Dennis Domrzalski does great old-school reporting. He likes to dig into the data and figure out why New Mexico government is so bloated and inefficient. Much like the Rio Grande Foundation. His latest report here explores the massive overtime pay being given to APD spokesman Simon Drobik.
According to the report Drobik made $82,371 in first four months of this year and is on track to make $247K for year. This is not a new problem as Drobik has been paid massive overtime over the span of the last decade. And, in 2019 the Police Oversight Board called for Drobik’s dismissal due to the overtime situation.
The 2019 “report emphasizes that there was no evidence of criminal activity, it did find that throughout 2018 Drobik violated policies more than 50 times by getting paid simultaneously for being on call as a spokesman and working the ‘chief’s overtime’ at local businesses..”
It is hard to see why the City, through two administrations, would want to continue wasting that kind of money on overtime pay, especially given the looming challenges of recovering from the COVID 19 shutdown.
According to the Albuquerque Journal New Mexico’s special session is set for June 18. It is good to have a date and some certainty around when the Legislature plans to meet.
More interestingly, Gov. Lujan Grisham stated in the announcement that “We’re in a pretty good position where I don’t anticipate we’ll have to make deep cuts.” New Mexico DOES have a large “rainy day fund” due to years of high oil prices and rapid growth in the Permian Basin. And of course the State can also rely on some level of federal support.
But, it is also worth noting that there is an election this fall. Gov. MLG has every incentive to minimize the economic pain for the Democrat-majority in the Legislature that has rubber-stamped so many of her big-spending policies over the last two years. And, of course, the Gov. has had New Mexico’s economy on “lockdown” for the last few months. Spending cuts or tax hikes in this Special Session will be blamed on her.
Of course oil prices which have rebounded to the $30 range remain below “break even” for many producers and New Mexico will likely suffer longer-term pain than most states. So, it makes sense for her to keep the pain to a minimum BEFORE the election. We’ll have the tax hike/spending cut discussion during the 2021 session AFTER the election.
On this week’s podcast discussion Paul and Wally discuss the latest Coronavirus news. The Gov. opened up churches to 25% occupancy. Retail is also opening slowly. Masks are required in public. Elephant Butte remains shut down. Finally, the Gov. and Mayor of Albuquerque both have released detailed plans that seem to be moving towards their version of a “new normal.”
Mayor Keller has extended his plastic bag ban suspension to allow bags until mid-June.
The ABQ Journal and their cartoonist John Trever continue their good work by making several salient points about the science being used by the Gov. and others.
It’s ALWAYS time to tap the Permanent Fund for New Mexico’s liberals.
Wally and Paul discuss the fact that primary voting is going on now. They talk about some of the most important races from an ideological and policy perspective (as opposed to personality) that will be voted on.
California Gov. Gavin Newsome has called for 10% across the board cuts to all State employee pay. Gov. Lujan Grisham has still not done anything to address New Mexico’s impending economic crisis.
Paul and Wally conclude with a brief discussion of the sorry state of open government in New Mexico.
The leftist groups and politicians that control New Mexico want to raise your taxes to deal with the Virus and shutdown economic disaster. The Tweet below from Rep. Moe Maestas (with a follow-up from the lobbyist for NM Voices for Children), reflects the party line on the left. They don’t say “raise taxes,” rather they put nearly every major facet of government off limits and they refuse to even consider that some government programs or spending in their “sacred” areas might be ineffective.
The tax hike situation is a real threat as New Mexico’s economic recovery begins. These are the same people who brought you a tax increase (HB 6 in 2019) when the State had a surplus of over $1 billion. Now that the surplus has evaporated due both to the Virus-induced economic shutdown imposed by Gov. Lujan Grisham and the massive drop in oil prices, we have a major budget deficit.
At the Rio Grande Foundation we are attempting to get legislators across our state to sign our pledge NOT to raise taxes (the overall burden) through at least the end of the 2021 Session which will end in March of next year.
Despite our best efforts it has quite frankly been a challenge to get legislators to sign the pledge. I’m not just talking about Democrats, but many Republicans have been unwilling to sign.
Just to be clear, I don’t believe many of these legislators will vote to raise taxes, but many (including Republicans) have voted to raise taxes in the past. We don’t want them to do it again.
Below is the list of legislators who have NOT signed the Rio Grande Foundation’s taxpayer pledge along with their emails and phone numbers if available. If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can find out by clicking here.
Please take a moment and send your representative and senator a note (or give them a call) and ask them politely to sign the Rio Grande Foundation pledge NOT to raise taxes as a result of the Virus-induced shutdown. They (and you) can find the pledge at: www.riograndefoundation.org/pledge.
If your legislator IS NOT listed it means they HAVE signed the pledge. Please feel free to thank them for standing against higher taxes.
New Mexico is among the most tightly shut down states in the entire country. This is according to the website Wallethub which has been ranking the various US states on how “open” or “closed” they are.
New Mexico was tied with Washington State as the 44thmost open or, with the inclusion of Washington, DC, 7thleast open. There is a clear partisan divide among the “openers” and “closers.” Until you hit Ohio, the 14thmost “closed” state all of the “closers” are led by Democrats. And, while Wisconsin (with a Democrat governor) jumped to the top of the list of “open” states thanks to a judge’s order it is not until West Virginia, the 14thmost-open state that we see a Democrat-run state among the most open.
Notably, New Mexico’s neighbors are ALL far more open than we are. As of writing this piece on May 19th, most of New Mexico’s neighbors ALSO have fewer deaths per million than we do. Colorado is the notable exception, yet Colorado also ranks as the 31stmost open, 13 places above New Mexico.
According to the report, NM is considered among the states with “many restrictions & a high death rate.” Of course, those deaths are relatively geographically isolated. (sadly) on the Navajo Reservation which has has been discussed in the media.
With the Gov. and Mayor Keller having recently published reports with detailed and strict information on reopening the NM economy, it does not appear that NM is going to reopen much relative to other states for the foreseeable future. The more relevant question for New Mexico and other shut down states is whether the decisions are being driven by politics or science.
In Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal the “usual suspects” Reps. Moe Maestas and Javier Martinez teamed up to argue (for the umpteenth time) that New Mexico can solve ALL its problems if it JUST tapped into its Land Grant Permanent Fund.
We’ve heard their arguments before over the span of the past decade. The only new wrinkle thrown in is that THIS TIME we are facing an unprecedented financial crisis so, as the authors write, tapping the fund is a two-fer, “By accessing this additional funding we not only avoid cutting existing programs, but we can actually expand ECE programing. It will also free up valuable resources that we can use for a stimulus package for small businesses.”
The fundamental problem that Maestas and Martinez simply refuse to come to grips with is that after decades of Democrat rule New Mexico’s government spends more than nearly any other state in the nation (as a percent of GDP) while ranking 44th for “return on investment” according to Wallethub.
Maesta and Martinez can’t see fit to even consider cutting spending like costly film subsidies. It is ALWAYS about MORE spending for these people even if the data justifying their precious PreK programs are not what they think they are.
California is often and rightfully seen as a “progressive” State and model for wannabe “progressive” political leaders like Michelle Lujan Grisham. Remember her pledge to mandate a massive increase in vehicle miles per gallon? And of course there was the Energy Transition Act to shut down coal as an electricity source in New Mexico.
These are just some of the policies that New Mexico (and other states) have taken cues on from California. Now, the liberal Gov. of California Gavin Newsom has introduced a plan to cut pay for ALL government workers in California by 10%.
So far Gov. Lujan Grisham has simply refused to seriously discuss the economy as an issue here in New Mexico despite the economic shutdown AND the drop in oil prices which are expected to have profound impacts on the State economy.
On this week’s podcast, Paul interviews David Holt of the Consumer Energy Alliance. The organization bills itself as “The Voice of Energy Consumers.” The group has a presence in New Mexico, especially the Permian Basin.
