Las Cruces Sun-News--If you can find an investment with a higher rate of return, that has the added benefit of improving the state’s economy and quality of life for all, we’d love to hear about it.
Bill Jordan spoke at the Second Annual People's Rally. His comments are posted here. "Our years of austerity just so that the rich and well-connected can get tax cuts ― those days are over! It’s time for us to invest in what works. It’s time to invest in New Mexico."
Santa Fe New Mexican--We seem to finally have crawled out of the revenue ravine, and some legislators want to place us back on the edge of that same fiscal precipice? Sounds suicidal.
Albuquerque Journal--New Mexico Voices for Children spokeswoman Sharon Kayne said that while her organization has historically supported JTIP, it also believes “some of the best economic development comes from investing in infrastructure and human capital.” “We need a well-educated and skilled workforce,” said Kayne. “That’s how to get jobs here.”
Las Cruces Sun-News--New Mexico continues to struggle when it comes to improving child well-being, and Doña Ana County isn’t faring well either. New Mexico was ranked as the second-worst state in child welfare, according to the 2017 New Mexico Kids Count Data book, a nationwide effort to track the status and well-being of children across the nation and in each state in four areas: economy, education, health, and family and community.
Searchlight NM--“I wouldn’t say that New Mexico state government has failed children,” said Sharon Kayne, a spokeswoman for New Mexico Voices for Children, an advocacy group. “Rather, it has failed to take a comprehensive, coordinated approach to improving child well-being. It dabbles a bit here and tries something new there and hopes that small fixes will cure a very big and complex problem,” she said.
Searchlight NM--New Mexico Voices for Children, a nonprofit advocacy group, conducted a study last year to show exactly what it would take to move the needle. Because of the state’s relatively small population — New Mexico ranks 36th with just over 2 million residents in 2017 Census estimates — on some key indicators it wouldn’t take much.
KRWG--One of the favorite tropes of news articles and literature is the miser—an individual who hoards money even to the determent of their own well-being. These skinflints refuse to spend money even when doing so would improve their quality of life or that of their family. Take, for example, Hetty Green who inherited $7.5 million dollars in 1864, a vast sum for the time. Turns out that Green was also a brilliant business woman, allowing her to amass even more wealth. She was also a famous miser.
Policy Brief Prosperity requires investments. You can’t grow a garden without good soil, water, and some hard work. Same with a state - you can’t have prosperity without resources, infrastructure, and a skilled workforce. But New Mexico has tried to cut its way to prosperity and it hasn't worked. This brief offers several recommendations for raising revenue so lawmakers can invest in our state and its people.
Fact Sheet The College Affordability Fund comprises some of the only need-based financial aid that the state makes available to low-income students. But the fund was raided in 2017 to fill budget holes in other areas. This fact sheet shows why the fund needs to be replenished.