We at the Rio Grande Foundation have had our differences with UNM Hospital for planning to invest a lot of taxpayer money into a project that we questioned. However, the controversy, started by Rep. Michelle Lujan-Grisham over the Hospital’s outsourcing of transcription services is just silly. Another article appeared in the Albuquerque Journal with the [...]

The “we can never cut any government program” crowd was in full-force recently on the Albuquerque Journal’s opinion pages with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty arguing that any cuts to food stamps would be a “profound mistake.” The arguments trotted out were very typical: 1) Welfare as economic stimulus; 2) Without food [...]

When discussing New Mexico’s graduation rates, we have always used “Diplomas Count”  from the Education Research Center. The latest report on national graduation rates was released earlier this month. Reports on the topic have noted that Diplomas Count and the State calculate graduation rates differently, but that New Mexico was at the very bottom in the [...]

The Bill of Rights Institute has one scholarship spot (including the cost of meals, lodging, and all other expenses once students arrive in Washington, DC) for a student from New Mexico left at the organization’s 2013 Constitutional Academy which will be held July 15-20. The program is for rising high-school juniors, seniors, and just graduated seniors who [...]

While the Obama Administration and some proponents wish to make it look like the law is going to move forward towards full implementation in 2014, there are plenty of serious issues with the law that could derail it. Several links are listed below that illustrate the significant problems still facing the law. Legal: Oklahoma federal exchange [...]

The Rio Grande Foundation recently hosted a debate on the issue of inequality in America. Participants were Paul Gessing, president of Rio Grande Foundation and Nick Estes who recently worked as an analyst with New Mexico Voices for Children. The footage of the debate can be viewed below: “Rising Inequality in America … Should Government [...]

Leftists and their allies in the media are often very effective at portraying conservatives and libertarians as being heartless for their stances against massive government transfer programs. The reality is that government is the nastiest organization around because accountability is so elusive. Democracy, yes, but throwing the bums out is not the same as throwing [...]

Two issues have bubbled to the surface in the local debate over economic development and the proper role of government. Those are: 1) Whether Bernalillo County should impose fees up to 3% on utilities that use right of way owned by the County; On the this issue, we need to ask questions including the following: [...]

Winthrop Quigley, business journalist at the Albuquerque Journal, had another economically-confused column on New Mexico economic policies and our potential for economic growth. Quigley questions efforts to lower New Mexico’s tax burden and make the state more attractive to businesses. As Quigley notes, “our state’s corporate income tax changes were designed to signal…that New Mexico [...]