Paul Gessing's Archive
Wheat, Weed, and ObamaCare: How the Commerce Clause Made Congress All-Powerful
For an understanding of the legal issues involved in ObamaCare and some of the legal precedents that made such blatant federal overreach possible, check out this great video from Reason. By the way, the two presidents that had the most to do with providing legal precedents that will be used to support ObamaCare at the [...]
In: Uncategorized
Don’t add TV loophole to film subsidy cap!
Last year, we at the Rio Grande Foundation proposed capping annual outlays for New Mexico’s film industry subsidies (25% on the dollar is given to the industry) at $30 million annually. The ultimate agreement was to cap the subsidy at $50 million annually. This is a reasonable compromise, but the fact is that the film [...]
New Mexico 49th in economic freedom
Legislators are a bit more than halfway through the 2012 legislative session. While they meet, they (and their constituents) need to keep in mind that policies now in place — enacted over the years in Santa Fe — have led to New Mexico being among the most impoverished states in the nation. This poverty has [...]
Abusing NM’s Constitution to avoid education reform
As much as we all like shows like Undercover Boss (where the head of a major company does the job of the lowest-level front-line worker), it is fairly obvious that someone can run a company without having worked his/her way up every step of the ladder at a particular company. In fact, in many industries, [...]
Indiana is open for business: when will New Mexico be?
This week is going to go down as one of the most important in Indiana history. While hosting the first Super Bowl ever to be held in the state is a big deal, the really big deal is that the state’s Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed Right to Work Legislation. Simply put, the legislation enacted [...]
Expert testimony on corporate income tax cut bill
Testimony on behalf of HB 130 which was introduced by Rep. Strickler, Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 1:30pm in room 309.
Current New Mexico Corporate income tax rates are:
4.8% > 0
6.4% > $500K
7.6% > $1Million
This legislation would lower that rate to 4.8% across the board by 2015. In FY 2010, the corporate income tax generated $125 million [...]
More on the “Occupy” Attack
I blogged my own thoughts about the “Occupy” attack on a peaceful group of legislators having a private dinner. Michael Swickard offered his own thoughts in a spot-on column as well. More coverage on the meeting disruption can be found over at New Mexico Watchdog here and here (including video).
In: Uncategorized
What if it had been reversed?
“Protesters Scuffle with Lobbyists” reads the extremely misleading headline in the Albuquerque Journal. At least the New Mexican acknowledged that many of the attendees at ALEC’s recent dinner in Santa Fe were indeed lawmakers and thus deserving of more respect than reviled lobbyists.
But what if a group of right-wing goons (or heaven-forbid Tea Partiers) had [...]
Mitch Daniels’ response to Obama’s State of the Union: reality or rhetoric?
I must admit that I did not watch Obama’s speech, nor did I watch the response from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. I have heard enough of Obama’s empty rhetoric over the years and had better things to do. Nonetheless, Daniels’ response is worth a read. It represents Republicans at their very very best, at least [...]
In capitalist countries, post offices make money
As the US Postal Service founders and Congress attempts to reform the system (without breaking up the monopoly), it is worth pointing out that postal operations in most wealthy countries actually MAKE money. The USPS on the other hand, has lost over $25 billion since fiscal year 2006, with deficits of $8.5 billion in 2010 and [...]
