Financial Incentives for Educational Success: Novel Concept!
According to the Albuquerque Journal:
West Mesa High School students could be pocketing $100 for each Advanced Placement exam they pass in math, English and science next spring.
And AP teachers won’t be left out either, collecting $100 in bonuses for each of their students’ passed tests.
This is one innovative, market-based reform that is straight out of the Florida playbook that Dr. Matthew Ladner outlined recently in New Mexico. While it is by no means a silver bullet, it is a step in the right direction towards more incentives for both students and teachers to perform well.
And yes, students should learn for the sake of learning, but sometimes those incentives are more powerful when an additional financial carrot is provided. It’ll be interesting to see how things unfold at West Mesa.
Environmental Improvement Board Hearing Starts Today
While cap and trade may have breathed its last breath in Washington, proponents are still fighting for a job-killing, energy-cost-increasing, New-Mexico-only carbon cap (Case no. EIB 08-19). There will be a hearing where the public can listen to the technical testimony August 16-20 in Santa Fe. The public comment period will be held at 7:00-8:00 PM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening. However, anyone who can be present during the daytime, technical testimony hearing portion (Monday-Friday) is encouraged to attend to make the public opposition clear. It is important that those who oppose the regulation be present. Public comment matters. You do not need to be an “expert” and you do not need to give a speech, but you should be prepared to simply stand up and state “I oppose the NEE green house gas cap petition.” You will have a total of three minutes to speak.
If you cannot attend, you are still encouraged to voice your opinion via mail, fax, or e-mail. This can be done by sending comments to: Board Administrator, New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board 1190 St. Francis Drive N2153, Santa Fe, NM 87502 FAX: (505) 827-2836/ email: joyce.medina@state.nm.us
The Environmental Improvement Board is stacked with members hand-picked by Governor Richardson who are likely to support the proposal, despite opposition by a broad-based coalition of businesses throughout the state. Additionally, several of the board members have severe conflict of interest issues. Jim Scarantino of New Mexico Watchdog has done a great deal of work on this.
Series of Meetings on NM Higher Education Plan
There is an ongoing series of meetings now taking place statewide relating to the state’s plan for higher education. As the Rio Grande Foundation has pointed out in the past, higher education is bloated and inefficient in New Mexico. While it is unlikely that the state’s plan will do much to address this issue, the fact is that the issue needs to be put on the agenda.
The schedule of statewide meetings can be found here. If you want to know more about our research on the higher education issue, check out this recent 30 minute interview on Christian TV station KNAT:
In: Uncategorized
Federal Compensation Double Their Private-Sector Counterparts
John Edwards was right about one thing when he ran for president several years ago. There are indeed “two Americas.” The two Americas are not specifically rich and poor , but government workers vs. the rest of us.
Now comes word from the USA Today that federal workers earn DOUBLE their private-sector counterparts. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Federal civil servants earned average pay and benefits of $123,049 in 2009 while private workers made $61,051 in total compensation.”
We at the Rio Grande Foundation have found that New Mexico state and local workers are paid 11.5% more than their private sector counterparts, so we are a long way from the federal disparity, but the fact is that government workers are not living in the same economic reality as the rest of us. This needs to change with some serious downsizing in terms of both numbers of government workers and their pay and pension packages.
Tune in to AM 1550 from 4-6:30pm today
Jim Scarantino and I will be stepping in for Janice Arnold-Jones this afternoon. Among our topics for discussion will be Bill Richardson’s legacy, the failure of New Mexico’s “Solar Alley,” a discussion with our capital reporter Rob Nikolewski, and plenty of time for your calls which you can make at: (505) 265-1550.
In: Uncategorized
Who Needs Economic Development? (certainly not San Miguel County)
I am not a believer in wind and solar power as our economic or environmental salvation. That said, the federal government has subsidies in place for wind power and those who wish to build wind farms are looking for wide-open spaces with strong, constant wind, to build their farms. Construction of these farms will generate short-term jobs and the leases for the land on which these projects are built will generate some long-term revenue…sounds like a winner, right?
Well, not in San Miguel County, New Mexico. According to news reports, the citizens of San Miguel County are nearly united in their opposition to this modest form of economic development. It’s not as if San Miguel County doesn’t need the jobs or income boost. According to Census data, the County is far more impoverished and has far lower income levels than the rest of the state of New Mexico (a relatively impoverished state).
Said one local of the proposed project “I don’t want to see turbines out there wrecking everything.” Now, I know environmentalists (and the NIMBY crowd) are pretty weak on property rights, but it would seem to behoove us all if we recognized that the owners of a particular piece of land should be able to do with it as they please as long as their is no direct, negative impact on their neighbors — and I’m sorry, but having a windmill within eyesight is not a “direct, negative impact.
There is no doubt that this NIMBY attitude is harmful to San Miguel County’s economy. Remember how difficult they made Val Kilmer’s efforts to create a few jobs? That said, this is a real problem for the future of wind power. If you can’t get the locals to believe that having a windmill nearby is benign, how are you going to make wind a viable power source?
In: Uncategorized
Bingaman: Cut Ethanol Subsidies
While not going so far as to say that subsidies to ethanol should be eliminated, Sen. Jeff Bingaman has taken a small step towards energy policy sanity by at least bringing up the possibility of cutting ethanol subsidies. Bingaman is not exactly taking a major political risk here as New Mexico is not a major corn growing state and thus not reliant on ethanol subsidies like Iowa.
In typical Bingaman fashion, even his new-found pro-taxpayer (anti-subsidy) stance is at best mealy-mouthed with Bingaman saying that ethanol is “a mature technology whose market share is protected,” (by Congressional mandate, not economic viability, of course) and that Congress should scrutinize the subsidy and “weigh all factors, including the credit’s very high cost to taxpayers,” (approximately $6 billion annually) before again extending it.
Not exactly bold language from Bingaman, but he is Chair of the Senate’s Energy Committee and thus has a major say on the issue. It would be great to see New Mexico’s senior senator do something positive for taxpayers by eliminating ethanol subsidies. We’ll see if this is just posturing or if Bingaman will fight the special interests.
Texas Continues to Thrive During Recession
It’s hard to put a finger on a single reason, but as the Atlantic Monthly notes in this article, “Maybe it’s the lack of a state income or capital gains tax. Or the dearth of union workers. Or the plentiful labor supply on the border of Mexico, or the lower wages, or the stable and lean regulations. There’s something about Texas that makes it the most popular place for business to do its business…” I’d say that all of these factors play into Texas’ success. It would be great if New Mexico’s political leaders took a closer look for themselves.
Another report from Business Week finds that Houston is the American city with “the best mix of job openings, pay, and affordability.” Houston, of course, is unique among large US cities that lack zoning laws. Is this — along with the attributes like a lack of an income tax and less unionization — the factor that makes Houston’s economy so strong? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that the City of Albuquerque has a long way to go before it becomes a business-friendly place.
The following letter of mine on this topic was printed recently in the Business Outlook section of the Albuquerque Journal:
Mayor Berry should be applauded for his Administration’s efforts to streamline the business permitting and setup process. His statement that “business people don’t make money and jobs wandering through a government maze” is spot-on.
But, perhaps the fact that new programs are necessary to assist entrepreneurs and small-business owners with these processes is a sign that the City has too many rules and regulations in the first place? As the Mayor moves forward in his efforts to make Albuquerque a more business-friendly place, he and City Council should take it upon themselves to carefully analyze this maze of rules and regulations to determine whether they are absolutely necessary and cost-effective or whether certain ones should be scrapped entirely.
Among the most extensive and costly regulations are zoning and land-use planning which must be placed on the table for major changes. Notably, Houston, a city that does not have zoning regulations, has the highest level of entrepreneurial activity out of the 15 largest U.S. cities, this according to the latest Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity.
While helping guide businesses through Albuquerque’s thicket of regulations will undoubtedly help, more dramatic reforms will spur job creation and economic growth in the Duke City.
Another Subsidized Solar Flame-Out?
I feel bad for the folks at Schott Solar who just got laid off. But I also feel bad for New Mexico taxpayers (like me) who have been sold a pig in a poke by Governor Richardson and other politicians who have repeatedly thrown money at unproven technologies and business models. In the case of Schott Solar, we’re talking about $130 million.
The truth is that the slowing economy is but one of many factors negatively impacting Schott. Competition from cheaper producers in China is another. The real issue is that Richardson does not have his own money at stake and he is no expert in solar power or investing. Hopefully Schott is able to re-group and limp its way to the next economic recovery, but that $130 million taxpayer investment is looking mighty precarious at this point.
Our Own Jim Scarantino Presenting at ALEC
ALEC stands for American Legislative Exchange Council. The organization describes itself as “A nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty.” They are holding their annual meeting, with well-known legislators, policymakers, and commentators from across the nation gathering now in San Diego. Some of the more prominent attendees are listed here.
I am pleased to say that our own New Mexico Watchdog Jim Scarantino is in San Diego now presenting to the group on the “new media.”
The Rio Grande Foundation is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most effective free market public policy organizations in the nation. Won’t you support us with a tax-deductible donation today?
