Rail Runner: It’s time to stop digging
Photo courtesy of EPA Smart Growth/flickr.com The Rail Runner has percolated below the surface as a political issue since it went into service back in 2006. Originally marketed at a price of $122...
View ArticleTime to end social promotion in New Mexico schools
Photo by sidewalk flying/flickr.com A few years ago, we at the Rio Grande Foundation brought the “Florida Model” for K-12 education reform to New Mexico. The reforms enacted by then-Gov. Jeb Bush in...
View ArticleNM is on cusp of economic transformation
Paul J. Gessing New Mexico faces rapidly-changing economic and political realities. The situation provides both peril and opportunities for New Mexicans, but there will be a transitional period and it...
View ArticleIndustrialized education, really?
Paul J. Gessing Very rarely do the left wingers who continuously criticize any attempt to reform New Mexico’s foundering education system say anything that surprises me. Conspiracies abound and the...
View ArticleRhode Island pension reforms are a model for NM
Paul J. Gessing Rhode Island’s is not the only reform model in terms of specific policies, but it is a model for New Mexico in terms of political will and desire to preserve itself for future...
View ArticleTax reform: Focus on broadness and income
Paul J. Gessing The good news is that New Mexico’s elected leaders are having serious discussions about tax friendliness and policies that generate economic growth. The underlying theme of the 2012...
View ArticleLos Alamos cuts an opportunity for New Mexico
Paul J. Gessing It is time for political leaders of all parties here in New Mexico to understand that economic development must be driven by the private sector. The recent announcement of job cuts at...
View ArticleStraight talk on the federal budget
Paul J. Gessing Despite our reliance on the federal government, New Mexicans would be wise to accept an ounce of prevention now, because the ‘cure’ for fiscal incontinence will not be pretty....
View ArticleMix of market forces, government policies drive gas prices
Paul Gessing When it comes to prices at the pump, there is no conspiracy, but there are a number of complicated factors at play. Gas prices. The mere mention brings to mind conspiracy theories and...
View ArticleHigher education reform is urgent
Paul J. Gessing There are many paths to reform, but the path must be taken. Our higher education system is in need of more than just cosmetic reforms. The Rio Grande Foundation has spent a lot of time...
View ArticleNew taxes aren’t necessary to improve our roads
COMMENTARY: During the 2015 legislative session various proposals were put forth, ostensibly with the goal of improving New Mexico’s roads. One proposal by Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur...
View ArticleLet’s get the most from our infrastructure dollars
COMMENTARY: Infrastructure and how to pay for it has been a topic of great interest recently. The Legislature returned to Santa Fe with the primary purpose of passing a capital outlay bill. Also, as...
View ArticleTime to really whitewash New Mexico history
Albuquerque City Councilor Isaac Benton, state Sen. Bill O’Neill, and state Rep. Javier Martínez recently made headlines in calling for the elimination of a memorial relating to a Civil War battle won...
View ArticleFood stamp work requirements are hardly onerous
Since 2009, New Mexico has waived federal work requirements tied to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. Over 21 percent of all New Mexicans receive food...
View ArticleAPS ‘political pay’ plan is bad for taxpayers, state
Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.netA statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. COMMENTARY: Most of the media’s attention has been focused on the ongoing scandal at the top of Albuquerque Public Schools....
View ArticleAnother reason to yell ‘cut’ on New Mexico’s film subsidies
COMMENTARY: The results of yet another report on New Mexico’s film subsidy program were recently released. This study was commissioned by the New Mexico Film Office and conducted by the Canadian...
View ArticleNew Mexicans are protected, rewarded for rooting out corruption
Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.netA statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. COMMENTARY: The Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity earlier this month gave New Mexico a letter grade of D- in...
View ArticleAll this ‘free’ money is killing NM
COMMENTARY: Nothing seems to unite New Mexicans like the desire for “free” money. Over the past few weeks, no fewer than three opinion pieces have run in various media outlets in support of Medicaid...
View ArticleStates, not cities and counties, are paramount
COMMENTARY: “States may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory.” Justice Louis Brandeis in New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann When it comes to economic policy issues, the states are supposed to be...
View ArticleQuotas aren’t the answer to oil glut
COMMENTARY: The price of oil impacts New Mexico’s economy in a big way. Oil prices that once hovered at $110 per barrel dropped as low as $27 earlier this year, and now hover around $50. That’s lower...
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