If you haven't noticed, gas prices are on their way down in recent weeks. While the media has taken note, the reasons behind the decrease are not obvious. That is why the upcoming panel discussion being held on May 30 (which Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing will participate in) is so important (details and event invite here). You are encouraged to attend this free event!

At the Rio Grande Foundation, we have always stated clearly that gasoline prices are set largely by the marketplace with several additional factors impacting them. If there were a "vast conspiracy" on behalf of higher gas prices, they would be kept high all the time and would be far higher than they are. Enjoy lunch with us and find out more details not only on our perspective, but what one of the top national experts and several local ones have to say on the issue.

You can bet that gas prices will rise again some day and the conspiracy theorists will be there to blame "big oil" and point fingers (usually at the wrong parties).

Generally, the Rio Grande Foundation focuses on state and local policy issues. Nonetheless, given New Mexico’s status as one of, if not the, most reliant states on federal spending within its borders, the perilous condition of the federal budget must be of concern to all New Mexicans.

Particularly in this political season, the tendency is for the media and politicians to ignore what then- chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, called, “The biggest threat we have to our national security is our debt.” After all, no one running for office wants to be seen as taking government benefits away from people.

Jonah Goldberg Luncheon Event – "The Tyranny of Cliches"

Jonah Goldberg's previous book "Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning," reached number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

He is coming to Albuquerque to discuss his new book, "The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas".

You can join him for a lunch discussion of his book and what will surely be an erudite and informed discussion of the state of the American political situation.

We are hosting a luncheon at the Marriott Pyramid in Albuquerque on Wednesday, June 20. Lunch will last from noon to approximately 1:00PM. Individual tickets are available now for $40 per person.

Jonah Goldberg's nationally-syndicated column appears regularly in scores of newspapers across the United States, including the Albuquerque Journal. He is also a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a member of the board of contributors to USA Today, a contributor to Fox News, a contributing editor to National Review, and the founding editor of National Review Online. He was named by the Atlantic magazine as one of the top 50 political commentators in America. In 2011 he was named the Robert J. Novak Journalist of the Year at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

He has written on politics, media, and culture for a wide variety of publications and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs. Prior to joining National Review, he was a founding producer for Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg on PBS and wrote and produced several other PBS documentaries.

Reserve your seat now by sending a check for $40 per attendee and the names of any attendees to:

Rio Grande Foundation
Attention: Jonah Goldberg Event
PO Box 40336
Albuquerque, NM  87196

Online payment will be available soon. Check back at www.riograndefoundation.org for details.

As the world celebrates Earth Day, it is time to separate real environmentalism from the fake variety. If there is one rule to follow in this regard, it’s this: if an idea is trendy, it probably isn’t good for the planet.

As environmentalism has become trendy, politicians and businesses have learned that appearing green can lead to profit and political gain. Increasingly, science takes a back seat to policies that make people feel good or appear environmentally friendly.

Journalist and author John Stossel recently spoke at a Rio Grande Foundation event in Albuquerque. Footage of his talk can be found below:

John Stossel's presentation in Albuquerque: April 25, 2012 from Paul Gessing on Vimeo.

His slides are available here.

I'm suspicious of superstitions, like astrology or the belief that "green jobs will fix the environment and the economy." I understand the appeal of such beliefs. People crave simple answers and want to believe that some higher power determines our fates.

The most socially destructive superstition of all is the intuitively appealing belief that problems are best solved by government.

Opinion polls suggest that Americans are dissatisfied with government. Yet whenever another crisis hits, the natural human instinct is to say, "Why doesn't the government do something?"

And politicians appear to be problem-solvers. We believe them when they say, "Yes, we can!"

In 2008, when Barack Obama's supporters shouted, "Yes, we can!" they expressed faith in the power of government to solve problems. Some acted as if Obama were a magical politician whose election would end poverty and inequality and bring us to "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

At least now people have come to understand that presidents -- including this president -- can't perform miracles.

It has been said that “No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” Nowhere does this statement hold truer than New Mexico which, according to most national measures, ranks highly on the things that it is bad to rank on (crime rates, tax burdens, poverty) and low on the things that we’d like to rank highly on (graduation rates, income levels). The good news is that New Mexico’s Legislature is only in session 30 or 60 days per year depending on the year (a 30 day session was completed this year).

There are many – of all races and political persuasions – who blame New Mexico’s unique cultural milieu for our problems. While well-intended, I believe that the preponderance of economic data and hundreds of years of experience has shown us that poverty and educational underperformance are self-inflicted problems, not the result of culture or a lack of natural resources, but of policies that either promote or hamper economic and social freedoms.

Nathan Ashby, author of the "Economic Freedom of North America" report spoke in Las Cruces recently. His full presentation is posted below:

Untitled from Paul Gessing on Vimeo.