Blog Posts

May 14 2019

Advancing equity in New Mexico: An introduction

Alex McCausland2023-02-15T11:37:49-07:00Blog Posts, Racial and Ethnic Equity Blog|

Every child deserves to live in a society where they have an equal opportunity to participate, prosper, and reach their full potential in life – a society where neither race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender, disability, nor skin color can determine their opportunities and life outcomes. There are many ways to address equity in public policy. This blog is the introduction to a series where we focus on the outcomes of the 2019 legislative session and how they influenced equity, in policy areas such as taxes and spending, criminal and juvenile justice, college affordability, social determinants of health, family economic security, and more.

May 09 2019

On Mother’s Day and every day, families belong together

Alex McCausland2023-02-15T11:38:23-07:00Blog Posts|

How do you tell an eight-year-old girl who spent every day of her life playing with her cousins, singing with her aunts, or even cooking with her grandmother, that she may never get to see them again? How do you tell an eight-year-old that if she wants to return to her home, she must leave her mother behind? Or that the government of the country she was born in did not want people like her mom?

Apr 16 2019

Not the New Mexico tax return you were hoping for? Wait till 2020

Alex McCausland2019-04-16T12:07:46-06:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Tax and Budget Blog|

When you filed your tax return this year, you may have noticed some changes. Maybe you got a smaller refund than usual or you owed more in state taxes. So what happened to the big fairness measures that the state Legislature just passed?

Apr 14 2019

Not the New Mexico tax return you were hoping for? Wait till 2020

Alex McCausland2024-04-04T15:10:28-06:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Economic Security News Coverage, Tax and Budget Blog, Tax and Budget News Coverage|

Las Cruces Sun-News--When you filed your tax return this year, you may have noticed some changes. Maybe you got a smaller refund than usual or you owed more in state taxes. So what happened to the big fairness measures that the state Legislature just passed?

Mar 30 2019

Aggressive litigation not way to teach NM’s children

Alex McCausland2024-04-04T15:14:19-06:00Blog Posts, Education Blog, Education News Coverage, News Coverage|

Albuquerque Journal--First and foremost, we need to do what’s best for our children. Spending money and time on aggressive litigation against a court order that simply requires us to educate our children at the standard set forth in our own constitution is not what’s best for our children. Our K-12 education system needs fundamental change, and that will not occur unless we place a relentless focus on improving what’s happening in the classroom, not “winning” in the courtroom.

Feb 20 2019

Tax credits are smart policy investments for a healthier New Mexico

Alex McCausland2019-02-20T09:59:34-07:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Health Blog|

How much income a family earns determines where they live, what access they have to schools, food, and health care, as well as the amount of stress they experience in making ends meet. Evidence shows that tax credits for working families are critical for not only putting money back into the hands of these consumers, but also for improving their health and well-being. New Mexico's Working Families Tax Credit brings these benefits to families and could do more if it were increased.

Jan 22 2019

Time to restore fairness to the personal income tax and break the boom-or-bust cycle

Alex McCausland2019-01-22T14:27:29-07:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Tax and Budget Blog|

Now is the time to enact bold tax reform and improve our tax system so we can begin to generate key, sustainable resources that are not ruled by the boom-or-bust cycle of the oil and gas industries. This reform should begin by restoring fairness to the personal income tax, a stable source of revenue that is underutilized in New Mexico due to tax cuts enacted in 2003.

Jan 15 2019

Changing the course on child well-being

Alex McCausland2019-01-15T15:15:28-07:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Education Blog, Health Blog, Kids Count Blog, Tax and Budget Blog|

The past decade of austerity has been hard on New Mexico’s children. Still, we are optimistic about the future because we believe in the strength and resiliency of New Mexico’s families. We know we can build stronger communities and support more resilient families and children so that they can thrive. But we can only build a stronger New Mexico if our policymakers are willing to provide the revenue we need to make these investments.

Dec 19 2018

NM Voices’ policy priorities for the 2019 legislative session

Alex McCausland2018-12-19T17:08:38-07:00Blog Posts, Tax and Budget Blog|

You can count us among those who are grateful for the billion dollar surplus. This has been a rough few years for kids and families. You can also count us among those who are nervous about how long it will last.

Dec 18 2018

Corporate tax cuts prevent us from investing in what really matters for a thriving economy

Alex McCausland2021-04-22T12:56:32-06:00Blog Posts, Economic Security Blog, Tax and Budget Blog|

Here in New Mexico, we’ve given away more and more of our tax revenue over time in the form of corporate handouts and allowed multi-state corporations to play shell games with the profits they earn here. The result? Our state has less money to invest in the things that corporations really care about – modern and robust infrastructure, a well-trained workforce, and a market for their goods.