During this week’s conversation Paul and Wally discuss their respective recent trips out of state and their coincidentally winding up on the same flight.

With the recent passing of former NM Gov. Bill Richardson, Paul and Wally discuss him and his mixed legacy in New Mexico. 

Joe “The Plumber” who once spoke at an RGF-sponsored event  also passed recently. Paul and Wally discuss his rise to notoriety.

Some leftist southern NM Democrats are calling for NMSU to censor conservative speakers like Matt Walsh.

Op-ed; Time for an All of the Above approach to education (plus our conference).

More work needed to address NM’s doctor shortage, especially in rural NM.

Oxfam has a report on “Best States to Work.” The report misses the boat, but even more importantly is the fact that with a $1 billion + annual budget it raises questions about what the organization is telling impoverished foreigners.

Whether you are a fan of Starbucks or not, these stores are like printing money and with no other Starbucks located within the downtown ABQ urban core, it is NOT a good sign that this store has closed permanently. There are plenty of other great coffee places downtown and we’ve been to a number of them, but tourists and others in a hurry love their Starbucks.

Why the store closed is hard to say. It seemed busy enough. It WAS closed for a LONG time during COVID, but had been open for the last year or so. Crime? Lack of downtown foot traffic? Inability to find employees?

In a post yesterday we reminded New Mexicans that skeptics of lockdowns and other extreme COVID policies were right and those (like Gov. Lujan Grisham) who imposed such policies were wrong.

Apparently one of New Mexico’s most prominent bloggers believes that determining scientific accuracy is based on a reelection vote in which the Gov. ran on completely unrelated issues including “democracy” and abortion.

To reiterate, Sweden bucked the global lockdown trend in 2020 and wound up outperforming on a number of important data points.

The last I looked, she won reelection. So who was right? https://t.co/96AEio94EH

— Joe Monahan (@newsguy44) September 5, 2023

As the media has attempted to spin up fears over the spread of COVID in recent weeks it is worth reminding New Mexicans that we (those skeptical of strict government controls) were correct while those like Gov. Lujan Grisham who pushed them have been proven wrong (or at the VERY least their chosen policies have NOT proven effective (heavy-handed policies. SHOULD be based on strong evidence).

Here are a few major issues:

1. Keeping students out of school as MLG did was a massive fail. New Mexico was the 6th-longest. state in terms of kids being kept out of school. There is widespread agreement and data highlighting that this was a massive failure.
2. Arbitrary and lengthy business closures were unfair and we knew it from the very beginning. The idea that Lowe’s and Home Depot could remain open as “essential” while smaller garden stores and other competitors had to close was silly. Same with restaurant closures and silly “outdoor dining” requirements.
3. Masks were a flashpoint and while their effectiveness remains speculative (studies can be found on both sides), mandating their use as MLG did was not effective. Currently masks are worn willingly by a small number of people. Hopefully mask mandates don’t return.
4. Vaccines may be wise for some to take, but their effectiveness at stopping the spread of COVID was over-sold. Regardless, there should never have been vaccine mandates.
5. Rather than encouraging physical activity MLG closed off numerous opportunities for healthy activity and recreation (even golf courses were closed for a few months). This is one of many ways in which her misguided and anti-science policies hurt New Mexico.We at the Rio Grande Foundation opposed the Gov. every step of the way on these and other COVID policies. Did we miss any? Put yours in the comments. 

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has died. While we at the Rio Grande Foundation often disagreed with the former Gov. we also had our areas of agreement. Here are a few thoughts on him and his legacy.

Compared to today’s Democrats Richardson was a moderate. He genuinely seemed to desire economic growth for New Mexico and had a plan (which was fairly successful) to grow NM’s economy. He cut NM’s top income tax rate from 8.2% to 4.9% and reduced capital gains taxes as well.

