Is the Film Industry Polluting?

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 15, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Given the incredible number of tax breaks given to New Mexico’s film industry, one might be led to believe that the industry is completely benign and obviusly beneficial regardless of whether the policies that bring the industry here in the first place are economically sound. Unfortunately (for film backers at least), a recent UCLA study of the film industry in Los Angeles found the industry to be the single most polluting industry outside of the petroleum industry in the five-county region that forms L.A.
With Governor Richardson dedicating himself and millions of our tax dollars to reducing supposedly harmful greenhouse gases, perhaps the good Guv should reconsider his willingness to bet the farm on film.

Energy and Environment

Less is More or Big Government is Better?

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 13, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Recently on the pages of the Albuquerque Tribune, the Rio Grande Foundation and New Mexico Voices for Children have traded jabs on the issue of whether a Colorado-style Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights would be a boon or a bust for New Mexico.
While the answers to most of her criticisms are contained in my original piece, Kay Monaco is not singing a new song. In fact, her arguments are nothing more than regurgitated talking points from the Washington, DC-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Of course, our side has its own talking points and those were developed by the DC-based Tax Foundation. These talking points answer most of the rest of Monaco’s assertions.
Ultimately, the conflicting points can be summed up in one line from Monaco’s piece “Fiscal conservatives are careful to overlook the most important fact when they talk about taxes – that taxes represent an investment in America.” If you believe that government at any level needs an unlimited amount of your tax dollars — state government grew by approximately 8 percent last year in New Mexico — then you need to pick up an economics book. Governments at all levels are at their best when their roles are limited. That is why the Founding Fathers wrote a Constitution that strictly limited the powers of the federal government. State governments too need to take on only those tasks for which government is best, anything else tends to wind up being wasteful and/or a hindrance to our freedoms.

Economics in Focus

Larry Reed and the Freedom Movement in New Mexico

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 12, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Larry Reed’s recent visit to New Mexico was a big success. Diane Velasco of The Citizen covered the event and offered her own assessment of Reed’s speech and the freedom movement in New Mexico. We appreciate the coverage and hope to continue expanding the circle.

Economic Freedom

Regardless of Election Results, Americans Still Want Smaller Government

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 11, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Although it would be easy to interpret the Democratic Party’s victory as a call by voters for bigger government, a new opinion poll clearly shows that while the American people have been frustated by the foibles of Republicans, their votes for change should not be confused with favoring higher taxes or more government spending. Among the nuggets contained in the recent survey is the finding that 62% of voters would like the 2003 capital gains and dividend cuts extended and 57% of voters would rather have a member of congress that cut spending rather than bringing home pork.
While it is hard to attribute national election results to any one factor — was it the Iraq War or was it spending and corruption that hurt the Republicans? — I believe that many voters simply voted for divided government.

The Budget

RGF President Paul Gessing interviewed by Channel 13′s Larry Barker

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 9, 2006 - Uncategorized

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The Rio Grande Foundation has often criticized special interest tax breaks and subsidies, so, when Larry Barker, Channel 13′s investigative journalist broke a recent story about shenanigans involving New Mexico’s film tax credit program, he contacted us for comment. The stories are posted here. Gessing appears in both stories.

Decidedly New Mexican

Recriminations and Analysis

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 9, 2006 - Uncategorized

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As Democrats ascend to power and Republicans begin picking up the pieces of electoral defeat, there is a lot of spin going on as to what the big issues were that caused the Republicans to lose Congress. One particularly confusing bit of “analysis” was recently performed by the folks over at the Republican Main Street Partnership, which blamed the Republican Party’s defeat on its “pursuit of a far right agenda.”
If the Main Street Partnership were a libertarian group critical of Republicans’ social or Iraq War policies, this critique would make sense, but the Partnership is really a left-wing faction within the Party dedicated to fighting any efforts to restrain the growth of the federal government and specifically created in opposition to the Club for Growth.
With President Bush and the Republican-dominated Congress having grown government at rates comparable to Lyndon Baines Johnson and that left Bill Clinton in the dust, it is hard to argue that Republicans adhered to a “far-right” philosophy on spending and that cost them the election. But, when your policies have been followed and have failed so miserably, I suppose recriminations are to be expected.
The National Taxpayers Union has some excellent analysis of the Main Street Partnership’s agenda here.

The Budget

Bad News and a Little Good News

Posted by Harry Messenheimer - November 8, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Maine, a state that is as bad as New Mexico in many ways, saw its constitutional amendment to limit taxing and spending go down to defeat.
But a little good news too: the wasteful “quality of life tax” went down to defeat in ABQ.

Constitutionalism

Railroaded

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 7, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Given the proximity of the vote to Election Day, even dedicated followers of local politics might be forgiven for having missed out on the latest folly perpetrated on local residents by the Albuquerque City Council. Yes, in the apparent belief that no tax burden is too heavy and that money grows on trees, Council voted 6-3 to extend a 1/4 percent gross receipts tax until at least 2020 (although it is hard to believe that it will ever be recinded at this point).
The Rio Grande Foundation and others are looking carefully at the way in which a tax was extended for such a long period without voter approval, so this one is not done yet. Eventually, the Legislature will be asked to spend taxpayer dollars on this ridiculously-wasteful project. Hopefully their representatives realize that Farmington, Roswell, and Las Cruces taxpayers shouldn’t be bilked out of $100+ million for a project that will only benefiit a small portion of Albuquerque.

Decidedly New Mexican

K-12 Spending

Posted by Harry Messenheimer - November 6, 2006 - Uncategorized

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Per pupil spending increased in real terms (adjusted for inflation) by over 50 percent from school year 1982-83 to school year 2003-04. Here is what the trend looks like in 2006 dollars:
per pupil spending.jpg
More recent data are available for spending from New Mexico’s general fund. The increase in spending from the state’s general fund from FY89 to FY07 in real terms (adjusted for population growth and inflation) was 24 percent. Here is what the general fund trend for school spending looks like in current dollars:
general fund spending.jpg
That we are using more and more resources for education raises an important question: How can we be spending so much more in real terms and be doing so much worse as illustrated here and here?

Education

A Desire Named Streetcar

Posted by Paul Gessing - November 5, 2006 - Uncategorized

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In case you missed it in Saturday’s Albuquerque Journal, the Rio Grande Foundation is busy making the case against Mayor Martin Chavez’s proposed “modern streetcar” boondoggle. If you have the chance, please contact your counselors and let them know that this project is an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars. Better yet, take the time to come to Monday’s City Council meeting and tell them in person what a bad idea this project is. I’ll be there and I’d love to meet you!

Decidedly New Mexican