According to the Albuquerque Journal in a supposed effort to somehow make living in Santa Fe more affordable Mayor Alan Webber is planning to raise the City’s minimum wage from it’s current $15 an hour to $17.50 an hour. Santa Fe is indeed an expensive place to live, but artificially raising wage rates (to the extent that people in the City are currently earning the minimum wage) is at best a waste of time. At worst it will only further increase inflation in living costs in the City.

Of course, Santa Fe is an expensive place to live. It is a desirable location for many to live and it has numerous land use and building code regulations both city and state that cause prices to go up. Simply put it is not going to be the most affordable place to live in New Mexico regardless of government policy.

Taxes could be cut, so could regulatory burdens especially on land use. Zoning and historical preservation related regulations aren’t going anywhere, but land south of town remains available for construction. The State could also help by reforming the GRT on housing and ending its absurd EV charging mandates.  Income tax relief at both the city and especially state level would put more money in the pockets of average Santa Feans and help improve affordability more effectively than a minimum wage hike (past mandated wage hikes have clearly not improved affordability in Santa Fe).

Sadly, New Mexico’s so-called “progressive” politicians typically prefer to throw money at problems or add additional government mandates on top of existing mandates that only result in further warping of the marketplace (in this case both housing and the labor market).  It would be nice if the politicians figured that out for once.

New Mexico $485 million in new money next session.

RGF in National Review.

PNM merger details revealed.

There is a new executive building on tap for Santa Fe to add even more office space for government.

Details of the latest proposed purchase of PNM have been outlined with the Albuquerque Journal having the details. As a reminder the Rio Grande Foundation did not take a position on the proposed Avangrid merger. This time around the purchaser is Blackstone, a private equity firm.

Here are some points to be considered:

1. One reason PNM is looking for a merger is due to the need to borrow money more cheaply. It’s bond rating is “BBB” which is not great making borrowing expensive. Being part of a bigger company will enable them to borrow at a lower cost;
2. This is the 2nd merger effort for PNM. Whatever you may think of private equity another denial for PNM by the Public Regulation Commission will give New Mexico yet another black eye with the business world. Not being able to be sold due to political pressure is a problem for other businesses looking to come to New Mexico.
3. Thankfully (at least to date) we know of no special interest “stipulations” in the Blackstone deal aside from a pledge to lower rates. We’d rather have a “clean” sale and let the new company do business in a way that is as reliable and affordable as possible.
4.  The utility market is changing quickly with plans being discussed to extend the life of the coal powered “Four Corners” plant beyond 2031 (not to be confused with the shuttered San Juan Generating Station) due to rising electricity usage. The growth of AI and other electricity demands makes New Mexico’s absurd plan to eliminate CO2 emissions all the more problematic. Will New Mexico change direction? Will we simply miss out on the AI boom (which we’d be otherwise ideally suited to benefit from)?

There are a lot of fascinating questions to be answered at the PRC in the next several months.

As Dan Boyd of the Albuquerque Journal reports New Mexico’s string of budgetary largesse is expected to continue in the upcoming legislative session with $485 million in “new money.” As Boyd notes, “New money is the difference between projected revenue levels and current total spending.”

In other words, even with the budget having gone up by 70% under Michelle Lujan Grisham (and with lower oil prices) the State has plenty of revenues. This general fund revenue is separate from the $6 billion growth in permanent fund assets during 2025 alone.

Will New Mexicans see any tax reduction thanks to the latest annual budget surplus? Given the track record of this governor and legislature, we see tax reduction as highly unlikely, but would love to be surprised.

Paul recently sat down with Diane Kinderwater for an episode of “Issues and Answers” on KCHF TV. The show airs statewide and can be streamed live right here. In a recent conversation Paul had a chance to discuss what’s at stake in the City of Albuquerque elections this fall. We discuss crime, homelessness, the economy, and other policies and issues facing New Mexico’s largest city. Check out that discussion below. You can also find interviews RGF has done with candidates and their candidate surveys.

In one of the least surprising recent developments at Spaceport America the deadline for Virgin Galactic’s new spacecraft (the ones that will theoretically make the company profitable) were supposed to be ready by 2025. According to the Albuquerque Journal, that date has slipped and now the company claims it will resume commercial flights at the Spaceport again in the next 12 to 18 months. Virgin Galactic officials said last week that commercial flights are expected to resume in fall 2026. We aren’t holding our breath.

In other Spaceport news the Arrowhead Center at NMSU recently released a report that purports to show the “economic impact” of the taxpayer funded Spaceport. The report claims an “economic impact” of $240 million for the facility in 2024. Admittedly we don’t put much stock in poorly-defined terms like “economic impact.” Spending, tax revenues, and direct jobs created are tangible and at least can be clearly measured. “Economic impact” is hard to define clearly and impossible to measure accurately, especially when you consider alternative opportunities.

We reached out to an author of the Arrowhead Center report to see if they’d come on our Tipping Point NM podcast to discuss the report but have not heard back from them.

The following takedown of “economic impact” reports was put together by our friends at the John Locke Foundation:

A New Mexico story in three simple pictures:

According to the Albuquerque Journal New Mexico begins 2025 with $58 billion in its various “permanent funds”

On August 13, 2025 (approximately 8 months later) the Albuquerque Journal reports that the amount in those accounts has risen to $64 billion (that’s just a bit less than $1 billion a month growth).

New York Times magazine on August 6, 2025 writes thousands of words about New Mexico being “poor” and how the State can’t afford reductions to Medicaid and other federal programs.

There are seven candidates on the ballot this fall for mayor of Albuquerque. The Rio Grande Foundation invited all of them to complete candidate surveys and come on our podcast, Tipping Point New Mexico. The election is Tuesday, November 4 (with a runoff likely to follow).

In alphabetical order by last name here are the conversations and surveys. In the absence of surveys or podcast conversations we have listed the name and stated as much.

Mayling Armijo Conversation below, survey can be found here.

Daniel Chavez Conversation below, survey can be found here.

Tim Keller did not respond

Louie Sanchez did not respond

Alexander Uballez did not respond

Eddie Varela Conversation below, candidate survey can be found here.

Darren White Conversation below, candidate survey can be found here.

On this week’s Tipping Point NM interview Paul interviewed rancher and president of NM Cattle Growers, Bronson Corn. They primarily discussed a proposed power line through Eastern New Mexico that could wind up involving use of eminent domain and taking land up to 15 miles wide. Why does this project require so much land? Where is this electricity going?

Also, Paul and Bronson discuss New Mexico’s proposed “heat rule.” The rule which is still being considered would have massive negative impacts on ranchers and would be completely unrealistic for many rural employers. Check out this conversation now!

According to a new report New Mexico’s permanent funds have now swollen to a mind-numbing $64 billion. That is up from $58 billion at the start of 2025. That’s an increase of more than 10% in the span of less than a year.

This is hardly surprising considering recent strong stock market performance and the ongoing oil and gas boom which remains in place despite somewhat lower prices. Sadly, New Mexicans are not likely to benefit from this money until or unless big changes are made in Santa Fe.

Despite 70% spending growth under Michelle Lujan Grisham Deb Haaland (running for Governor) wants to spend even more while Speaker Javier Martinez who seems to want the State to continue hanging on to a vast majority of the money so the State doesn’t need to rely as much on taxpayers (but don’t look for tax cuts).

New Mexico has already spent heavily on health programs and behavioral health with little effect.

Education spending (which accounts for nearly half the general fund) has grown and results are worse than ever.

Money could and should be invested in maintaining and building new roads, but it isn’t.

New Mexico COULD use a portion of this ongoing financial windfall to reform its anti-business gross receipts tax (to make it more like a sales tax) and work towards eliminating its personal income tax. But, that would require a VERY different mindset from our Governor and Legislature. Instead, an overwhelming majority of the $64 billion is invested out-of-state.