Sadly, Richardson ALSO fell into the trap of big government boondoggles. His purchase of a supercomputer was one, but his Rail Runner and Spaceport have been very costly. The RailRunner continues to lose ridership while the Spaceport remains unproven even as Virgin Galactic FINALLY has started manned tourism launches. Subsidies for Eclipse Aviation and Schott Solar also failed to create long-term economic success.  Richardson also laid the groundwork for New Mexico’s costly film subsidies which have helped film while failing to more broadly develop New Mexico’s economy despite hundreds of millions in subsidies.

Richardson was pro-2nd Amendment, especially compared to modern Democrats. He was endorsed by the NRA twice. 

In broader terms Richardson was a consensus-builder who genuinely tried to represent the entire state whereas current Gov. Lujan Grisham often ignores rural New Mexico in favor of vote-rich urban areas.

Richardson (gently) reproached Gov. Lujan Grisham for her overly-zealous failed COVID lockdown strategy. He also (sagely) pushed NM legislators and Lujan Grisham to avoid raising taxes in the most recent legislative session.

Finally, as with so many other New Mexico politicians, ethical questions abound. Richardson was associated with noted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and missed out on a key role in the Obama Administration due to ethical questions. There is likely a great deal to both of these stories that the public is not aware of, but they highlight deep-seated problems with New Mexico’s political culture and Richardson’s own character.

According to The Daily Wire left-wing Democrat Senators Soules and Hamblen recently sent a letter to the University president in which they “expressed their ‘extreme disappointment’ that the university allowed (conservative political commentator) Matt Walsh to speak on campus at a Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) event in April.”

The senators apparently don’t want anyone at the University to have an opportunity to hear from Matt Walsh.

Walsh is known for his documentary What is a Woman? in which he asks numerous academics and gender “experts” that simple question. You can watch Walsh’s full speech at NMSU below. Considering that the talk remains available through the oft-censored Youtube is an indicator that is speech was hardly as offensive and inflammatory as the senators would have you believe.

This week Paul joins Wally from Chicago where he is attending the State Policy Network conference of free market think tanks.

Paul and Wally both attended a presentation on carbon capture held by the American Petroleum Institute in Albuquerque. Wally has significant experience with this technology and the two discuss its potential in New Mexico.

NM has another massive surplus. Will the politicians blow it again? What should they do?

Paul further flushes out the concept of MLG-nomics.

Along with unprecedented revenue there have been unprecedented increases in construction costs. What can be done about rising costs? Is the federal government helping?

ABQ’s contract w/ James Ginger has been revised.

According to recent news reports (and RGF’s own work) more work needs to be done to address New Mexico’s medical provider crisis, especially in rural areas. Talk of an obstetrics “desert” and two-thirds of hospitals in the state with expenses exceed their revenue over the last 12 months dominated recent hearings.

For starters, New Mexico is by no means alone in facing a health care shortage. A recent Wallethub report ranked the State 34th overall. America’s increasingly government-driven health care system is inherently dysfunctional.

However, while the Legislature tackled some low-hanging fruit in the last session like addressing medical malpractice, ending GRT on medical providers, and pumping up Medicaid reimbursements, there is more to be done and this is where it gets difficult. Also, some issues impacting the supply of health practitioners (like immigration policy) are not under state control.

• Reducing the State’s Medicaid dependency is a starting point with 47% of the State’s population on the government program.
• Expanding New Mexico’s scope of practice laws and increasing use of telemedicine.
• Reduce income taxes (doctors are high earning professionals)
• Work broadly to improve the economy, especially in rural areas.

There is plenty to be done. We’ll see if Gov. Lujan Grisham and the Legislature have the will to take on these challenging issues.

Oxfam is typically known for its international work Oxfam that, as they describe themselves, “fights inequality to end poverty and injustice.” Interestingly they just came out with a new report which purports to rank the “best US states to work” in America. 

