On this week’s show Paul interviews Fred Nathan, the founder and leader of Think New Mexico. Fred and his organization played a lead role in achieving medical malpractice reform in the 2026 session along with some other significant victories.

Paul and Fred discuss the path of HB 99 (med mal reform) through the legislative process and address what his group (and RGF) have planned next in the area of attracting medical providers to New Mexico. Check this important discussion out!

That’s not just OUR viewpoint, recently a New Mexico State Senator (Antonio “Moe” Maestas) was quoted as saying this. See story below. Of course, as we’ve said repeatedly in recent years, New Mexico has plenty of money to do nearly anything it wants. Sadly, policymakers have:

• • Found plenty of money for a costly $850 million annual universal child care program.
  • They handed MLG $308 million for “quantum computing.”
  • Eliminated 1,000 jobs in communities with ICE facilities.
  • Offered taxpayer-funded handouts to media outlets AND newspapers.

Meanwhile, just this session New Mexico’s Democrats voted to raise vehicle registration fees by 25% and increase taxes on businesses by $110-$120 million annually.

But, providing even modest reductions in taxes was simply “unaffordable” for this (and previous) legislatures. Instead, government spending has grown by more than 80% under this Gov. and New Mexicans remain among the very most impoverished in the nation with New Mexico continuing to depend on oil and gas.

We applaud Sen. Maestas’ honesty, but simply cannot understand why New Mexico voters are so willing to elect and reelect people who are more than happy to spend incredible sums of money on THEIR priorities while refusing to share that prosperity and money with the people they supposedly represent. Check out the story by clicking on it below:

Without a doubt Deb Haaland will be pushing all manner of discredited left wing policies that have kept New Mexico poor (despite its massive untapped wealth) for generations. You can read about her plans to raise the statewide minimum wage, ban rent fixing and spend more money renewable energy in the Albuquerque Journal. While the Rio Grande foundation has fully analyzed her plans here and found them to be deeply lacking, she makes a tacit admission in her statement to the Journal.

Among her plans Haaland wants to raise New Mexico’s minimum wage “from $12 to $14.50, with incremental increases over time.” We certainly disagree with that policy, but what Haaland said about that plan is the biggest “tell.” Haaland told the Journal, “We obviously can’t raise it to what it should be, right?” Haaland said. “Because it would be very high.”

So, Haaland is saying that the wage SHOULD be higher, but there might be issues with raising the wage to that level (so she’ll settle for $14.50 an hour).

The problem with minimum wages has been known for a long time. They push low-skilled workers out of the workforce by making them too expensive to hire. The Congressional Budget Office has said the same thing so it is great to see Deb Haaland acknowledging economic reality in at least this one case.

Of course getting the government involved in setting rent prices and forcing New Mexicans to use even more “renewable” energy will have their own negative impacts.

Among the many developments of the 2026 legislative session (thanks to the passage of HJR 5) is the fact that New Mexico voters will have a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment asking them whether or not they wish to pay legislators an annual salary tied to the median household income in New Mexico which is about $67,800 annually.

The Rio Grande Foundation has long been agnostic on the issue of paying legislators. We do not believe that paying legislators will result in better legislation because New Mexicans have had plenty of chance over the years to vote for better legislators than hey have currently, yet here we are. So, the “quality” argument doesn’t hold up. That being said, fair pay for fair work is a free market principle based on sound reasoning and incentives reflecting the tremendous time and work which is definitely more than the 30 or 60 days of each session.

The problem is that the Democrats who control the Legislature and who supported this amendment (Republicans universally did not) overshot the mark. For starters, legislators would continue to receive “per diem” as they do now of about $200/day PLUS mileage reimbursement.

Additionally, New Mexico legislators receive a VERY generous pension. We are NOT fans of the pension system. We believe that paying legislators for time worked is reasonable, but the pension system does nothing to incentivize good work and everything to incentivize longevity. Oh, and IF the voters approve this plan New Mexico will suddenly have the MOST generous pay plan in the region by FAR. According to the National Council of State Legislators here are the legislative pay rates of our neighboring states.