Back in May the US Congress voted to eliminate California’s (and thus the ability of other “blue” states like New Mexico) to force motorists to purchase electric vehicles (43% starting in 2026). A new report from the pro-EV trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation finds that in Q1 of 2025 auto buyers didn’t just slow the growth of EV purchases, but shifted back to gas vehicles in overwhelming numbers.

This was true in mandate states like New Mexico and across the country. In fact, according to the chart below, the ONLY state to mandate EV’s that saw and increase over the 4th quarter of 2024 was Oregon. Also, using the same group’s information RGF sees a 10% quarterly decline in New Mexico from 5.53% in Q4 2024 to 4.98% in Q1 2025 (p. 8).

Notably, while the state-level EV mandates may have seemed to be on their way out given the inauguration of President Trump in January, the fact is that numerous federal and state subsidies for EV’s remain in effect. The following is verbatim from an email sent out by the New Mexico Environment Department:

Under current federal policy, tax credits of up to $7,500 for new EVs and up to $4,000 for used EVs are only available through September 30th, 2025. That window is closing fast.

These savings apply at the time of purchase for eligible vehicles and income-qualified buyers, meaning you don’t have to wait for tax season to benefit. It’s real money back in your pocket, right when you need it.

Need a charger too? You can also get a tax credit of up to $1,000 to help cover the cost of purchasing and installing a residential or commercial EV charging station. But that time is limited: this federal tax credit is only available through June 30, 2026.

If you are considering an EV and/or charger, visit Plug in America’s EV tax credit guide to see which vehicles qualify and whether you’re eligible.

The savings don’t stop there!

New Mexico’s Energy Conservation and Management Division in the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department offers a tax credit of up to $3,000 for the purchase or lease of a new or used qualifying vehicle and a tax credit of up to $25,000 for the purchase and installation of clean car charging units. This program has helped over 700 New Mexicans save thousands of dollars as they transition to cleaner modes of transportation. Visit the Clean Car and Charging Unit Tax Credit webpage to see if your next purchase qualifies.

In New Mexico’s case the subsidies and breaks will remain in effect and are augmented by recently-enacted building codes which require EV charging stations and/or infrastructure in new construction.

New Mexico is a land of crises. Perhaps that should be the new motto. It is well documented that housing prices have risen dramatically across the state, especially in urban areas. Governments at all levels are spending tens-of-millions of dollars on various “affordable” housing schemes.

But, housing is ultimately a supply and demand issue driven by the cost of building housing (which impacts the supply) and the number of people who are in the housing market. New Mexico’s population is growing slowly overall, yet the crisis is real.

Which makes it even more shocking that (as the Santa Fe New Mexican reports), the Legislature is doing nothing to address the problem. The following are direct quotes from the story:

Among the numerous housing market problems the RGF has cited: gross receipts taxes, onerous zoning laws, permitting problems, and regulation (like MLG’s new building codes) are some of the largest cost-drivers.

On this week’s conversation Paul and Wally discuss how New Mexico’s health care crisis and education crisis (along with other problems facing the state) share similar patterns and how/why the politicians have failed to address things for their own self-interest.

Environmental groups say New Mexico’s clean fuel standard could worsen environmental issues.

Paul and Wally discuss how the situation in Santa Fe highlights problems with NM’s capital outlay process.

Deb Haaland (or her campaign) had another interesting tweet this week in which she seemingly called out Gov. Lujan Grisham.

Channel 7 KOAT did a story discussing incumbent Mayor Tim Keller’s fundraising. RGF appeared to discuss the taxpayer-funded campaign finance system which is helping him with that advantage.

NM Biz coalition has an interesting poll on the Mayor’s race. What’d they find?

RGF is hosting a gala in November to celebrate the organization’s 25th birthday.

Paul and Wally wrap up with a few items including (again) overheated classrooms at APS.

A group called New Mexico Safety Over Profit recently had to disclose $1.3 million in donations. The organization has fought (successfully) against reforms to New Mexico’s lawsuit-happy tort system which is one of the leading factors making our State unattractive to medical professionals. Trial attorneys are one leg of the “three legged stool” of Democrat Party interest groups. Those groups are:

1. Trial attorneys,
2. Unions (those are teacher union and government employees as well as trade unions), and
3. Radical environmental groups.