Since Oxfam is typically considered a “left wing” organization, it is no surprise that we at the Rio Grande Foundation would find the results lacking, but it is not merely a question of ideology. The fact is that the report’s top ranking states are: California, Oregon, DC, and New York at the very top. New Mexico is 16th which is unusual for the Land of Enchantment which finds itself at the very bottom of most lists.

Some of the fastest growing states happen to be ranked at the very bottom by Oxfam including: North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and Utah. Utah in particular is a state that usually performs very well on all manner of state rankings, but not Oxfam’s.

Of course, Oxfam’s report heavily focuses on restrictive wage and economic policies including: minimum wages, paid sick leave, and the absence of Right to Work laws.

Sadly, Oxfam’s report is completely worthless. It totally misses economic reality and the preferences expressed by millions of Americans leaving “blue” states like New York and California and flocking to the very “red” states that are growing fast. 

In addition to this report being based on a misguided philosophy one must wonder what public policies Oxfam is encouraging with its $1 billion + dollar yearly budget.

As mentioned recently, New Mexico policymakers will again have a stunningly large budget surplus when they convene in January, but revenues are not the only thing rising. Inflation is as well, especially in the construction industry Daniel Chacon writes in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

In addition to Chacon’s article, RGF’s Paul Gessing recently sat down with Carla Kugler to discuss the current state of New Mexico’s construction industry.

We definitely agree with analyst Cally Carswell on the following:

• Prioritize or restrict 2024 capital appropriations to complete existing projects.
• Prioritize emergency or critical infrastructure projects.

We’d add a few more:

• End Davis-Bacon work requirements and ban Project Labor Agreements (on the books in ABQ and Bernalillo County, both of which raise costs and restrict labor supply on construction jobs.
• Make a specific, long-term plan to increase New Mexico’s low workforce participation rate with a special emphasis of increasing participation in the construction industry.
• Finally, while it isn’t a state policy issue per se, it is worth noting that the Biden Administration’s massive debt-laden spending bills including the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” are further increasing construction costs.

On this week’s interview Paul sits down with Carla Kugler. Carla is President & CEO at Associated Builders and Contractors New Mexico Chapter. She represents the non-union construction industry in New Mexico. Carla recently won “Executive of the Year” from the New Mexico Society of Association Executives.

In addition to that Paul and Carla discuss New Mexico’s construction industry and their constant struggle to find good workers and what they are doing about it as an industry. Carla also addresses the latest on projects in Bernalillo County/ABQ that by law give unions favorable treatment when it comes to government-funded construction. projects.

A recent news story that ran AFTER our conversation relating to the construction industry and rising costs can be found here. 

The City of Albuquerque’s police department monitor James Ginger has been paid over $11 million. While the overall merits of what DoJ is doing with the City’s police department is up for debate, the City’s payments to Ginger have remained high even as the City increasingly complies with DoJ’s mandates.

RGF’s Paul Gessing had a chance to weigh in on Ginger’s ongoing payments in a recent story KOAT did on the topic. Find the story at link or click on the screen shot below.

On the heels of a massive $3.6 billion surplus which was available to the Legislature and Gov. Lujan Grisham in advance of the 2023 session, analysts are now predicting another banner budget year for New Mexico. The current surplus is estimated at $3.5 billion.

Of course, this number is all the more impressive because New Mexico government has grown rapidly in recent years (meaning more money is needed to fulfill the baseline). In addition to growing general fund spending, the State has also plowed money into various permanent funds and endowments (deferred spending).

There have been minor GRT rate reductions (in 2022) and elimination of GRT on medical deductibles and co-pays, but the Legislature also seriously considered tax hikes in the last session. Nothing fundamental has been done to improve or diversify New Mexico’s economy for the long-term.

Can this Legislature and Gov. enact needed tax reductions and reforms? We remain in a Show-me state of mind, but will keep pushing and fighting. By all accounts the Legislature will again have record revenues when it convenes in January thanks to the production-driven oil boom in New Mexico.