With everything happening in today’s economy and with regard to energy issues, Paul and David discuss the big-picture energy situation, but also comment on the drastic changes likely to occur in the supply chain and whether/how a shift away from China might impact New Mexico.
David is an optimist when it comes to the US economy and energy especially in the area of “re-shoring” a variety of manufacturing activities, but Paul asks him some hard questions about the economic recovery and challenges, especially as they relate to New Mexico.
As Dan McKay of the Albuquerque Journal noted in today’s paper, “In this year’s legislative session, he had the second-highest score issued by the libertarian-leaning Rio Grande Foundation, which examined all 112 legislators’ votes on matters of “individual liberty and economic freedom.”
This is an accurate statement, but the differences between Rep. Gregg Schmedes and Sen. James White when it comes to policy issues could not be greater. The following are some of the most important votes tracked in our Freedom Index the last few years:
In 2019 White voted FOR the Energy Transition Act (also known as New Mexico’s “Green New Deal” SB 489 (Schmedes voted NO). This bill imposes a costly 50% “renewable” mandate on New Mexico utilities and their customers and bails PNM out of its San Juan Generating Station;
In 2019 White voted FOR HB 6 (Schmedes voted NO) which was a major tax hike on all New Mexicans. This tax hike was passed despite the existence at the time of a budget surplus in excess of $1 billion;
Also in 2019 White voted for HB 2 (Schmedes again voted NO). HB 2 was the budget. It boosted spending by an unsustainable 11% in a single year. While no one could have predicted the collapse in oil and gas revenues or the New Mexico economy in general, there was no doubt that 11% budget growth was unsustainable. White AGAIN voted for a bloated budget in 2020 (also HB 2). The total spending increase in two years was 21% and White voted for all of it (Schmedes voted against it).
White is a very nice man. He has done some great work in opposing film subsidies, but he has not signed the Rio Grande Foundation’s pledge against raising taxes in response to the Virus-induced downturn. He has also not signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge not to raise taxes more generally.
There is a clear difference in the philosophical outlook on government between Republicans in Senate District 19. That’s why Rio Grande Foundation sent the postcards below to ALL GOP voters
Whether it’s projected tax revenues or emails from constituents to County Commissioners, the Rio Grande Foundation is passionate about open government and regularly files public records requests. New Mexico has solid sunshine laws on the books and good case law to support our right to know: “Recognizing that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, the intent of the […] Inspection of Public Records Act is to ensure […] that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government.”
The Coronavirus Pandemic has us all acclimating to abnormal working conditions and different environments. That includes both public records custodians and the team here at the Foundation. However, the state of open government and transparency in government is troubling. Normally, public records requests are responded to in a lethargic fashion regardless of the public body the records are sought from.
This pandemic has added remarkable delays to already delayed requests, directly impacting our ability to seek and obtain public records related to our work here at the Foundation. Public officers and employees of our government have either forgotten the importance of our sunshine or are using the Virus to circumvent transparency.
The Rio Grande Foundation has numerous open public records requests, to put it mildly:
The Foundation can’t even obtain the Gross Receipts Tax revenue figures without jumping over bureaucratic red tape. Simple requests for public records are being met with “extensions” because our requests for emails are “unnecessarily broad and burdensome”. This ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is a real and serious public health and economic crisis, which is now creating a transparency crisis, enabling our government to cite the health crisis as the reason for not providing properly requested emails and text messages.
If a government employee is working from home, why does the Coronavirus give them an excuse to not provide public records? What is the actual cause for the delay? I am frustrated, and it seems that the only path forward in obtaining public records is litigation. Is this the “new normal”?
On this week’s podcast, Paul and Wally give an update on the Virus situation. NM’s shutdown ends on the 15th at least in theory. Paul and Wally discuss what they expect to happen. Gallup is on lockdown. Eddy County sues Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for unfair emergency orders. Gov. (quietly) releases her plan for reopening New Mexico. A scary op-ed in the ABQ Journal urges her to keep NM shut down until at least June 15.
Economically, Gov. Lujan Grisham floats tapping the permanent fund to address the budget situation. Sen. John Arthur Smith pushes back. The new budget info is troubling. The latest projections show NM is facing a $1.8 billion to $2.4 billion gap. Looking at revenues of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion.
The Santa Fe New Mexican editorial board argues we “Can’t Cut Way Out of Mess” Former Rep. Miera’s makes a facile case for not cutting K-12education.
Paul reminds listeners, especially legislators, of RGF’s pledge not to raise taxes.
Finally, Paul offers an update on the grocery tax situation, KOB TV did a story on it; the MLG Administration has applied for a waiver in response.
Finally, Paul offers a brief “Liberty on Quarantine” update.
On May 15 New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham will decide whether or not to continue her “stay-at-home” order or whether to continue relaxing restrictions as laid out in her plan for reopening New Mexico.
According to Wallethub, New Mexico has restrictions in place that place it among the 15 most-restrictive states in the nation. While the Gov. has (unwisely in our view per the “Fairly Open” plan we put together) placed the entire state in one “basket” in terms of reopening, she has placed further restrictions on the Four Corners/Gallup areas which have seen severe problems mostly centered around the Navajo Reservation (an area that undoubtedly deserves special treatment and help).
If the Gov. continues the shutdown for another month (as some would like) I believe the trickle of announcements of business closures will become more of a flood and that the damage to New Mexico’s economy will be multiplied in severity.
We STILL don’t have a serious economic response from the Gov. Tapping the Land Grant Permanent Fund is a cop-out and an effort to avoid responsibility and pass the buck, not a leadership response.
Friday is a VERY big day for New Mexico.
Former Rep. Rick Miera was in New Mexico’s Legislature for 21 years. Much of that time he chaired the House Education Committee and his fellow Democrats were in control of both the Senate and the Governor’s mansion. Yet, in his recent opinion piece he acknowledges that “education in New Mexico has been in crisis for decades.” This, despite the fact that New Mexico spends more per pupil than any of its neighbors, and has for years.
One might think that he would have done something about it in his decades of involvement. But, that’s not really my point here.
Miera is basically saying that policymakers shouldn’t cut education spending due to the ongoing Virus crisis and swoon in oil prices.
His approach is not very helpful. K-12 spending is about 46% of our budget while higher education consumes another 12% of the budget. It is hard to see how policymakers could balance the budget without touching 58% of the spending.
Miera offers no prioritization of education spending (early childhood, K-12, or higher ed) and he offers no details on what else he might cut out of the budget or even whether taxes should be raised.
At the Rio Grande Foundation we understand something that Miera and too many in the New Mexico Legislature have not understood for too long: trade-offs are real and they can be difficult and painful.
The Rio Grande Foundation recently called attention to some quirks in New Mexico’s gross receipts tax law with regard to grocery taxation. This drew the attention of KOB TV reporter Patrick Hayes.
Hayes not only put together the story below but in his work he confirmed that the Lujan Grisham Administration very recently applied to the federal government for a waiver that would make delivered groceries non-taxable.
Whether you think groceries should be taxed or not, the tax should be applied fairly and simply. With more New Mexicans than ever getting groceries delivered, we wanted to make sure people are not caught off guard.
On this week’s interview podcast, Paul sits down with Robert Graboyes a health policy expert with the Mercatus Center. Paul and Robert discuss the response to the Coronavirus epidemic by various health care systems. They also consider the impact on our health care of the Coronavirus and the potential positive as well as negative impacts the reaction to the Virus will have on our system.
Finally, Paul and Robert discuss Robert’s new “Healthcare and Openness Project” which gives New Mexico a solid overall ranking of 21 among US states.
You can see the map of results below:
UPDATE: According to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s spokesperson Nora Meyers Sackett, this plan was made available on May 1. We had obviously not seen it.
Among the many concerns that the Rio Grande Foundation has with the Gov.’s ongoing response to the Virus and economic crises facing New Mexico is the abject lack of transparency.
The Rio Grande Foundation obtained this document today. It is dated April 30 and it lays out some pretty specific plans for moving New Mexico’s economy forward beyond the Covid19 issue. Specifically, it addresses how businesses and regions will be treated.
As we at the Rio Grande Foundation have noted repeatedly, the Gov. has been AWOL when it comes to discussing the very significant budget issues facing our State due both to the oil and gas downturn (which could be a problem for years to come) and the shutdown-driven budget crisis.
The Rio Grande Foundation has been working to cement legislative opposition to tax hikes with its legislator/candidate pledge not to raise taxes.
In her first real discussion of the economy the Gov. discussed the idea of tapping into the permanent fund in an effort to avoid making any difficult decisions such as spending cuts or tax hikes. Because it requires votes of the Legislature AND a referendum, not to mention some Congressional action, the timing of tapping this money would be critical.
And, while he DOES face a primary, Sen. John Arthur Smith has been opposed to efforts to tap into the Permanent Fund in the past (for early childhood spending).
New Mexico has plenty of spending to cut, but New Mexico government didn’t get as bloated as it is through prudent fiscal management. If MLG were serious about addressing budget issues in a proactive manner she wouldn’t have waited nearly 2 months to get started. You can bet the debates over the Permanent Fund, spending cuts, and tax hikes are just getting started.
Gov. Lujan Grisham has named her Economic Recovery Council. Paul and Wally have a lot of thoughts about this Council, the lack of openness in terms of their work, how to contact them, and what their role is in terms of policy analysis/ideas.
At least a few folks (legislators) are discussing the budget publicly. Paul and Wally discuss what these legislative leaders are saying.
MLG begins loosening restrictions along the lines of our original 8 points (except in the Four Corners);
Gov. MLG shuts down Gallup upon what authority? Turns out she has EXTREMELY broad power under New Mexico law.
Grocery deliveries are taxed under NM’s Gross Receipts Tax. The issues behind it are complex, but it could cost you money if you have groceries delivered.
Finally, Paul and Wally discuss the importance of (and misuse of) data in the Coronavirus epidemic. The situation shows how data are misused in public policy discussions and how our education system fails to educate average Americans in the use of basic data.
With a primary election occurring in New Mexico in less than a month and the world having changed dramatically since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, we at the Rio Grande Foundation wanted to get Republican candidates for the US Senate in the primary to discuss the “new” world which we find ourselves in.
The Foundation has interviews lined up with all three candidates. The first interview happened on April 30, 2020 and was with Gavin Clarkson. You can find out more about Mr. Clarkson’s campaign here.
The Rio Grande Foundation does NOT endorse any candidate of ANY party. These interviews are an attempt to find out more about the views of each Senate candidate in a rapidly-changing economic and political environment.
Never let a crisis go to waste. That has been the mantra on the left for decades although former Obama advisor Rahm Emmanuel was among the most notable to actually utter it publicly.
There can be no doubt that the current crisis presents both peril and opportunity for New Mexico’s political leaders. The left led by Voices for Children (as illustrated in the tweets below) shows what they are thinking: Raise taxes!
New Mexico Republicans have largely been out of power for 90 years. They had virtually nothing to do with the recent overspending from “progressive” Democrat Gov. and Legislature. They didn’t shut down the economy. The GOP has a rare chance to push back against likely efforts to raise taxes by actually shrinking New Mexico’s bloated government.
Signing the Rio Grande Foundation’s pledge not to raise taxes due to this crisis would seem to be an obvious opportunity to differentiate the GOP in particular from the opposition. We have collected signatures from Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians, but for a GOP which has been out of power for so long it is surprising that some remain unwilling to publicly and emphatically state that tax hikes are NOT the answer to the current crisis. You can reach your legislators here. Ask them to sign the pledge.
ALL candidates for the Legislature have received this pledge and we will be publishing the list of signatories before New Mexico’s special session of the Legislature happens this summer.
He’ll be discussing the Rio Grande Foundation’s efforts to open New Mexico and the economic impact this situation is having.
Tune in!
The following letter was sent to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s Economic Recovery Council by the Rio Grande Foundation and Power the Future New Mexico under the banner of their combined effort FairlyOpen New Mexico. PDF with logos is posted here.
Dear Council Members:
Thank you all for stepping up in this difficult time for our State and Nation to serve to help Gov. Lujan Grisham open New Mexico’s economy. None of you need reminding of the devastation wreaked upon New Mexico’s business community and budget during the last few months.
With that, the groups behind an initiative called “Fairly Open New Mexico” (The Rio Grande Foundation and Power the Future NM) would like to call your attention to the recommendations that we have made as to how we/you can help our State get going again.
First and foremost, opening New Mexico as soon as possible is critical to ANY effort to get our State moving. We know that this Virus has not been evenly distributed across our Nation or our State.
We applaud the recent moves to slightly open various businesses on May 1, 2020. That said, a lot more can and should be done to get New Mexico moving again.
For starters, it would seem that areas that have been relatively free of the Virus can and should be allowed to open up businesses and their local economies as long as basic guidelines are followed. Everything from golf courses to dog groomers would seem to fit this category, but the focus should be on obeying State guidelines, not on “essential” vs. “non-essential.”
Local officials in areas with limited/no virus impact should also be allowed to open right away but they DO need specific guidance and help from State officials. Social distancing seems to be the watchword. Let’s allow those areas to open up right away as long as they can comply with simple guidelines issued by the State. And if there are detailed, scientifically-sound rules to be followed, local governments can be sure to appropriately follow them.
The same concept should be applied to businesses. We believe that ALL small businesses should be allowed to reopen at the same standards applied to box stores. Detailed plans for reopening including health criteria to be used for businesses to reopen should be made available. This should be a public document.
Finally, we need transparency. We have urged the Gov. to be as open and transparent as possible in her use of models relating to the spread of the Virus. The Economic Recovery Council, while it meets in private, must issue detailed reports to the public explaining what assumptions are being made about the economy, tax revenues, job losses and who is losing them, budget deficit projections, and other basic economic data.
Absent a clear reporting of both the data being used as well as the recommendations being made (and by whom) we fear that the work of this Council will be for naught.
We ALL want to defeat the Virus AND restore New Mexico’s economic health.
Thank you for your time and attention. If you would like further information about our efforts and concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Paul J. Gessing Larry Behrens
President Western States Director
Rio Grande Foundation Power The Future
Better late than never. It has been more than two weeks since the Rio Grande Foundation put forth “Eight shutdown decisions the Gov. should reverse immediately.” The good news is that the Gov. has acted and opened a handful of businesses we recommended be opened including gun stores, golf courses, state parks, and certain medical providers.
The medical portion was NOT included in the Gov.’s press conference yesterday, but the announcement linked to above contains the gist of the loosening restriction although the language is not particularly clear.
We STILL believe strongly that churches should be reopened in a reasonable manner and same with liquor stores.
Overall, the Gov. needs to move beyond (and she has somewhat with her order giving additional freedom to retailers) picking and choosing various industries as “essential” or “non-essential.” Implementing clear, broad guidelines both in terms of local governments as well as businesses as outlined in our FairlyOpen.com petition is the direction that she must go.
On this week’s interview podcast, Paul talks to Corey DeAngelis. Corey is Director of School Choice at Reason Foundation. Corey is also prolific in the field of writing about and discussing the issue of school choice both in an academic context as well as on social media. Corey is especially active on Twitter and Facebook.
Corey and Paul discuss various choice options and how the pandemic situation has made us all homeschoolers while also giving virtual learning a shot in the arm. The two discuss how education SHOULD be funded in a sensible world and numerous other public policy issues in K-12.
You can listen to the show below:
You can watch a video recording done by the Cato Institute here:
