RGF Opinion piece: This election: Change or more of the same?

The following appeared on November 2nd, 2024 in Eastern New Mexico News.

By a 2-1 margin, according to polling done this fall by the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexicans are not thrilled with current economic conditions. The poll found 38% of respondents called the economy “poor” while just 19% said “good.” The rest either said “fair” or had no strong opinions on the matter.

New Mexicans are not alone in having negative views on the economy. Americans have felt the negative impact of inflation and are not happy about their personal or family finances this election season. The economy is widely considered the top issue in the 2024 campaign.

And, while the presidential and congressional races are extremely important, no races are more important to the economic future of New Mexico than the 112 legislative races that are on ballots across our state. The Legislature makes the laws of New Mexico including the setting of tax rates and spending along with all manner of other policies on topics from education to infrastructure.

New Mexico’s Legislature has been largely a one-party affair since 1931. For nearly 100 years the Republican Party has never had both houses of the Legislature. In fact, as has been the case for a majority of New Mexico’s last 100 years, Democrats control governor and both the House and Senate in the Legislature.

New Mexicans’ downbeat view of the economy is driven by many things, but unlike many other states (thanks to the ongoing oil and gas boom) New Mexico has had years of multi-billion-dollar surpluses that could have been used to benefit New Mexicans and help them through these hard times. Instead, state government spending has grown rapidly and most of the rest of this wealth has been locked up in various funds controlled by the state.

Sadly, the lack of a plan to turn around New Mexico has led to more of the same. If you drove down the highways or streets of our state, there would be no evidence that our state is amid an economic boom the likes of which we have never seen and may never see again.

Instead, crime and homelessness are out of control in our biggest cities. New Mexico’s roads were recently ranked worst in the nation. Our education system is consistently ranked worst in the nation (despite rapid spending growth and a new universal pre-K program). And, while New Mexico is awash in money and sitting on $54.7 billion with an additional $6 billion in unspent capital outlay, our citizens are the poorest in the nation and our economy is more reliant on oil and gas than ever.

With massive resources at the Legislature’s disposal and big problems that need to be addressed right now, it is hard to watch the current Democrat-controlled Legislature and governor repeatedly squander opportunities to turn New Mexico around.

Instead of discussing how to grow the economy and get our kids to stay home rather than leaving the state for jobs, recent legislative hearings focused on bringing high-speed rail to New Mexico and elevated rail to Albuquerque.

New Mexico’s elected leaders can no longer cry poverty. It is time to change our state for the better. Vote accordingly.

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