Without indexing, $7.50/hour wage will be worth less than $6.50/hour in 2020

February 13, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—As the Legislature considers a bill to index the minimum wage, a new report shows that full-time minimum wage earners have already lost $1,000 a year due to inflation since the wage was raised in 2009. Indexing the wage would make it rise in conjunction with the cost of living. Without indexing, the minimum wage loses its purchasing power, becoming less and less valuable over time. By 2020, the state’s $7.50 an hour minimum wage will have the buying power of less than $6.50.

“Most of the New Mexicans who earn the minimum wage are adults who are working more than part-time,” said Gerry Bradley, Research Director for New Mexico Voices for Children and the report’s author. “So the people who would be benefitting are the people who are paying the household bills and putting food on the table. Women and Hispanics would particularly benefit, as would New Mexicans who don’t have a college degree.”

Indexing the minimum wage would help reduce poverty in New Mexico, putting approximately $500 more a year in the pocket of each hard working New Mexican. Since low-wage workers tend to spend all of their income on day-to-day necessities, this additional money is likely to be spent in the local economy.

“If we don’t index the minimum wage, we’ll be at the same point in the near future that we were several years ago—needing to raise the minimum wage because it will be worth so much less. In the meantime, working New Mexico families suffer,” added Bradley.

The report is available online at: http://www.nmvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/min-wage-indexing-2-10-12.pdf

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here (pdf)

February 7, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—Legislation that would require citizens to show a photo ID in order to vote would cost New Mexico taxpayers an estimated $1.8 million per year, or $5.5 million over three years. Three such bills are currently working their way through committee hearings in the state Capitol. The expenses would come from administration and implementation of such a law, ad campaigns to educate the public and avoid confusion on election day, and the cost of the actual IDs.

“Very little election fraud has been found by the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office, so this is the proverbial solution in search of a problem,” said Gerry Bradley, Research Director for New Mexico Voices for Children and report author. “Since voter fraud is so rare, we consider voter ID laws an attempt at voter suppression.”

The groups most adversely affected by voter ID laws include the elderly, persons with disabilities, veterans, voters in rural areas, and racial and ethnic minorities.

“Even if the state pays for the photo ID—which it should—it still puts an unnecessary burden on people who have to find a way to get to a Motor Vehicle Division office in order to apply for the ID,” Bradley said.

States that have implemented voter ID laws but have required voters to pay for the IDs have found themselves the subject of lawsuits. “If you require the voter to pay for an ID they would not otherwise need, it can amount to a poll tax, which is a violation of civil rights laws,” said Bradley. “Voting is a constitutionally protected right and the state should make it easier for people to participate in elections, not more difficult.”

The report draws on cost estimates from other states that have implemented voter photo ID laws.

The report, Analysis: Voter ID Laws are Costly, is available online at http://www.nmvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Voter-ID-Cost-2-12.pdf 

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 New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here (pdf)

State receives D+ for tracking of job-creation incentives and subsidies

January 18, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—New grades are out and, when it comes to tracking whether tax breaks are creating jobs, it’s a disappointing D+ for New Mexico. The grades were issued by the group Good Jobs First in their report “Money-Back Guarantees for Taxpayers: Clawbacks and Other Enforcement Safeguards in State Economic Development Subsidy Programs.” In the report, New Mexico is ranked 45^th in the nation, tying with two other states for that spot. Only three states ranked lower.

The report analyzed several economic development incentives and subsidy programs in states across the nation. It found that there is great inconsistency with how well states monitor, verify and enforce their incentives to ensure that they are fulfilling performance measures like creating jobs.

“It’s politically popular to hand out tax breaks with the idea that they will create jobs,” said Gerry Bradley, Research Director for New Mexico Voices for Children. “Unfortunately, especially in New Mexico, tracking these economic incentives to make sure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth is considerably less popular. When you give a ‘job-creation’ tax break to a company and they don’t create any jobs, you’re really just handing out corporate welfare,” he added.

“It’s discouraging that Governor Martinez is hoping to pass another $55 million worth of tax breaks when we do such a poor job of verifying that the breaks we already have actually create jobs,” Bradley said.

The report looked at five incentive programs in New Mexico. While all five require that companies report their performance, the state only verifies these reports in three of the five. Only one incentive program (industrial revenue bonds) requires that money be paid back if performance measures are not met. All five incentive programs failed completely in the category of online disclosure of enforcement practices.

“Money-Back Guarantees for Taxpayers” is a companion report to “Money for Something,” which Good Jobs First issued last month. Both reports can be found on the group’s website at www.goodjobsfirst.org.

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 New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here (pdf)

State encouraged to invest in programs serving children and families

January 17, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—More New Mexico children have fallen into poverty as a result of the recession, according to the 2011 New Mexico KIDS COUNT report.

The annual report, released today, is published by New Mexico Voices for Children.

Even before the Great Recession, New Mexico had very poor national rankings in terms of the economic, health, and educational well-being of its children. The most recent data show the recession and the slow recovery have made things worse.

 “Fewer families are economically secure now and more children—especially those living in families with income below the poverty level—live in homes where employment for parents is either not full-time, not year-round, or both,” said Christine Hollis, New Mexico KIDS COUNT director. “The chronic stress of living in such a situation has a negative impact on children and their ability to achieve future success.”

 More than half of New Mexico’s children live in poverty or in low-income families that have trouble making ends meet. The percent of children living in single-parent families has increased from 33 percent in 2000 to 42 percent in 2010. Single-parent families are more likely to suffer economic hardship than two-parent families. Only three other states have higher percents of children in single-parent homes.

 “After three years of deep state budget cuts, New Mexico needs to be reinvesting in programs that serve children—child care, early learning K-12 education, unemployment benefits, and other programs that help families that are struggling with the loss of income and other resources,” Hollis added.

The NM KIDS COUNT 2011 cites data on poverty and other indicators of child well-being. Where available, data are broken down by county and school district. The annual report was released today during a press conference in the Rotunda of the state Capitol.

The report is available online at: http://www.nmvoices.org/nm-kids-count

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KIDS COUNT is a program of New Mexico Voices for Children and is made possible by grants from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

 New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here (pdf)

College education will become less affordable for New Mexicans

January 9, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—With the state’s vast network of universities, community colleges, and branch campuses—coupled with relatively low tuition and the lottery scholarship—a post-secondary education in New Mexico has been relatively inexpensive. But the recession and changes in the state budget have made college much less affordable. Moreover, tuition hikes have squeezed the state’s lottery scholarship fund.

Those are some of the main conclusions from a report released today by New Mexico Voices for Children, “Higher Education Expenditures and College Affordability in New Mexico.”

“The lottery scholarship has been a great success in making a college education possible for New Mexicans,” said Gerry Bradley, NM Voices’ Research Director and report author. “But by the state’s own reckoning, the fund will near depletion in 2015 even if tuition is not raised again,” he added.

The report shows that while more future jobs will require some college education, New Mexico is actually graduating fewer high schoolers. And, while the onset of the recession has led to an increase in college enrollment, the state has steadily decreased the amount of money it spends on a per-student basis.

“Lawmakers did not have to deal with the budget shortfalls of the last few years by cutting funding to programs like higher education. Instead of raising tuition at a time when more and more people need to improve their education and job skills, lawmakers could have chosen to raise new revenue. But they forced the colleges to raise the revenue from students,” Bradley added.

One of the recommendations in the report is to make the lottery scholarship based on need so that it is available only to students who could not afford to attend college without it.

The report is available online at: http://www.nmvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Higher-Ed-in-NM-12-11.pdf

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here. (pdf)

Single Sales Factor Formula would create ‘winners’ and ‘losers’

December 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—Governor Martinez has said publically that she won’t close a much-discussed corporate tax loophole because she does not want to “pick winners and losers.” But that’s exactly what would happen if her administration is successful in getting the Legislature to implement the single sales factor formula for determining corporate income taxes in New Mexico, according to a new report.

The report, “Winners and Losers: The Single Sales Factor Formula in New Mexico,” points out that the oil and gas extraction industries would be the big winners under the single sales factor formula (SSFF). Manufacturers would also benefit, but retailers would lose out—in fact, they would pay higher corporate income taxes. And corporations that solely do business in New Mexico would not only see no benefit, but it would put them at a competitive disadvantage with multi-state corporations. A loophole that some multi-state corporations currently take advantage of already puts New Mexico corporations at a disadvantage.

The state could also lose as much as half of its current corporate income tax revenue, which could be as much as $180 million in the coming fiscal year.

“The biggest losers of all would be the people of New Mexico,” said Gerry Bradley, New Mexico Voices for Children’s Research Director and the report author. “This would be expensive and, at a time when revenues are still anemic, that would likely mean more cuts to essential services—like education, public safety, and health care,” he added. “We simply cannot afford more tax giveaways to big out-of-state corporations at a time when our children and families are struggling.”

The report also points out that there is no evidence that implementing the SSFF would bring any new manufacturing to New Mexico, lead to new jobs or influence corporate location decisions. “This is another example of a job-killing tax cut,” said Bradley. “A few companies reap all the benefit while we continue to lay off more teachers and put more families on a waiting list for child care assistance. How can that benefit New Mexico families?”

The full report is available online at: http://www.nmvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/winners-and-losers-ssff-12-11.pdf

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here (pdf)

Funding to support work on early childhood care, health, and education

November 9, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—New Mexico Voices for Children has been awarded a Roadmaps to Health Community Grant of $200,000 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to improve the long-term health and well-being of New Mexico’s children.

The grant funding supports New Mexico Voices for Children in its collaboration with the Invest in Kids Now! coalition and the New Mexico Community Data Collaborative network. The multi-level project has several long- and short-term goals. One is to educate grassroots groups about the importance of early childhood care, education, and health to K-12 educational success. The groups will then be provided with location-specific data on health disparities, unmet needs, and gaps in services so the communities can advocate for their specific needs with policy-makers. The end goal is to secure an adequate, stable source of funding for a continuum of high-quality early childhood services either via the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund or other potential revenue sources.

The 12 Roadmaps to Health Community Grants, which support two-year state and local efforts among policymakers, business, education, health care, public health, and community organizations, will be managed by Community Catalyst and are part of the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, a collaboration of RWJF and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI).

“These projects are really exciting for two reasons: first, they are truly collaborations among diverse community partners who bring expertise, relationships and resources to improve people’s health; and second, that in addition to health behaviors such as smoking and diet, they are focused on factors such as education, family relationships, and income that heavily influence our health and quality of life,” said James S. Marks, MD, MPH, senior vice president and director of the Health Group at RWJF.

“One thing that makes this grant particularly valuable to us is that it allows us to expand our work in early childhood care and education to include the very important issue of health,” said Bill Jordan, NM Voices’ Policy Director. “Access to good prenatal care and ongoing preventive health care is vital to a young child’s future success. When developmental delays or health problems are not diagnosed and addressed early they can impede a child’s social and educational progress and have negative life-long consequences,” Jordan added.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation will provide a cash match to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant.

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measureable and timely change. For nearly 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

About Community Catalyst
Community Catalyst is a national nonprofit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to quality affordable health care for all. Community Catalyst works in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and foundations, providing leadership and support to improve the health of communities and to change the health care system so it serves everyone. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org or http://blog.communitycatalyst.org

Download this press release here. (pdf)

November 8, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—While the so-called super committee in our nation’s Capitol looks at slashing funding for the country’s two largest health care programs—Medicare and Medicaid—local advocates point out that the majority of New Mexico voters would disapprove of such a measure.

The poll, which was conducted by Research and Polling, Inc., for six advocacy groups, shows that the vast majority of voters (83 percent) believe Medicaid is important to residents in New Mexico with 66 percent saying Medicaid is very important. Medicaid is the health program for the disabled, seniors in nursing homes, low-income children, and impoverished families. The majority (59 percent) of voters do not believe there should be any reductions in Medicaid spending as a way to reduce the federal debt.

“Cutting Medicaid would have dire consequences for New Mexico. One in four New Mexicans relies on the program for health care and federal funds for Medicaid sustain more than 50,000 jobs in our state, mostly in the private health care sector,” said Sireesha Manne, health care attorney for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, one of the groups that commissioned the poll.

Cuts to Medicare, the health program for seniors, scored even lower with likely voters as a way to reduce the federal debt. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of New Mexico voters do not believe there should be any reductions in Medicare, while 24 percent believe there should be minor reductions in spending. Just 5 percent feel there should be major reductions.

“New Mexicans strongly support Medicare,” said Mike Donnelly, State Director for AARP New Mexico, another of the groups that commissioned the poll. “We urge our congressional delegation to vote against any super committee plan to cut this vital health care program for our seniors,” he added. 

“These programs are especially critical as health care coverage becomes increasingly unaffordable,” added Manne. The poll shows that 80 percent of New Mexicans believe that the costs of health care are a concern facing the state’s residents, with 57 percent listing costs as a “serious concern.”

The six groups that commissioned the poll are AARP New Mexico, AFSCME, AFT-NM, New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, New Mexico Voices for Children, and St. Joseph Community Health. 

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here (pdf)

Education sector saw employment decline of 5 percent

November 1, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE—New Mexico’s public schools are having to do more with less money—5 percent less than they had last year. The drop in funding has led to a 5 percent decline in public education jobs. To exacerbate the issue, student enrollment has increased over the last three years.

These are some of the main conclusions in a report, Funding Public Schools in New Mexico in the Great Recession, released through New Mexico Voices for Children’s Fiscal Policy Project.

“The bottom has dropped out of the state’s public education budget,” said Gerry Bradley, NM Voices’ Research Director and the report’s author. “Even though state funding for public schools has been in decline for several years, it was replaced by increased federal funds via the federal stimulus package of 2009. But that funding is now gone and lawmakers chose not to make it up by putting any new revenue measures in place,” he added.

One reason that K-12 funding is so precarious in New Mexico is that a much larger percentage of the overall budget comes from general fund revenues than in most states. Almost all other states rely more heavily on property taxes for funding public education.

“Property taxes tend to be ‘sticky’ in a recession,” said Bradley, “meaning the revenue doesn’t decline the way revenue from income and sales taxes does. But about half of our total K-12 education expenditures come out of our general fund budget, which relies very heavily on income and sales taxes.”

The report recommends that, in the absence of greatly increased revenues, the Legislature should raise new revenue next year rather than continue to cut K-12 funding.

The report is available online at: http://www.nmvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/public-school-funding-in-recession-10-11.pdf

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this press release here. (pdf)

MEDIA STATEMENT
Friday, October 28, 2011

ALBUQUERQUE—Governor Martinez announced today that she will be restoring a portion of funding to early childhood programs that had previously been cut during the state’s budget deficit. Approximately 1,300 children will come off of the waiting list for child care assistance with this new funding (there are currently more than 6,000 children on the child care assistance waiting list). Governor Martinez also announced that the 4 percent cut that was imposed on child care providers last year will end on January 1, 2012.

Bill Jordan, Policy Director of New Mexico Voices for Children, praised the news saying, “This is a great step in the right direction. We applaud the governor’s action to provide additional funding for child care assistance. With thousands of low-income families on a waiting list for help in paying for child care, and dozens of child care centers closing their doors in the last year, this is very welcome news. Child care is a vital support for working parents, who have been struggling to make ends meet in this difficult economy. We are grateful to Secretary Deines and the governor for this action, and look forward to working with the governor’s administration and the legislature to help New Mexico’s youngest children and their parents get access to the high quality early education they need.”

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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106-3523; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

Download this media statement here. (pdf)