New Mexico: $67,800 annually (proposed)

Arizona: $24,000 annually

Utah: $301 per legislative day (that works out to $9,030 for a 30 day session and $18,060 for a 60 day session)

Colorado: between $44,000 and $47,000 annually depending on service dates.

Oklahoma: $47,500 annually

Texas: $7,200 annually

As we have done for more than a decade, the Rio Grande Foundation has tracked the votes in New Mexico’s legislative sessions. The 2026 session was a short, 30-day legislative session, but some momentous bills passed (for better AND worse) and some horrible bills that could have passed were defeated, but often included floor votes which are included in the Index.

As per the usual, our Freedom Index involves rating bills from -8 for the very worst to +8 for the very best. Floor votes (and only floor votes) are compiled based on the bill scores and the relevant votes and each legislator receives a score. So, positive scores mean adherence to voting for limited government and individual liberty while negative scores are associated with voting for bigger government and higher taxes. Also notably House and Senate scores can’t be easily compared as they don’t vote on the some bills.

High Scores included:

Rep. Alan Martinez of Albuquerque had the highest overall score and the highest score in the House at 84

Sens. Pat Boone, Candy Ezzell, and Larry Scott had the highest scores in the Senate. They were tied at 76

Low Scores included:

Sen. Linda Lopez had the lowest overall score and the lowest score in the Senate at -84.

Sen. Angelica Rubio had the lowest score in the House at -42. House scores at the bottom of the scale were higher than Senate scores at the lower level due to the unanimous passage of several medical provider compacts.

In term two President Trump has taken on myriad issues that seem to undermine efforts to grow the US economy and reduce the cost of living for Americans. And, while the pro-energy aspect of Trump’s agenda has been helpful, his tariffs are not only NOT helpful, but his scattershot and nearly random approach has been detrimental. Perhaps more importantly, whatever you believe about tariffs as a policy, we at the Rio Grande Foundation have held that they (and other taxes) should be enacted by Congress, not just the president. This is true whether the administration in power is a Republican or Democrat.

We feel so strongly about the importance of following the US Constitution that we filed as an amicus (friend of the court) to defend the fact that Congress sets tariffs under the US Constitution. And, on a 6-3 majority decision released last week, we won.

While President Trump has (unfortunately) continued to push his misguided tariff policies by other means we remain opposed at least until or unless Congress acts.

And, while RGF does NOT believe in governing by public opinion polls it is worth noting that Pew Polling released in early February found: “By a wide margin, Americans continue to say they disapprove of the Trump administration substantially increasing tariffs: 60% say this, including 39% who say they strongly disapprove. By contrast, 37% say they approve of the increased tariffs, and just 13% strongly approve.”

Also, while the President seems to have other means of imposing tariffs he does so at the risk of doing great harm to the economy. 

Larry Behrens handles communications for the energy advocacy group Power the Future. He is a return guest to the show. Paul and Larry discuss the Trump Administration’s repeal of the “Endangerment finding” at the EPA.

They also discuss the net zero bill SB 18 which was narrowly defeated in the New Mexico Legislature, the latest on EV’s now that state mandates are no longer in effect, and the plans by radical environmentalists to shift attention to EV buses. Check out this informative conversation!

Prior to the 2026 legislative session it looked like there might not be a tax bill in Santa Fe. But, there wound up being one (SB 151) and it passed into law. Unfortunately, this is another BAD piece of legislation out of this Legislature. We have rated it a -6 in our Freedom Index because it is an unnecessary and harmful tax increase on New Mexico businesses. When the Legislature and Gov. talk about diversifying our economy they SHOULD mean making New Mexico more economically-competitive, but they usually mean just handing special tax breaks and checks for millions of dollars to various businesses instead.