Joe Biden has “Bidenomics: the taking on of debt, rising inflation, and impoverishment of average citizens to support preferred industries and special interests (see the Inflation Reduction Act).

Gov. Lujan Grisham has her own version of Bidenomics which we’re calling “MLG-nomics.” While the Albuquerque Journal has a fawning article detailing all of the numerous “green” projects going on around New Mexico, the reality is that MLG’s entire economic strategy appears to be to use massive revenues created by the booming oil and gas industry to pump up her preferred “green” projects and Hollywood.

The good. news is MLG’s plans are not as reliant on debt as Biden’s, but the bad news is that New Mexico remains among the poorest states in America with a failing education system, high crime, and numerous other challenges that COULD be addressed with the money flowing into the State. Instead, MLG’s friends in her preferred industries will make out very well at the expense of both federal and state taxpayers and the economic future of New Mexico.

UPDATE: We are pleased to report that City Council rejected the proposed cap.

Albuquerque’s City Council is considering (possibly tonight) a number of new regulations on so-called short-term rentals. The proposed number is 1,200 citywide which is purely arbitrary and could easily prove to be inadequate now or at some time in the future (thus requiring a new law). Also, if you are going to cap short-term rentals, why not cap the number of hotel rooms?

The existing permitting regime (if strictly enforced) and arbitrary cap could have especially harmful impacts during Balloon Fiesta when, according to the Albuquerque Journal, “the number of available rentals shot up by about 600 units between August and October to 2,310 units.”

That increased supply is directly correlated with the reality that hotel rooms become expensive as people flock to the City for it’s biggest event of the year.

Furthermore, the proposed “cap” is not a real cap because it doesn’t include single rooms. We’re not advocating the cap be made more strict, but simply note that enacting the cap will result in a shift toward single rooms and any other exemptions that can be found.

On this week’s conversation Paul and Wally discuss. a recent opinion piece highlighting the fact that the environmental left doesn’t care about “democracy” or even addressing CO2 emissions.

President Biden was in Albuquerque recently touting “Bidenomics.” In reality his economic policies have been a complete failure.

Speaking of that, a new rule from the Biden Administration will increase the price of roads and other public works projects. During that same trip he also placed some of the best uranium available in the US off limits to development.

A new study claims NewMexico is the very worst state to live in. Are they right? Paul and Wally often criticize the New Mexico government, but they have a lot to say about this report.

Finally, while the Gov. is pushing to force New Mexicans to buy electric cars, she is having the state buy a plane (partially for her use). 

Brian Domitrovic is an intellectual historian interested in the history and development of supply-side economics. He is the author of the book “Taxes Have Consequences: An Income Tax History of the United States” which was published in 2022 and he co-authored with Arthur B. Laffer and Jeanne Sinquefield. Brian spoke at a recent Rio Grande Foundation luncheon so we sat down to discuss tax history, Art Laffer, and more.

Due to a power outage this show was recorded in two parts.

New Mexico should be in crisis mode. It’s K-12 education system is in crisis. Problems abound: recent reports highlight serious school attendance issues, the NAEP test places New Mexico 52nd across ALL age groups and subjects studied, the Kids Count report shows New Mexico kids are losing ground, and no one seems to have a solution. Education spending has increased markedly in recent years, but with nothing to show for it.

At the Rio Grande Foundation (and our education project “Opportunities for All Kids New Mexico” we believe New Mexico’s education challenges are an existential threat to both our children and our economic prospects. No solution should be off the table. So, we are hosting a free, day-long education conference in which experts from all across the nation and State discuss potential solutions which include: private choice, charter schools, improvements to the existing system (like Mississippi), micro-schools, 529 plans, and more.    

The conference will get started at 9am and last until about 4. If you are interested in attending or finding out more, click below:

RGF president Paul Gessing recently sat down with KOAT TV Channel 7 to discuss Bernalillo County Assessor Damian Lara’s interesting approach to property tax assessments. The issue was discussed in more detail in a blog post here. 

In addition to Gessing and Lara, the KOAT piece includes Doug Peterson, one of the largest landlords in New Mexico. While everyone wants to see properties maintained and filled with thriving businesses, those seem to be policy and enforcement considerations for the Mayor, City Council, and APD.

If you don’t like the way things work in the City of Albuquerque, don’t blame Mayor Keller or City Council (at least that’s what the Mayor himself says), blame the AFSCME government employee union.

This is an enlightening KUNM story in which Mayor Tim Keller touts the benefits of working for the City and highlights the need for more city workers. It is a fairly trivial article until the following:

Critics from the Rio Grande Foundation and dating back to President Franklin Roosevelt have expressed concern about the mere principal of allowing government employees to unionize. Keller appears to be taking the issue to another level by stating that Albuquerque is “an AFSCME run city.”

Setting aside whether AFSCME is doing a good job, allowing a private organization (formed for the benefit of its dues paying members) is not a healthy thing for governance or democracy.

The recently announced plan by a solar cell manufacturing company to spend $1 billion on a new manufacturing facility in Albuquerque is a big deal for the City and State of New Mexico.

This is obviously the exact type of project both Gov. Lujan Grisham and President Biden wish to see. Ironically, the facility was announced just days after Biden was in town to celebrate a wind turbine manufacturer that received subsidies under his Inflation Reduction Act.

Of course New Mexico is one of many states that ALSO mandates solar or at least “renewables.” New Mexico is one of 10 that plan to phase out fossil fuels entirely and a total of 30 have “renewable” mandates.

But wait, there’s more! With New Mexico’s recent deal to bring a solar manufacturing facility to town there will be up to $600 million in additional “economic development” subsidies. We don’t know the exact makeup of the subsidy scheme, but it is going to be big.

Aside from the subsidies themselves, this layering of subsidies hides the overall cost of the subsidies and makes it exceedingly difficult to determine the real cost of various subsidies. The chart below does that for 2016 although it is notable that wind and solar provide a tiny fraction of American electricity overall (see second pie chart below).

At the Rio Grande Foundation we are definitely not shy about stating that New Mexico is among the very worst governed states in the nation. Other studies have highlighted this situation.

And the latest Wallethub report which finds New Mexico to be the very worst state in the nation to live in DOES include typically poor ratings on both education and public safety.

But worse place to live? Really? Our first giveaway that there might be issues in the report was the top states to live which included Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. While they ARE growing faster than New Mexico, people are by no means flocking to them (like they are to Texas, Utah, and Nevada which are all lower ranked).

Then we did a deeper dive into the variables including quality of life and economy and found some questionable inputs in those variables . Overall, the report has some  useful information, but the report doesn’t necessarily reflect New Mexicans’ overall quality of life relative to other states.

The title of this post may sound hyperbolic, but it isn’t. Check out the recent opinion piece (published during President Biden’s visit to New Mexico) by Gail Evans, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity is based in New Mexico and works as an attorney for the group.

Evans makes numerous bold statements including urging the “U.S. and other developed countries to end all oil and gas production by 2031.” (Developed does not include China or India).

Furthermore, Evans argues, “Biden must immediately phase out the extraction of fossil fuels in New Mexico and on public lands and waters throughout the country.”

Finally, claims Evans, “He can declare a national climate emergency to speed the end of the fossil fuel era by using his ordinary executive powers and emergency executive powers. He has the authority to phase out the production of oil, gas and coal on our public lands and waters.”

Some of this is conjecture or based on an expansive reading of the law (to say he least), but where is Congress in all of this? Are we really going to allow one person to shut down an entire industry?

Finally, if you exempt China and India  which are NOT considered developed countries, are you REALLY serious about addressing climate change or are you just trying to destroy the American economy?