities with the government for social purposes. This has become increasingly true for regulated utilities who
have become more like social agencies.

Why would companies want to place themselves in that predicament, jeopardizing their financial well-being and independence? Yet, some companies with social activists on their boards or in management have done just that.

While contrived CSR may seem appealing to some, it has both latent and transparent costs. The
major ones are a short-term focus on politically related matters, less management accountability, and diminished efficient resource use from a weakened profit motive.

Companies spend substantial sums of money to block legislation and regulations that would coerce them to address social problems. Why then should we expect them to mitigate those problems under a contrived CSR regime? By agreeing to a “social agenda” but executing it
languidly, company managers may believe that they can forestall injurious (from their perspective) governmental actions and improve their public images. It is folly to think that companies will take seriously the advancement of objectives that jeopardize their financial
condition.

As a practical matter, it would be extremely challenging for companies to balance the conflicting interests within and between stakeholder groups. While multiple “stakeholder” groups have been identified, no one person is representative of any one of them. Individual investors, for instance, are heterogenous, meaning that some may favor CSR-like actions while others would oppose them. The same is true of employees: some are childless and consider family leave policies worthless; others would rather earn higher wages than have access to on-site daycare. Advocates of contrived CSR actions seem to presume that individual “stakeholder” groups are monolithic. Prioritizing the diverse interests of different stakeholders can be so overwhelming, convoluted and counterproductive that companies focus less on their core purpose of profiting from selling goods and services that consumers want. Instructive here is the phrase “accountability to everyone means accountability to no one.”Friedman vs. Friedman

Contrived CSR actions can insulate management from accountability and managerial slack (e.g., inflating costs). Such actions obscure poor financial performance: a company can claim to be “socially responsible” even when losing money and continuing to raise funds from socially
conscious investors. Imposing multiple objectives and performance criteria on a company weakens managerial accountability, thereby aggravating the principal-agent problem that presently exists between shareholders and managers.

Would not society be better off by separating the actors who undertake money-making activities from broad-based social activities? One must ask: what expertise or capabilities do companies have in deciding how to address social problems that should fall under the auspices of government? Wouldn’t it be better for individual shareholders to dispose of dividends in the ways they see fit than requiring them to cede responsibility to others who might prefer to support the local opera rather than the local foodbank?

Stakeholders can reveal their preferences for social-responsibility objectives either directly through market transactions or via politically through lobbying and voting. I argue that the preferred source of CSR is market driven. As a “bottom up”; approach, it places top priority on pricing and market incentives. Its flexible rules accommodate the demands of individual market players. One example is the market processes that allow companies to charge higher prices for healthier products in line with consumers’ demands.

Companies should spend money on social problems only in response to the demand of their customers, investors and employees. We have already seen market participants revealing their preferences for environmentally friendly products by buying them, investing in companies th at supply them and offering their labor services for lower wages and salaries than what they could earn elsewhere. For example, investors can choose companies that best mimic their personal values; they can vote by buying or selling company stock, rather than letting managers/boards impose their own preferences on them.

There is really no difference between consumers paying more for a food product that looks more appealing or is healthier than consumers paying more because, say, the company lowers its carbon footprint. The reason for consumers paying a premium for low-carbon products is immaterial. If enough consumers are willing to pay premiums for cleaner air or “fair-trade” coffee, profit-seeking businesses will deliver those goods.

If market participants value noneconomic goals, companies that combine the profit motive with environmental and other concerns can thrive and even prosper more in a competitive environment. Shareholders should retain primacy, but they also should have the right to push for
different objectives if they so prefer.Business Skills You Need as an Entrepreneur

Shareholders, of course, may disagree over what company policies can best achieve greater wealth for them. Some may prefer the company to maximize short-term profits while others take a longer view. Concerning nonpecuniary objectives, shareholders exhibit even greater heterogeneity: some may ascribe no importance to them while others place a personal value on them. Within the last group, shareholders would have different priorities.

For example, a subgroup may value more the company’s carbon footprint; another subgroup may assign a higher value to the company having a diverse workforce. The difficulty is aggregating these divergent values to reveal the collective preference of investors. This reality supports having individual investors choosing what companies to invest in, rather than investors jointly dictating their preferences to company management and the board on social issues.

Voluntary market transactions profoundly epitomize the economic situation where sellers and buyers cooperate in consummating a mutually beneficial deal. How could one dispute that this would not improve social welfare?

Just as society should not engage in activities that the private sector can do better, the private sector should avoid social activities that are better addressed by government. Many if not most people probably would agree that government should take on the responsibility to identify and redress social problems. A caveat is that the marketplace, not government, often can better address some of these problems.

For example, economic growth stimulated by profit-maximizing companies may be the most effective factor in mitigating poverty; and bottom-up, market-based approaches (rather than command-and-control regulations) can be more feasible and effective in addressing climate change, especially when prices reflect prevailing supply and demand conditions. These approaches include adaptation based on the pricing mechanism and the provision of “clean products” by companies at the demand of consumers.

A company advances its interests when it treats stakeholders well. A company can engage in goodwill to improve its profitability. Competent management cannot ignore the interests of customers, workers, investors and the local communities if it wants its company to survive.

Finally, let us not forget the wisdom of Nobelist George Stigler with something he said over 50 years ago: George J. Stigler

Let our businessmen return to making shoes and locomotives and toothpaste. Let us not seek to transform the greatest economy in all history into a third-class welfare agency. Let the reformers address their schemes, whether noble or ignoble, to the real

source of power, the public [sector], and to the real administrators of that power in our society, the leaders of the political system.

Tipping Point NM episode 701: Blue Origin’s Technology Superior to Virgin Galactic’s, I-40 is Dangerous Embarrassment, APS Spends $35,384 per Student

04.23.2025

RGF opinion piece: Understanding New Mexico’s Lack of Economic Freedom

04.22.2025

The following piece ran in the Santa Fe New Mexican on April 20, 2025. It ran in other publications across the state as well.

A thousand years ago, a group of people settled along the Red Willow Creek at the base of the Taos Mountains and never left.

They were among the first, but hardly the last, to be enchanted by New Mexico’s snow-capped mountains and sun-drenched vistas.

The state’s moderate climate, rich culture, and mouth-watering cuisine are peerless. And now that New Mexico churns out 2 million barrels of oil every day — more than 15% of all U.S. production — you’d think New Mexicans would be riding high.

Instead, the state’s citizens struggle to get by. Over the last decade, New Mexico ranked 47th in employment growth and 36th in real GDP growth. It has the third-highest poverty rate in the union and more children on federal food assistance than any other state.

Over the past decade, New Mexico’s population edged up just 1% while neighboring states grew by an average of 12%.

State employment also grew 1% while neighboring state employment growth averaged 19%.

In a new report, published by the Fraser Institute and the Rio Grande Foundation, we examine these trends, comparing the state with its more prosperous neighbors.

One key explanation for New Mexico’s dismal economic record is its lack of economic freedom.

People are more economically free when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices.

But New Mexico’s high spending, steep taxes and burdensome regulations have made the state one of the least-economically free in the union. It ranks 47 out of 50, well behind each of its closest neighbors.

The Fraser Institute began measuring economic freedom nearly three decades ago, first at the national level and then at the state and provincial level.

This data has been used in over a thousand peer-reviewed studies assessing the effects of economic freedom on wellbeing. And the evidence is overwhelming that economically free people are prosperous people.

Economically free places attract people, entrepreneurship, and growth. They tend to experience lower levels of poverty, less homelessness, and less food insecurity.

People in economically free places are more tolerant of others, more philanthropic, and more satisfied with their lives. They are even less likely to recommit crime.

Yet as this evidence has accumulated, New Mexico’s policymakers have moved to further restrict the economic freedom of New Mexicans.

The state is the only one in the country to have reduced the economic freedom of its citizens over the four decades for which we have data.

In recent years (and despite massive growth in spending) New Mexico has had budget surpluses of more than $3 billion annually.

This is a considerable surplus in a state where rapid spending growth has led to the annual general fund budget of $10.8 billion.

What can be done? New Mexicans themselves hold the key. When they head to the polls, they need to be acutely aware of candidates’ approaches to basic issues like taxes, spending, and regulations.

They should question those who continue to believe that the government should be the dominant force in New Mexico’s economy. The state’s top marginal income tax rate is nearly twice that of its neighbors.

Its labor regulations are the second-most-burdensome in the country. And the state imposes especially heavy licensing requirements on low-income occupations.

Economic freedom isn’t the only thing that matters for prosperity. Geography, demography, culture, and luck also play a role.

But policy makers can’t move mountains or fundamentally alter a state’s culture. What they can do is remove the barriers to prosperity that have held New Mexicans back for more than four decades.

Matthew Mitchell is a senior fellow in the Center for Human Freedom at the Fraser Institute in Canada. He lives in Northern New Mexico. Paul Gessing is president of the Rio Grande Foundation in Albuquerque.

 

Whatever you think of the recent Blue Origin flight w/ Katy Perry, the company kicks Virgin Galactic’s a**

04.21.2025

Whatever your take on the recent flight by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin (with Katy Perry and an all-female crew), one thing that stuck out was that the flight took just 11 minutes and passed Kármán line, which at 62 miles above sea level is considered to be the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

Whether you think that is an impressive feat for the crew or not it is worth noting that Virgin Galactic (which New Mexico taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to fund) takes 2.5 hours to achieve the same altitude. That’s because of the “mothership” and “junior” ship design. Virgin Galactic’s stock price has dropped a whopping 58% in 2025.

If/when manned spaceflight trips like those taken by Katy Perry et al ever DO become popular and available for the non super-rich are people going to choose the 2.5 hour trip from the New Mexico desert or an 11 minute shot right into space from West Texas. Notably Blue Origin is (obviously) still launching flights while Virgin Galactic flights have been on hiatus for almost a year as they attempt to come up with a spacecraft that works AND is profitable.

I-40’s condition is an embarrassment to New Mexico and a danger to drivers

04.21.2025

The Rio Grande Foundation is often on the road around New Mexico. Typically during legislative sessions this means heading up I-25 to Santa Fe, but now that the legislative session is complete that means traveling to other parts of New Mexico. That includes a recent trip to Gallup.

Gallup, of course, is about 2 hours from Albuquerque along I-40. I-40 is arguably the most important road in New Mexico with its heavy freight traffic and large number of automobiles. It has widely been reported that the road is deteriorating and that is backed up by my firsthand account on this recent Gallup trip. Here’s what I found:

  1. It needs to be expanded to 3 lanes (at least) each way from the Arizona to the Texas line.
  2. It needs be be shored up and completely repaved throughout much of its length.
  3. Many on and off ramps (including those in Gallup) need to be re-engineered completely.

The GOOD news? While costly, this is an IDEAL use of New Mexico’s massive oil and gas surpluses. Of course, RGF STILL supports tax reduction, but from the perspective of a Gov. and Legislature that seem to think oil and gas are going to dry up and go away soon, a big investment in a safer, better route across New Mexico would be a wise investment of taxpayer dollars.

Notably, New Mexico has $6 billion in unspent capital outlay money. All or part of this money could pay for a significant portion of expanding I-40 to 3 lanes each way from ABQ to the Arizona line at a cost of $4.8 billion.

Trever’s APS spending cartoon another masterpiece

04.21.2025

The Albuquerque Journal’s John Trever has a way of highlighting important issues with a simple cartoon. He does it once again with the following cartoon from Sunday’s paper. We offered our own analysis here showing that if you simply divide the District’s proposed $2.3 billion budget by the expected student population of 65,000 (that is the maximum expected) you get a whopping $35,384 per-pupil.

Needless to say, results haven’t kept pace with spending and those poor outcomes further drive students out of the District which (perversely) due to the State’s K-12 funding formula and state budget growth) leads to EVEN MORE funding for APS per-pupil.

 

A major tax hike is moving quietly through Albuquerque City Council

04.17.2025

Did you know that Albuquerque City Council may soon finalize a 3/8ths cent increase in the City’s gross receipts tax? The proposed “quality of life” tax increase is sponsored by Councilor Joaquín Baca. It could be heard (and adopted) by a simple majority vote of the Council at an upcoming meeting. The City’s current rate is 7.625% which means that if adopted the tax rate would shoot up to 8.0%. 

Notably, the tax hike was passed out of the Council’s Finance & Government Operations Committee on the following “eyebrow raising” vote  which included support from typically more conservative councilors Champine and Bassan. While Councilor Louie Sanchez was excused on this committee vote, this tax hike plan could provide a real understanding of how Councilor Louie Sanchez plans to govern if elected mayor.

As Councilor Dan Lewis recently noted, spending at the City of Albuquerque has nearly doubled to $1.5 billion since Mayor Keller took office eight years ago. There are too many problems to count in the City and raising taxes isn’t going to address any of them. We will keep you posted on the issue if/when the tax hike is scheduled for a final vote.

Dan Champine For
Dan Lewis Against
Brook Bassan For
Klarissa J. Peña Excused
Joaquín Baca For
Louie Sanchez Excused

 

Tipping Point NM episode 700 Jeffery Tucker – His Newspaper Career, Newspaper Industry in NM, Work as the Opinion Editor at ABQ Journal

04.17.2025
On this week’s interview Paul talks to former Albuquerque Journal opinion editor Jeffery Tucker. They begin by discussing the recently announced plan by the Journal to sell its building and launch into a discussion of the newspaper business. They further discuss the life of an opinion editor, changes to the business over time, and Jeff’s numerous jobs in the business over the years.
Finally, they discuss current economic topics including Trump’s tariffs.
https://youtu.be/KIXxMGURCbg

RGF weighs in for KRQE Channel 13 story on wasteful Keller Administration remodel

04.17.2025

The City of Albuquerque has been remodeling its offices, but according to the City’s Inspector General: thousands of Albuquerque taxpayer dollars have gone to waste amid a nearly three-year renovation project at old City Hall. You can check out the full story from KRQE along with RGF president Paul Gessing’s comments here, but according to the IG, the city paid for a design that they’ve since asked to change at least two more times. If the city approves that third plan, the IG claims the design process will have cost Albuquerque at least $55,000.

This is all typical behavior of Mayor Tim Keller’s Administration, but what is perhaps most shocking about the report is Keller’s utter disregard for the Inspector General and their findings. Keller’s administration put out the following statement, “This Inspector General lost credibility long ago, having been repeatedly cited by her own independent oversight board for misrepresentation without legal basis, lack of peer review, investigation standard violations, and clear bias—reducing her role to little more than that of an opinion writer.”

While Keller is putting on a show of trying to make it appear that his eight years in office have been a success and that the City is thriving, there can be no doubt that it is not and that the City is being managed in a corrupt way with myriad failures. As the Mayor’s statement makes clear, nothing is going to change or improve by giving Keller a third term.

APS 2026 budget to spend an estimated $35,384 per-pupil

04.17.2025

The Albuquerque Journal recently reported that Albuquerque Public Schools has put out its latest planned budget for the 2025-2026 school year. The District continues to see increased annual budgets to serve a plummeting number of students. Shockingly, despite MORE money for FEWER students, the District once again claims it is facing a “deficit.”

As the article notes, APS is on the verge of adopting a $2.3 billion annual budget for next school year. The District estimates “fewer than 65,000 students” though we ran the calculation above based on an even 65,000 students just to be safe (a more specific number isn’t available). By that calculation APS will spend a mind-blowing $35,384 per-pupil during the next school year.

The so-called “deficit” faced by the District is for an estimated $4.7 million.

Of course, event these numbers don’t tell the entire story. According to a separate recent report “Only HALF of APS students attend school 90% of the time” and student performance at the already-low-performing district continues to drop.

There is no question that APS is a difficult (or impossible) institution to turn around. Allowing parents and families to take even a portion of the $35,000+ to a school of their choice as is happening in an increasing number of states would be a logical move, but that’s simply not going to happen with the current Legislature and Governor.

 

 

MLG is right: The Legislature “lacks both strategic coherence and fiscal responsibility” (but she does too)

04.15.2025

Whatever can be said about Gov. Lujan Grisham at this point in her tenure, she STILL remains abjectly unwilling to articulate a positive vision for New Mexico. BUT, she occasionally has valid critiques of Democrats in the Legislature (many of whom she helped elect). In her recent veto message on HB 14 (the tax bill) she stated that it “lacks both strategic coherence and fiscal responsibility.” 

Perhaps a bill (wasteful of time I’m sure) could be run to make the state motto “New Mexico, lacking in strategic coherence and fiscal responsibility.”

Of course, we don’t agree at all with what the Gov. means by these terms. We’re not even sure SHE does. The Legislature and Gov. have had zero strategy for New Mexico or how to best bring economic prosperity to our state. Does fiscal responsibility mean the government keeps all the money? It certainly seems like it.

Are prosperity and economic diversity even goals for these people? We are not sure.

Of course, voters have their say in who they elect to the governor’s office and legislature. And, for nearly 100 years New Mexico voters have tended to vote for legislators and governors that don’t have an understanding or even care for free market policies and growing the economy more broadly. Until that changes New Mexico will remain mired in economic stagnation with a slow-growing population and high poverty.

 

How did the 2025 stack up when compared to other recent sessions?

04.14.2025

The Rio Grande Foundation’s Freedom Index is the pre-eminent way to see how New Mexico’s Legislature votes on issues of freedom. These include individual liberty, taxes, regulations, education reform/choice, and the Constitution.

RGF has more than a decade of results from our index. So, how does New Mexico’s 2025 session compare to other recent sessions? We took the average score of each legislator and compared those scores to other recent sessions. The answer is that the average score is quite similar to the other recent 60-day sessions which have taken place under Michelle Lujan Grisham’s term in office.

For obvious reasons 30-day sessions have fewer votes and thus less positive/negative numbers. After 8 years of Republican Susana Martinez being in office 2019 (MLG’s first session) remains the worst session in terms of average vote totals. Better scores were seen in the Legislature under Martinez as well. Check out the details for yourself below:

MLG vetoes two concerning bills!

04.11.2025

We RARELY agree with Gov. Lujan Grisham, but she does seem to have moved ever so slightly to the middle in recent months. And, while we don’t expect to get invited to the Gov.’s Christmas Party (assuming she has one) this year, we are pleased that she has vetoed HB 14 a complicated and tax-hiking bill (20% wholesale tax on alcohol) that we weren’t fans of.

She also vetoed HB 143 which would have created a very complicated and onerous web of regulations around lobbying that would have made efforts to work with legislators both more complicated and unnecessarily confusing for the average person.

The following from Dan Boyd of the Albuquerque Journal explains the issue:

Here’s why we (still) don’t like the tariffs

04.10.2025

The Rio Grande Foundation philosophically supports low taxes and free trade. We don’t weigh in on every issue of importance in Washington, DC, but rather focus on federal issues only when they are of extreme importance. We believe that the issue of the Trump tariffs fits that bill. We oppose them strongly and for several reasons:

  1. Tariffs are taxes: We don’t support raising taxes as a general rule, this time is no different. Like all taxes tariffs have negative impacts on economic activity and prosperity;
  2. The process:  We believe that Congress should make the final decision on taxes and tariffs. This is obviously true for process concerns (one person shouldn’t have such control over economic policymaking) and by putting Congress in charge the process of making tariff policy slows down and allows outside influence to weigh in. Finally, slowing the process down enables businesses to prepare for the policy;
  3. Unclear goals: What is the Trump Administration’s goal here? Are they trying to bring manufacturing back to the US (with a sustained tariff)? Are they trying to get to zero tariffs? Are we now trying a bold move to isolate China (if so, why start by placing tariffs on other nations and why leave 10% tariffs in place now?) Having a specific, achievable goal should drive trade policies. If isolating China is now the goal have we prepared for how they might react?
  4. Credibility and Alliances: The US stock market is not pre-ordained to be the dominant stock market on the planet. That has happened due to America’s economic strength and credibility of the markets themselves. Allowing rules to be changed suddenly and for dubious reasons can undermine our market hegemony. Also, nations that have previously been our closest allies may take a more cautious and negative approach when dealing with the United States.

Tipping Point NM episode 698: Troy Clark of New Mexico Hospital Association – Addressing the Health Care Provider Shortage

04.10.2025

On this week’s interview Paul sits down with Troy Clark. Troy is head of the New Mexico Hospital Association which represents most hospitals throughout New Mexico. They discuss how hospitals are set up in New Mexico (government, non-profit, and for-profit), but quickly turn to the legislative session and the Gov.’s signing of a bill directly (negatively) impacting hospitals. Finally, the conversation broadens out to the health care provider shortage and what can and should be done to address it.

EDD website STILL touts Maxeon deal despite massive downsizing

04.10.2025

The Maxeon solar deal is perhaps the best example of an unflattering trend in which the MLG administration touts BIG things only to have to back off or change course completely. Her Economic Development Department (EDD) STILL includes a link to the original Maxeon “deal” on its front page. The page includes all manner of additional information tied to the company’s original plans which show no signs of EVER coming to fruition.

That deal involved building a brand new 2 million square foot manufacturing facility at Mesa del Sol. The problem is that back in November Maxeon backed off and said it would instead be moving into a MUCH smaller (110,000 sq. ft.) existing Honeywell facility. We haven’t heard anything about whether that facility is currently being worked on or not although the company “plans to begin solar panel manufacturing in the San Mateo facility in early-2026.”

Maxeon’s business situation certainly hasn’t improved since November of 2024 when the Albuquerque Journal noted that “Maxeon’s stock price was trading at $7.36 per share … a nearly 99% drop in value in 2024.” As of April 10, 2025, Maxeon’s share price had declined even further trading at just $3.18 a share. This has been a steady trend with Trump’s tariffs playing only a small role.

Why won’t EDD update their website? What’s the latest on Maxeon’s efforts to get the old Honeywell Plant ready for production next year? Is Maxeon EVER coming to Albuquerque?

 

 

Tipping Point NM episode 697: Governor Signs Bills, Tariff Situation Become Most Important Economic Issue Facing U.S., and Oil Prices Drop

04.09.2025

MLG has until Friday to sign or veto bills that passed this session. She signed a few on Monday. Paul and Wally discuss some of the bills signed. Many of them were not relevant to RGF, but nonetheless will impact the State in important ways.

Then, Paul and Wally have a lengthy discussion of the most important economic issue facing our nation, the tariff situation. What does it mean, what are the goals, and how might it turn out in the end for New Mexico and the United States?

Crude oil prices have dropped significantly for the first time in months.

Strategic voting in semi-open primaries

04.09.2025

SB 16 is a bill that passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Lujan Grisham. The Rio Grande Foundation did not take a position on the issue, nor did we include it in our “Freedom Index” for 2025. The bill allows “Decline To State” or “Independent” voters to choose to vote in the party primary of their choice when they vote in a primary election.

Somewhat uniquely the bill received support and opposition from both parties in the Legislature. The interesting thing is that it opens a potentially interesting strategy for voters in both parties, but especially the GOP. After all, New Mexico is a “blue” state meaning that their political primaries are often much more competitive (with more candidates) than those held for Republicans. Take the prospective 2026 gubernatorial election. We have seen no serious Republicans announce a run for that office while Deb Haaland and (soon) DA Sam Bregman are already in on the Democratic side. We don’t know how Bregman will run (let alone govern), but there are numerous aspects of Bregman’s record that make him more attractive to Republicans than Haaland who toes the far left line on every significant issue.

It is difficult to organize a movement among Republican primary voters to influence Democratic primaries, but it would seem that unless you are involved in GOP (or Democrat) party activities and thus need to be registered in one party or the other, registering as an Independent (DTS) maximizes your flexibility come primary election day.

RGF Releases Final “Freedom Index” scores for 2025 Legislature

04.08.2025

The Rio Grande Foundation has finalized its legislative tracking tool called the “Freedom Index” for the 2025 legislative session. The Index is the Foundation’s effort to shine light on (and enable citizens to hold their legislators accountable) on how New Mexico legislators vote on freedom. Do they vote for lower taxes, reasonable regulations, educational choice, and constitutional liberties or do they vote for higher taxes, unnecessary regulations, the same failed education policies, and less freedom?

As is explained on the Freedom Index page on the Rio Grande Foundation’s website “We evaluate legislators by how they vote on legislation. The legislation is analyzed and scored on a scale of -8 to +8. -8 is reserved for the most liberty-depriving legislation. +8 is given for legislation considered to be among the best of advancing freedom.” Legislators are then scored based strictly on their voting record on the floor (not committee votes which are not reported publicly).

Since members of the House and Senate vote on different bills it can be difficult to compare the two.

Top performers in the House were:

202 score Randall Pettigrew (R-Hobbs)

196 score John Block (R-Alamogordo)

194 score Jonathan Henry (R-Artesia)

190 score Elaine Sena Cortez (R-Hobbs)

Top performers in the Senate were: 

62 score Jim Townsend (R-Artesia)

53 score Pat Woods (R-Broadview)

51 score Candy Ezzell (R-Roswell)

47 score Nick Paul (R-Alamogordo)

Worst Performers:

House
-214 score Andrés Romero (D-Albuquerque)

Senate
-192 score Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces)

 

OAK opinion piece: National test results are a warning for N.M.

04.07.2025

The following appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican on March 16, 2025.

The Nation’s Report Card was released in January. Released every two years, this report provides the most comprehensive data on educational performance nationwide. It is a stark reminder of what should be the most important issue facing New Mexico’s Legislature and governor.

For the last two reports, 2022 and 2024, New Mexico has been 52nd (behind all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Department of Defense schools) in average math and reading scores for both fourth and eighth grade students.

This is a crisis. These last four years represent the worst scores New Mexico has ever received. Prior to COVID-19, New Mexico lingered toward the bottom in education, but these two cycles are the first time that we have been truly dead last among the nation.

It is shocking and appalling, but we have somehow resigned ourselves to this abysmal performance. New Mexicans need to understand that it doesn’t have to be this way.

If there was ever time for the state to take radical action, it would be during a 60-day legislative session. But that is not happening. If we want to solve our medical provider shortage, if we want to address crime, and if we want to grow our economy we need education reform. Every part of the state is negatively impacted by our failed education system.

Specifically, the ability to read is fundamental to all other school learning after third grade. If you cannot read, then your problems will only compound. According to The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s report “Double Jeopardy,” students who struggle with reading in third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than those who read proficiently.

Thus, fourth grade reading is an especially important component of the National Assessment of Educational Progress test. If students struggle to read at this point, they will have a hard time moving forward in all subjects. That is why it is so vital to catch poor reading results early.

For a very long time, New Mexicans could count on not being last thanks to Mississippi. In the early 2010s, New Mexico and Mississippi scored very similarly, both states floundering at the bottom. But no longer. As of this year, Mississippi ranked 10th in the nation for fourth-grade reading. The question we should all be asking is how. How did a state that was doing worse than us turn it around so completely in less than two decades? And why are we not doing the same?

Mississippi didn’t do anything truly profound. They adopted the successful Florida model which focused on early childhood reading, phonics education and teaching teachers how to teach reading effectively. They also banned social promotion (promoting children to the next grade regardless of proficiency). If that sounds familiar, it’s because it was tried here by former Gov. Susana Martinez, but her reforms were stymied by the Legislature.

Ultimately, it seems like Mississippi’s response was characterized by a seriousness that New Mexico is lacking. They decided they were done being at the bottom of the list and did something about it.

While Mississippi’s model is worth emulating, it is also time for more aggressive forms of school choice in New Mexico. Wyoming just became the 15th state to embrace universal school choice (including private schools) in the nation. Neighboring Texas is likely to adopt a similar, sweeping choice program this year as well.

I am a college student who graduated from high school in New Mexico a few years ago, so I am well acquainted with the shortcomings of New Mexico education. That said, I was lucky enough to win the lottery and attend a competitive charter school which prepared me well. Success is possible in New Mexico. I benefited from New Mexico’s limited form of school choice, but we need both more choice and more accountability.

Carter Swanson is policy analyst with Opportunity for All Kids, a New Mexico-based educational reform project of the Rio Grande Foundation.