Special interests spend big in order to protect their interests.  Trial attorneys and unions (especially those in education) give to keep the money flowing to themselves. They like the system just as it is and just want more money and power for themselves and their allies. They don’t care if doctors and businesses won’t come here as long as they get theirs and they don’t care if the education system is an abject failure either.

Radical environmental groups work to shut down the industries that fund New Mexico’s economy and make our lives livable. They ALSO look to shift resources to their allies in the form of subsidies and mandates (EV’s, wind, solar, and more) but many of them don’t like civilization (at least not for the rest of us) and will gladly fly private jets while attempting to ban commercial jets and mining or oil and gas extraction.

The $1.3 million is a drop in the bucket even for the trial attorneys which is nonetheless multiples greater than Rio Grande Foundation’s annual budget. Many trial attorneys are in the Legislature, many of them contribute to campaigns as well. Until New Mexico voters decide that they’ve had enough of failed policies from these three groups and decide to vote differently we are destined to remain at the bottom of all the good lists and the top of the bad ones.

What do you call a public financing for a mayor’s race with 7 candidates but the ONLY candidate to get taxpayer dollars to run their campaign is the incumbent who is also looking for a 3rd term? Some terms that come to mind are “failed,” “corrupt,” and “anti-democratic.”

RGF’s president recently sat down with KOAT Channel 7 to discuss why Albuquerque’s public campaign financing system, how publicly-financed candidates like Keller “double dip,” and why that is a problem.

Check out the story here:

The Rio Grande Foundation has repeatedly called for reductions to New Mexico’s tax burden with eliminating the personal income tax and reform to the harmful gross receipts tax being our top priorities. Unfortunately, the Legislature and Gov. have not prioritized average New Mexicans’ needs. Instead, the money has helped create New Mexico’s sovereign wealth funds which amount to $61 billion while New Mexico remains among the poorest states in the country.

A new report from the LFC shows that the State general fund continues to see growth despite lower oil prices. According to the LFC, New Mexico’s general fund collected $272.4 million MORE than was expected between July 2024 and February 2025.

Despite MLG’s budget for FY 2025 having been a whopping $10.517 billion, an increase of $948.9 million, or 9.9%, above the FY24 that would leave New Mexico with an FY 2025 budget surplus of $2.95 billion, just shy of $3 billion.

On this week’s Tipping Point Paul interviews Marcos Gonzales who heads up economic development efforts for Bernalillo County. Marcos and his team are currently hosting a series of public meetings across the county.

Paul and Marcos discuss those meetings, the economic development situation and programs within the State and County, and some of the challenges facing the County when it comes to attracting business. You don’t want to miss this conversation from an insider’s perspective on economic development in New Mexico’s most populous county!

When it comes to training conservatives to work in politics nobody does it better than the folks at Leadership Institute. They are bringing their grassroots training efforts to New Mexico on April 15 for a day-long session on running for office or volunteering. The Rio Grande Foundation is not directly involved in this effort, but is pleased to share this information. Find all the details below:

On this week’s podcast Paul and Wally take a closer look at the Gov.’s comments on Face the Nation. MLG rarely gives televised interviews to the NM media, so each conversation with the national media is worth scrutinizing. Even when she says factual things her remarks often make us wonder what about her statements and their accuracy and intent.

Paul’s opinion piece on New Mexico’s film industry and the recession/depression facing it ran in the ABQ Journal recently.

Gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland uses some imprecise language to attack “millionaires and billionaires” in a recent tweet.

 MLG says a special session of the Legislature is coming soon. What does she want the Legislature to do? And, why now given the timing of the Medicaid changes.

 An awesome new website helps users track the movement of people and their money as they move from state to state.

Imagine a system within the New Mexico economy that government manages poorly and that has failed. I know, hard to believe!

Everyone agrees (as do the data) that the system is a failure. What does the Legislature do? Do they address the problem head-on making needed changes? Heck no. In New Mexico, we don’t reform broken systems whether they be our K-12 system or our health care system. That would involve taking on powerful special interests whether those be the teacher unions or trial attorneys (both of which are powerful Democrat funders). Those groups might pull money from campaigns or support the opposition in a primary or even general election.

So, what DOES happen? Left-wing Rep. Liz Thomson claims in the Albuquerque Journal that we just need to spend a few more dollars to bribe more doctors to our State. That’s also the view of left-wing gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland. So, the answer is to simply keep the system in place without addressing medical malpractice, taxes, the State’s attractiveness to doctors, or anything else. Just pour more oil and gas money (an industry both Thomson and Haaland loathe) and hope for the best.

GOP Rep. John Block has actual solutions and calls out Thomson for defending the status quo in his own opinion piece.

And, of course, RGF has its own solutions which we offered back in 2023. Those include medical malpractice reform, gross receipts tax reform to end taxes on medical providers, Medicaid reform, and overcoming licensing barriers (the proposed compacts are a good solution), telemedicine, and even improving our crime situation and overall tax code to make New Mexico friendlier to high earners like doctors.

Our friends at Think New Mexico are calling for New Mexicans to contact their legislators and the Gov. asking them to put the compacts on the agenda for the upcoming special session.

With gas prices having dropped in recent months (thanks in part to President Trump’s pro-energy policies) concern over gas prices has waned. But, that could change in New Mexico as the State prepares to embark on implementation of the “Clean Fuel Standard.” The Rio Grande Foundation (while attempting to correct the record that it is NOT a 50 cent/gallon gas tax, has noted that the Standard will indeed increase gas prices dramatically over time). 

But, then we see this articles from the Albuquerque Journal which notes that “some advocates are worried it could do more harm than good.” By “advocates,” the reporter is referring to some environmental groups and “more harm than good” refers to increased pollution. Sadly, reporters tend to only care about “advocates” when they are on one side of the issue and “harm” when it is bad for the environment.

Will overall pollution be worsened by the new policy? It is hard to say, but during the 2024 (30-day) session, RGF was often in the room during hearings and some environmental groups opposed the bill. Also, ethanol which is often used to replace crude oil in such efforts is considered worse for the environment than traditional fuel.

There is a lawsuit and investigation going on at New Mexico’s Office of the Superintendent of Insurance. The state is spending nearly half a million dollars of your money investigating what they call “potential irregularities” in New Mexico’s insurance fraud fund. But, rather than investigating companies for alleged fraud they are investigating internally.

They are looking into how the money that funds the investigations is being collected and spent.

“It’s ironic in this case that an agency that’s tasked with investigating fraud is itself being accused of fraud,”

RGF president Paul Gessing had the opportunity to discuss a bit about the OSI and how it is funded as part of the story. Check out the story here or below:

Check out this recent article from the Santa Fe New Mexican. It discusses challenges the City of Santa Fe is having with regard to capital outlay money from the State. As we have discussed, New Mexico has built up a massive backlog of unspent capital outlay money.  According to the article, “Unspent capital outlay statewide likely exceeds $7 billion.”

At the Rio Grande Foundation we believe that one of MANY problems with New Mexico’s capital outlay system is that local priorities should be funded locally (not on a statewide basis). Legislators often prioritize projects whether they are really a local priority or not. As the article notes, “State lawmakers are frustrated with the municipalities’ ability to quickly spend capital outlay allocated for local projects, something that may affect what they choose to fund in upcoming sessions.”

And, due to the lack of project prioritization and any comprehensive analysis of NEEDS vs. WANTS vs. POLITICAL PORK, “One lawmaker has said she refuses to give Santa Fe more money until a sewer line connection in her district is complete, while other said their main focus is funding shovel-ready projects.”

As Santa Fe Public Works Director Regina Wheeler told a City Council committee in early July, “The Legislature funds their priorities more than they fund the city priorities.”

And, of course, New Mexico remains ranked near the very bottom of various national lists like the following from US News & World Report. See below: