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Constitution and Criminal Justice Energy and Environment Legislature Notable News Top Issues

Opinion piece: Governor’s Disdain For Democracy Nothing New

The following appeared in Las Cruces Sun-News on September 15, 2023 and in other papers across New Mexico.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently gained national headlines for her public health order which essentially banned carrying a gun in Bernalillo County, the State’s largest county by population. Her justification for this dramatic action was a recent shooting outside Isotopes Park, but residents of Bernalillo County and Albuquerque face and have faced these issues for years.

Each time a criminal uses a gun to kill or steal it is frustrating and sad event. Both the causes and solutions are complicated and controversial. No matter the crisis one person (including the Gov.) cannot simply suspend the rule of law and the US Constitution.

Many New Mexicans like me believe Albuquerque’s crime problem is the result of weak leadership at multiple levels: The City fails to enforce the law, Department of Justice policies further hamstring the police, “catch and release” judges that voters (sadly) keep electing, and an unwillingness of the Gov. and Legislature to pass laws addressing our serious crime problems. And those are just the public policy failures, not the societal ones.

Many New Mexicans carry guns in response to the threat of violence they face.

Any attempt to deal with crime needs to involve the Legislature and other State and local elected officials. This would be true even if New Mexico had Republicans in positions of political power which they don’t.

Sadly, Lujan Grisham is only taking the next logical step in accumulating political power to herself. Declaring a “health emergency” and then making all manner of policies regarding school and business openings as well as vaccines and masks with little public input or say-so was her approach during COVID.

Sadly, the same Democrats who run the Legislature and who failed to pass basic restrictions on the Gov.’s COVID powers (like a 45-day limit on her emergency powers) remain largely unwilling to address the Gov.’s latest overreach on guns (Sen. Joe Cervantes is one notable exception as he has spoken out in opposition).

This is not just about guns. Lujan Grisham has exhibited a pattern of taking powers whether they are hers to use or not. She is currently working through an unelected Environmental Improvement Board, not the elected Legislature, to impose drastic new mandates that will soon require 82% of vehicles sold in New Mexico to be electric.

Occasionally the Gov.’s anti-Democracy tactics are on seemingly minor issues. Back in the 2022 special session of the Legislature the Gov. requested $1 million to reduce fees on the struggling New Mexico Rail Runner Express. The funds were not allocated by the Legislature, but the Gov. decided to cut fares anyway on her own.

Gov. Lujan Grisham may or may not have a political future beyond the remainder of her current term of office. Despite impeachment proceedings that have been filed by the GOP, we will likely be stuck with this Gov. until her term expires the end of 2026 when her term expires.

But the entire Legislature is up next November. And when they are running for office, one of the very first questions voters need to ask them is what they will do to hold the Gov. accountable when she ignores the law.

They should start by speaking clearly and publicly in opposition to her “gun grab” and then they should enact limits on the duration and scope of executive power in public health emergencies.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

 

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Economy Film Subsidies Notable News RailRunner Spaceport Top Issues

RGF in National Review Capital Matters: Bill Richardson: Another Clinton-Era Democrat Exits

The following appeared in National Review’s Capital Matters on September 8, 2023.

With the passing of former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, yet another Democrat of a bygone era departs the scene. Richardson was personally friendly and ideologically simpatico with Bill Clinton, helping the president pass the NAFTA free-trade agreement and then being named U.N. ambassador for the final few years of that administration.

Free trade is (sadly) increasingly unpopular on both sides of the aisle, and in this sense both Richardson and Clinton are creatures of a different era.

However, it is worth examining Richardson’s economic record as governor of New Mexico to better understand his own career and just how far and fast the Democratic Party has moved to the left (both nationally as well as in the Land of Enchantment).

Richardson was governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He had the good fortune of succeeding Gary Johnson. You see, while New Mexico used to be a purple state on the national stage, its legislature was and has remained a stronghold of big-government Democrats. Johnson, known to many New Mexicans as “Governor No,” was known for his prodigious use of the veto pen. As a libertarian-leaning Republican, he did this, in part, to keep a lid on government spending.

Johnson’s attempts to get tax cuts through the heavily Democratic New Mexico legislature proved fruitless, but when Richardson took over in 2003, he immediately pushed for significant tax reductions. He cut the state’s top income-tax rate from 8.2 percent to 4.9 percent and reduced capital-gains taxes dramatically. He wasn’t just a tax-cutting Democrat. In his era, he was arguably the best tax-cutting governor in the nation. This paid off in strong job-creation numbers and personal-income growth, and New Mexico jumped from the 47th- to the 42nd-ranked state in personal incomes in just a few years. Pro-growth economic policy is no longer an element of Democratic politics.

But Richardson was by no means an avid supply-sider. During an era of strong economic growth nationally and in the relatively impoverished Land of Enchantment, Richardson sadly fell into the trap of putting significant taxpayer resources into big-government boondoggles.

It is worth noting that much of this (good and bad) was leading up to a run for the White House in 2008. As governor of a small, impoverished state with a low national profile, Richardson, who already had federal-government experience, believed that he needed a splashy track record of transforming New Mexico’s economy.

To that end, he created the Rail Runner commuter train, which began operation in 2006 and runs nearly 100 miles, from the south of Albuquerque to the state capital in Santa Fe. It cost more than a mind-blowing $1 billion to build (it needed 20 miles of brand-new track) and requires more than $20 million in annual taxpayer subsidies to operate. Despite running between two of New Mexico’s largest cities, much of the route is sparsely populated. As with so many transit systems in the Covid and post-Covid eras, it continues to lose what little ridership it had.

Another one of Richardson’s taxpayer-funded projects that remains unproven (at best), even after having launched more than a decade ago, is Spaceport America. Billed as the “world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport,” it has finally seen its first commercial space-tourism flight, via Virgin Galactic. The spaceport, in the harsh desert of southern New Mexico, was built at the behest of Richardson for Virgin Galactic at a cost of $225 million to taxpayers, though add-ons and further investments have driven the cost to around $275 million, and the facility already needs major repairs.

Subsidies for particular companies, including personal-jet manufacturer Eclipse Aviation and solar-panel manufacturer Schott Solar, also failed to ensure long-term economic success. In fact, those companies went out of business long ago, which only proves government’s unfitness for picking winners and losers.

Finally, Richardson laid the groundwork for New Mexico’s costly film subsidies, which have helped the film industry while failing to more broadly develop New Mexico’s economy. The program, as Richardson designed it, led to New Mexico taxpayers reimbursing Hollywood film producers for up to 25 percent of their overall expenses for filming in the state. Richardson is by no means the only politician to have thrown money at Hollywood: Under current Democratic governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the program has expanded even further, offering producers a subsidy of up to 40 percent of their expenses.

Highlighting his relative moderation, Richardson (gently) reproached Governor Lujan Grisham for her overly zealous and failed Covid lockdown strategy. He also (sagely) urged state legislators and Lujan Grisham to avoid raising taxes in the most recent legislative session. During this session, New Mexico had a $3.6 billion (42 percent) year-over-year budget surplus, yet Democrats in the legislature were seriously considering a number of tax hikes.

Fortunately, they did not go through.

Bill Richardson’s death is a reminder of just how far the Democratic Party has moved to the left on economic policy. His willingness to listen to all sides and try to forge consensus across party lines is sorely missing from today’s politics.

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Economy Energy and Environment Notable News Oil & Gas Top Issues Transportation

Numerous specific issues with electric vehicles and especially government mandating them

MLG’s plan to push an electric vehicle mandate through the Environmental Improvement Board is kicking into gear. The Board is expected to begin deliberation on ramping up New Mexico’s EV mandate to 43% by 2027 and 82% by 2032 on November 15.

This is a DEEPLY flawed policy that Rio Grande Foundation will be working hard to stop. Here is a fairly comprehensive list of the many reasons why EV mandates are harmful:

Ultimately, EV’s may or may not be a good replacement technology for the internal combustion engine. But, government through mandates and extensive subsidies should not be the final arbiter of this choice. That should fall to consumers. Sadly, Gov. Lujan Grisham has joined the EV bandwagon at the expense of personal freedom.

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Education Events Legislature Notable News Top Issues

Opinion piece: Time for all-above approach to education

The following piece appeared recently in numerous news outlets including Eastern New Mexico News. In addition to the link below you can click on the picture above to register for the conference.

New Mexico should be in crisis mode. Our K-12 education system is certainly facing a crisis. Problems abound: recent reports highlight serious school attendance issues, the NAEP (known as the “Nation’s Report Card”) 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 with nothing to show for it.

With New Mexico already suffering from poor educational outcomes the COVID pandemic and lockdowns instigated by Gov. Lujan Grisham truly put our children into a crisis. Getting our children out of last place and into something resembling a functional, successful system that prepares them for future success should be THE issue that everyone in New Mexico is concerned with.

Sadly, for reasons that include the unions’ hegemony over education policy in New Mexico and the fact that many New Mexicans have resigned themselves to policy failure, our political leadership rarely addresses the need to dramatically reform our education system. Instead, we’ve seen money poured into an education system that has seen a massive reduction in the number of students served.

There are many ways to measure this, but perhaps the most direct is a recent analysis from Wallethub, which found that New Mexico spends 20th-most among states on K-12 education for results that rank 51st. Being in the “High spending, weak system” category is obviously the worst place to be in education, but here we are. More money is not the answer.

So, what IS the answer? That may not even be the right question. Rather, we at the Rio Grande Foundation are advocating for an “all of the above” approach to education in New Mexico. For example, Mississippi has done some amazing things in education to the point where The Associated Press labeled their success “the Mississippi Miracle.”

By reforming the existing education system Mississippi has achieved major gains in student outcomes. New Mexico policymakers should take note and enact similar reforms.

New Mexico has long had charter schools. They are the major form of “school choice” in our state and they include a disproportionate share of the state’s best performing schools. But more is needed to make our charter schools the best they can be for New Mexico kids. This can mean everything from making it easier to start a new charter school to making it easier to close failing or under-performing charters.

Finally, we’ll talk about private options. Arizona and several other states have boldly embarked on a path where money for schools follows the student, but there are other options including school choice tax credits and “microschools” that are worthy of discussion and analysis. What do these options mean in practice and can we get them in “blue state” New Mexico?

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. So, we are hosting a free, day-long education conference in which experts from across the nation and state discuss these and other potential solutions.

The conference, set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 22, will be held at St. Pius X High School on Albuquerque’s West Side. The event is free but sign up is required at: http://www.oaknm.org. Let’s all work to solve New Mexico’s existential education crisis.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation, which promotes limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility. Contact him at: pgessing@riograndefoundation.org

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Constitution and Criminal Justice Local Government Notable News Open Government Top Issues Videos

RGF president joins KOAT Channel 7 to question City of Albuquerque payments to James Ginger

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.

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Economy Local Government Notable News Open Government Tax and Budget Taxes Top Issues Videos

RGF discusses Bernalillo County property tax issue w/ KOAT Channel 7

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.

 

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Economy Legislature Notable News Tax and Budget Taxes Top Issues

New Mexico could learn a lot from Texas about governance

The following appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on July 30, 2023.

A recent editorial cartoon highlighted the vastly different approaches towards governance of New Mexico and Texas. The cartoon is of the state border circa 2030 as New Mexicans head to Texas for gas-powered vehicles (due to the recent regulations proposed by Gov. Lujan Grisham) while Texans visit NM for abortions and marijuana.

These are hardly the only differences between the two nowadays as Texas has no income tax or job-killing gross receipts tax, it is a right to work state, and state spending per-person is less than half of what it is in New Mexico. Not coincidentally, Texas is also one of the fastest growing states in the nation while New Mexico’s population is stagnant with young people leaving and being replaced by older people and retirees.

People have been talking about Texas’ economic success for decades, but a recent family vacation gave me the opportunity to see it firsthand. I have flown to several major Texas cities and have driven across the Panhandle more times than I care to recall, but this trip involved flying to Dallas and driving from all the way to Corpus Christi and the Gulf Coast. That’s a trip of over 400 miles including stops in major cities including Austin and San Antonio (in addition to Dallas).

We went deep in the heart of Texas and compared what we saw with our home state of New Mexico. Here’s what we saw.

  • It seems like all the roads in Texas are under construction. Yes, this is a hassle for visitors and commuters alike, but it also highlights the fact that more people and businesses require more infrastructure. Aside from the road construction, the interchanges are often complicated with extremely high overpasses. Finally, just the sheer amount of construction equipment involved highlights the size and scale of these projects. Construction projects are definitely bigger in Texas.
  • Setting aside roads and bridges, businesses are flocking to Texas as well. The Tesla plant outside Austin is the largest manufacturing space in the United States by floor area. Even in and around small towns construction was under way on significant buildings and cranes often dotted the skyline.
  • Texas rest areas are incredible. One might think that with New Mexico having two of the nation’s most important east/west highways (I-40 and I-10) running through it (and a booming budget), would invest the tiny level of resources needed to make rest areas a place people want to stop and feel safe and comfortable doing so. This is especially true given the lack of road-side amenities available on many of our highways. Sadly, New Mexico’s rest areas are meager and often in a state of disrepair. Texas has playgrounds and historical/local interest information available for those who need a potty break or just want to stretch their legs.

Texas is booming. It provides a business-friendly environment and a government that does the basics well and at less than half the cost per resident.

While New Mexicans have a long-standing historical resentment of the Lone Star State, but the entrepreneurial, pro capitalist culture and polices clearly have a lot to be said for them. New Mexico can’t and shouldn’t be Texas, but we can also learn some valuable lessons from it.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

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RGF weighs in on Mayor Keller’s latest plans for United Stadium on KOAT TV

RGF president Paul Gessing sat down with KOAT TV to discuss the Mayor’s plans for a new stadium for the NM United Soccer team. The Rio Grande Foundation helped lead the opposition to a ballot measure that would have spent substantial tax dollars on a new stadium.

While not discussed in detail in the article, our primary concern is that City Council has a chance to fully vet and vote on the plan which would use city-owned land at Balloon Fiesta Park. The plan would (unfortunately) spend $13.5 million in State funding but we need to know what, if any, liabilities could be faced by Albuquerque taxpayers. It is also important to understand what the real impacts of the stadium will be on Balloon Fiesta Park’s parking situation and what alternatives could be undertaken with this land.

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Local Government Notable News Tax and Budget Taxes Top Issues

RGF president discusses Mayor Keller’s $80 million bike trail w/ KOAT TV

We discussed the details of the Mayor’s proposed mega-expensive $80 million bike trail here, but had a chance to offer a few thoughts in this story for KOAT TV Channel 7.

In summary, this is yet another “big ticket” taxpayer-financed project foisted upon us when what the City desperately needs is improved public safety and an improved economic climate (not to mention a better education system). A neon tumbleweed structure may be nice, but it is certainly not a core government function regardless of your broader thoughts on bike trails and Albuquerque’s extensive trail network.

Check out the story below:

 

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Economy Energy and Environment Issues Notable News Top Issues Transportation

RGF leads major coalition effort highlighting problems with Railway Safety Act

The Rio Grande Foundation, alongside the Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute have led a coalition letter (available here) of state-based and national free market organizations and leaders in expressing serious concerns about provisions contained in the “Railway Safety Act,” (S. 576) which is now moving through Congress.

Among the numerous issues with the bill is its arbitrary 2 person crew mandate;

A massive new regulatory burden (imposed absent any cost-benefit analysis) on movement of hazardous materials;

Enshrinement of mandates for trackside detectors and other technologies that locks  a single technology into law. When government does this the public suffers as industry lacks the flexibility or incentive to pursue next-generation technologies.

Among the more than three dozen signatories of the letter are:

Hon. Kenneth “Ken” Cuccinelli II
Former VA Attorney General, Former Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security

Steve Forbes
Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Forbes Media

David R. Henderson
Research Fellow
Hoover Institution, Stanford University