SB 151 includes a $110 to $120 million annual “increase” in the corporate income tax. Federal tax legislation lowered the federal tax and New Mexico typically would follow that, but instead our Legislature and Gov. specifically acted to keep the tax the same, thus making this a relative (and highly unnecessary) tax hike. Even with other policies stuck into the bill that reduce tax revenues to the state SB 151 results in a completely unnecessary $60-$70 million annual tax increase.  What IS in the rest of the bill?

1. A “refundable” (meaning it can result in outright spending) journalism tax credit equal to 30 percent of the company’s annual wages. The total amount that can be claimed each year is capped at $4 million. We don’t oppose ALL tax credits, but the last thing we need is a GREATER role for government in the media.
2. Gross receipts tax (GRT) deduction for receipts from the sale of construction materials and labor used in the development of affordable multifamily residential housing projects. Yet again the Legislature recognizes the tremendous harm of the GRT on economic activity, but only addresses it in a narrowly targeted way. If this provision eliminated the GRT for ALL residential construction or eliminated it for ALL construction we’d strongly support it, but for ONLY affordable projects, we can’t. 
3. Non-refundable $10 thousand (non-refundable) income tax credit for qualified physicians. We DO support this one although we’d prefer tax reductions for ALL New Mexicans which would be easily affordable. 
4. News printer tax credit. We oppose, see #1 for explanation.
5. Extension of high wage tax credit which rewards employers for every job they create above a certain income threshold through July 1, 2036: This is fine (less than optimal) but is only $10 million annually, a fraction of the corporate income tax hike revenue.

Along with SB 2 which increased taxes on vehicle registrations by 25% this session was shockingly bad for tax hikes considering the continued revenue and spending growth of New Mexico state government. From “free” child care to $308 million spent on quantum computing and many other spending items  New Mexico’s Legislature yet again placed a greater financial burden on New Mexicans.

With the session about to conclude at noon today (Thursday, 2/19), we already have a basic grasp on some of the good, bad, and ugly from this Legislature. We will update this post after the session officially concludes. Notably, unlike the 2026 session which didn’t have any really “good” policies (besides the “microgrid bill,” which very much flew under the radar LAST year), the 2026 session had some bigger policy wins and some more concerning losses.

Let’s start with the GOOD things that happened this year:

1. HB 99 reforms New Mexico’s medical malpractice laws providing needed caps for payouts. It is not only the best thing from this session but one of the best bills passed in a VERY long time.
2. Two few health care compacts have passed so far: one for physicians and one for social workers. The physician compact is also very helpful in addressing the doctor shortage.

Sadly, in terms of BAD ideas there are still more (and more impactful) really awful bills that will become law thanks to actions taken this session than there will good ones.

1. The VERY worst bills this year were for “Free” childcare which was in both the budget HB 2 and SB 241. It is going to be incredibly expensive with a starting price tag of $850 million annually and rising rapidly for there, all for a program that hurts kids.
2. SB 2 addresses New Mexico’s roads problems but raises taxes on freight truckers and average motorists. It DOES impose a fee on electric vehicles, but tax hikes are completely unnecessary in a state with oil and gas largesse.
3. HB 9 shutters ICE facilities in New Mexico potentially costing areas of the state 1,000 jobs.
4. HB 2 (the budget) among many other issues spends $308 million on “quantum computing.”
5. SB 151 (the tax bill) This bill is ultimately a tax increase of $110-$120 million annually driven by the “decoupling” of New Mexico from corporate tax provisions in the federal “Big Beautiful Bill.” There are some good and not-so-good tax reduction provisions within the bill, but it is ultimately an unnecessary tax hike.

Bills that were too UGLY even for New Mexico’s left wing legislature include (thankfully these bills failed):

1. SB 17 a blatantly unconstitutional gun grab and effort to put gun sellers out of business.
2. SB 18 would have completely destroyed New Mexico’s economy by forcing our state to eliminate CO2 emissions by 2050.
3.  SB 235 would shut down “microgrids” that are providing one of the best opportunities for economic development in New Mexico by forcing data centers and other electricity intensive facilities to use wind and solar which would be impossible and likely chase them to other neighboring states.

While there were many successes, let there be no doubt that much harm continues to be done to New Mexico and its economy by this Legislature and Gov. While MLG leaves office at year-end will the future see improvement or more of the same?

After enough twists and turns to fill an Agatha Christie novel HB 99 passed the New Mexico House of Representatives last night (Tuesday) and sent the (relatively) clean medical malpractice reform bill to the Gov.’s desk where she is expected to sign it.

According to Dan Boyd of the Albuquerque Journal, “The bill also would create a tiered system that would cap punitive damages at about $1 million for independent physicians and clinics, $6 million for locally owned hospitals and $15 million for larger corporate-owned hospitals.”

While imperfect, this is far better than the status quo or the amended versions of the bill. The trial attorney lobby (who dominate the Senate Judiciary Committee) was overwhelmed by New Mexicans and their legislators of both parties who are demanding New Mexico be made more attractive for medical professionals to practice. Will this SOLVE New Mexico’s challenges in attracting and retaining health care professionals? No, but it is certainly worth celebrating and it is a BIG step.

The Rio Grande Foundation has worked on the medical provider shortage problem including our research paper which highlights numerous issues. But, there is much more to be done.

The GRT on medical providers and products needs to be addressed/eliminated (preferably the GRT should be eliminated entirely replaced with a sales tax, but starting for medical providers would help).

NM needs to shrink its massive Medicaid rolls and push these people into (preferably) private sector jobs with private health insurance.

NM will join a few medical provider compacts this session, but it needs to join more of them. We won’t know which ones we’ll be a part of until the session is completely done.

Finally, quality of life issues like schools, taxes, and crime are obstacles to New Mexico attracting medical providers. Those can all be addressed but the Legislature has been reluctant to do so.

Conclusion: This was a HUGE win for New Mexico. It may “stop the bleeding” when it comes to our medical provider shortage, but much more needs to be done and we’ll continue to draw attention to these issues and push for necessary change.

On the latest Tipping Point conversation Paul and Wally discuss  the latest from the Roundhouse with just a few days to go.

Paul and Wally discuss the gun bill, medical malpractice, the budget, and “free” childcare, the tax bill, and the prospects for each including the fact that pay raises for state government employees have been eliminated in the push for universal “free childcare”

SB 18 the Clear Horizons bill died in a bipartisan Senate vote last week.

NM’s House Speaker endorses Cuban health care during hearing over medical malpractice:

Stepping outside Santa Fe Paul and Wally discuss the unveiling of Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller’s ridiculous tumbleweed sculpture on the new and costly “rail trail.”

Nobody wants to see New Mexico’s economy grow and thrive more than we do. But New Mexico’s politicians (despite massive oil and gas revenues) have displayed little understanding of how to bring economic growth and diversification to our state.

We still remember the supposed economic impact of Maxeon Solar and Ebon Solar, neither of which have panned out, but both of which have been conveniently “memory holed.” Now, the Gov. and Legislature are planning (as part of the recently-Senate-passed budget) to pour a mind blowing $308 million into so-called “quantum computing.” The plan is to attract such businesses to New Mexico (using money from oil and gas of course).

We have no problem with quantum computing. We even support bringing data centers to New Mexico, but time and time again the Legislature and Gov. are ONLY willing to fund their own pet priorities, not to make New Mexico a more attractive place to do business overall by reducing taxes and improving our overall policy climate.

Instead, with just a few days left in the session we are likely to see a slew of special interest tax giveaways combined with tax hikes on truckers, vehicle owners (SB 2), and businesses (SB 151).

It HAS to be frustrating to live in Lea and Eddy counties or to represent them in Santa Fe. These counties account for 96% of ALL oil produced in New Mexico which is the 2nd-biggest oil producer in the USA.  They are also the two largest oil producing counties in the nation. 

On top of that, these counties are rock-ribbed “red” counties that share much more culturally and economically with neighboring Texas than New Mexico. They don’t see much return on all the money they send to Santa Fe and while they (for years) have been outnumbered in the Legislature recently saw further diminution of their power when the congressional maps were drawn by Democrats to split Southeast New Mexico. And then there are the idiotic efforts by some in the Legislature to pass bills like SB 18 the Clear Horizons Act which would effectively kill both oil and gas and New Mexico’s economy. The bill died this session, but it and others like it remain a threat.

So, how about those counties secede from New Mexico and (likely) join Texas? That’s the idea behind HJR 10 which would, if various votes are successful, give those counties the opportunity to determine their futures. Republican Reps. Pettigrew and Mason have put the plan together. The idea was written up in the Albuquerque Journal. 

While it’s an interesting idea and Rio Grande Foundation would support self-determination on the part of these counties it won’t happen anytime soon. Liberal politicians in New Mexico would be fools for letting all that “free” money slip through their fingers. Without oil and gas they might actually have to develop a private sector economy and take a more common sense approach to government spending.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller posted the video below in commemoration of the opening of the installation of the 25 ft. metal tumbleweed as part of a massively overpriced $80 million, 8 mile-long bike trail. While Keller is enthusiastic about the massively overpriced trail (a typical mile of trail costs $500,000, not $10 million), but most trails don’t have this “lovely art.”

The Rail Trail’s 25-ft tumbleweed debuted at the Rail Yards Valentine’s Day Market.

Designed by world famous architect Antoine Predock it’s now a citywide landmark and a tribute to the man who said he “got stuck” in Albuquerque and stayed 57 years.#OneAlbuquerque #RailTrail pic.twitter.com/fAM7ZIMRh6

— Mayor Tim Keller (@MayorKeller) February 15, 2026

Rather than a tumbleweed we think the sculpture looks like the Death Star. Perhaps a Death Star that zaps taxpayers’ money?

People often ask me why New Mexico remains at the bottom of the good lists and at the top of the bad ones. It comes down to electing politicians who fundamentally do not understand economics and the critical importance of individual freedom.

Take New Mexico’s House Speaker Javier Martinez as an example. Recently in a debate over medical malpractice Martinez took the opportunity (reported here in the Santa Fe New Mexican) to decry the “for profit” American health system and tout Cuba’s socialized model. It is rather wild that he mentions Cuba as the model since it is such an impoverished country relative to Canada and the UK and other nations with socialized health care. In Canada, for example, wait times recently were reported to have grown to 28.6 weeks, the second longest period on record. 

But, under a socialized system, what level of doctor choice is there? According to one Canadian website, “Many Canadians falsely believe that a patient cannot sue their doctor in Canada.” Does that sound like a place where doctors are held accountable by an aggressive legal system?

It is also worth asking Martinez about the fact that 45% of American health care and a much higher percentage of New Mexico’s health care spending considering our outsized Medicaid population is done by the government

Interestingly, Martinez ALSO makes a strong case in his remarks against the US efforts to prevent oil and gas shipments to the Island. Maybe deep down Martinez understands the importance of traditional energy sources better than he lets on? Check out his remarks here:

On this week’s Tipping Point NM interview Paul talks to Rep. Rebecca Dow about issues in the 2026 legislative session. Rebecca and Paul discuss issues in both houses that could have profound impacts on New Mexico’s economy and constitutional liberties. You don’t want to miss this “insider” perspective on the 2026 session.

The 2026 New Mexico legislative session concludes on Thursday, February 19. There are several important things happening that will impact our state economically and in terms of personal freedom.

1. In a HUGE victory SB 18 the Clear Horizons bill which would have mandated massive reductions in CO2 emissions with “net zero” required by 2050 died on the Senate floor. Passage would have been a disaster for New Mexico’s economy and for little/no gain. Here is a list of who voted to stop SB 18.
2. HB 99 Medical Malpractice reform passed the House Judiciary Committee and has been restored to its original intent of protecting doctors practicing in ALL circumstances from absurdly high lawsuit amounts. The bill heads to the House floor next and then needs to go through the Senate with a week left. The Gov. has said she’ll call a special session if the bill doesn’t pass, so this could get interesting.
3. SB 17, the most anti-gun bill in New Mexico history, is headed to the House Judiciary before it heads to the House floor for final passage. This one is VERY bad and VERY unconstitutional, but will be an extremely important bill to watch in the next week.
4. Free childcare is very much in flux but the Gov. is likely going to get much of what she wants. SB 241 which is heading to the Senate floor as soon as today is the primary vehicle for that along with the state budget.
5. SB 151 is a complicated and mixed bag tax bill that ultimately represents a significant tax increase and includes some dubious tax benefits (such as subsidies for “free childcare”). It is heading to the Senate Finance Committee. At very least the tax hike should be pulled out of the bill. Otherwise it should just be rejected.

As the brief 30-day legislative session heads to its conclusion in just over one week (next Thursday) a tax bill has emerged. It is Senate Bill 151 and here’s our analysis of each provision (basically a bill already introduced this session) which includes details from the Los Alamos Reporter:

• SB 12 – Physician Tax Credit: Establishes a $4,000 non-refundable income tax credit for qualified physicians to attract and retain physicians in New Mexico, addressing the state’s healthcare workforce shortage. RGF has no position on this. It will have some positive impact on doctor recruitment, but we’d prefer broader tax reductions.

• SB 36 – Quantum Facility Infrastructure Tax Credit: Creates a “refundable” tax credit (meaning it can be spending) for the development of quantum computing infrastructure, positioning New Mexico at the forefront of emerging technology sectors. The credit is capped at $50 million annually. RGF has a slightly negative view on this credit since it is “refundable” and targeted to one industry.

• SB 92 – Construction Materials Gross Receipts: Creates a new gross receipts tax (GRT) deduction for receipts from the sale of construction materials and labor used in the development of affordable multifamily residential housing projects. RGF has a slightly negative view on this credit since it is only available for so-called “affordable” projects. This deduction should be available to ALL home construction.

• SB 120 – Local Journalist Employment Tax Credit: creates a refundable tax credit (spending) for local news organizations equal to 30 percent of the company’s annual wages. The total amount that can be claimed each year is capped at $4 million. RGF opposes this kind of narrowly targeted spending. 

• SB 133 – Health Equipment GRT Deduction: Creates a new gross receipts tax (GRT) deduction for receipts from the sale of certain in-office equipment and nonprescription in-office medications sold to healthcare practitioners or associations of healthcare practitioners, when the equipment or medication is used within the practitioner’s scope of practice to treat patients. RGF supports this as a means of making New Mexico more attractive as a place for doctors to practice. 

Finally, the bill creates two parallel tax credits for monetary donations to licensed childcare facilities against personal income taxes and corporate income taxes, for tax years after 2026 and prior to tax year 2037. The credit equals 50 percent of the amount donated in the taxable year, capped at $500 thousand per taxpayer. Eligibility is limited to donations made to a qualifying facility or program meeting subsidy enrollment requirements, and certified by the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD). The total annual aggregate amount of the two credits that may be certified is capped at $10 million

RGF is usually not opposed to tax credits, but  with the State now pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into “free” childcare, the last thing we need is a state tax credit to further subsidize this program. 

• SB 151 – Corporate Income Tax Changes: The net result of this provision would be an increase in New Mexico’s economically-harmful corporate income tax. It decouples New Mexico’s corporate income tax from three components of the 2025 reconciliation bill, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). This bill decouples New Mexico from three H.R.1. provisions:

• First-year bonus depreciation,
• First-year expensing for manufacturing facilities, and
• Business interest deductions.

RGF strongly opposes this provision. The corporate income tax is the most harmful commonly applied tax. It does not generate much revenue in New Mexico relative to other state taxes ($790 million out of more than $13 billion in general fund revenue), but does tremendous economic harm.

RGF cannot support this provision and this provision alone brings the overall tax bill (SB 151) to a negative score. 

ALSO, legislative analysts calculate the tax bill to be a tax hike of between $50 and $60 million annually. 

SB 2 has passed which means that the road issue has been “put to bed” for the time being. The bill which has been signed by the Gov. includes:

$1.5 billion in new road spending via a bond (debt) package. This also includes:

A 35% increase in the weight-distance tax on trucks

A 25% increase in vehicle registrations

A new fee starting at $70/annually starting in 2027 and heading to $90 by 2029 on EV’s (which don’t pay gas taxes)

Before the bill passed I discussed the broad issue associated with New Mexico’s roads with KOAT here (you can click on the picture below to watch/read it):

Then I sat down with KOAT to discuss the fee being levied on EV’s. (click picture to watch/read). You can find a chart of how much states charge EV drivers for using the roads. New Mexico’s fee is on the low side as the average is closer to $130-$140 annually.

On this week’s Tipping Point conversation Paul and Wally discuss numerous important issues in the New Mexico Legislature:

SB 17 the anti-gun bill passes New Mexico’s Senate

SB 18 (the attack on energy and New Mexico’s economy) awaits a vote on the Senate floor though Sen. Sharer has used a parliamentary procedure to slow debate.

SB 131 by Sen. Moe Maestas would reform numerous zoning and other housing restrictions. Sadly it was killed in its first committee

Anti-ICE bill HB 9 passes and is signed by MLG.

The Gov.’s free child care plan has been revised to include copays for wealthier beneficiaries.

SB 2 road bill signed by MLG including new taxes (bad) and a new fee on EV’s. $1.5 billion in new road funding.

HB 99 medical malpractice changes are up in the House Judiciary today. Can it be made effective by stripping out an unfortunate amendment?

Democrats, superintendents, and other defenders of NM’s status quo have produced a report claiming that NM is better in education than believed.

It is tough for New Mexico to gain attention in the national media, but our incompetent politicians try very hard. SB 18, perhaps the worst bill ever, to be considered in New Mexico’s Legislature, would be both unachievable and economically devastating. So, it is at once nice and also disconcerting that national energy expert and author Alex Epstein felt compelled to provide an exhaustive takedown of SB 18. You can read his takedown here and I highly recommend subscribing to his substack.

SB 18 could be up in the Senate Tax Committee as early as this Saturday. Despite this bill being incredibly harmful to both New Mexico AND the nation as a whole (read Epstein’s piece) it is going to be a tough bill to stop.

If you don’t like the results, just change the way those results are reported. That seems to be the MO for New Mexico Democrats and the government education system. After two straight cycles of being dead last in all four categories of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, (click here for 2025 results and here for  the 2022 results) New Mexico education “blob” which includes school superintendents and Democrat legislators (to name two) wants to change the narrative. They don’t actually want to change the education system, just the narrative.

This is all covered in a Santa Fe New Mexican article. The article does include a link to the report which is somewhat incomprehensible. Mostly, the claim is that New Mexico’s test has higher proficiency standards than those of neighboring states which makes it look as if New Mexico is doing worse than others. We have no dog in that fight as we have never used state tests because they change so often.

However, the claim is made in the article that the NAEP (which we use and is called the Nation’s Report Card) sample size of 3,500 students per state is too small.

We don’t buy it. We’ll see if New Mexico’s NAEP scores improve in the next round of testing, but until then all of this is noise. New Mexico and its largest districts (including Albuquerque Public Schools) have done SOME work around the edges. Will it be enough to bring New Mexico out of last place? Only time and the next round of NAEP testing will tell, not this report. We’ll stick with the nationally-respected “gold standard” NAEP test used by literally everyone (including the liberal Annie E. Casey Foundation in their annual Kids Count report).

Paul visits with Albuquerque business owner Doug Turner who is a GOP candidate for Governor of New Mexico.  Doug believes New Mexico is being held back by big government, one-party control, and leaders who have lost sight of who government is supposed to serve.  Learn more about where Doug stands on the issues facing New Mexico in this informative interview.