The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 KIDS COUNT® Data Book shows that New Mexico made a few gains in children’s health status, but the state has a long way to go in improving the economic, education, and community-related well-being of its children. The state ranks 49th out of the 50 states. This most recent data show that the recession and slow economic recovery are continuing to hurt struggling families in the state.
While 27 percent of all New Mexico children live in poverty, the rate is much higher (42%) for the state’s immigrant children. And while about 10 percent of New Mexico children in U.S.-born families have parents with less than a high school diploma, more than 35 percent of children in foreign-born families have parents who did not finish high school.
The unemployment rate for Hispanics in Albuquerque is more than double the rate for Whites. That’s according to a report released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The report looks at unemployment rates for Hispanics in 25 metropolitan areas, including Albuquerque.
New Mexico Voices for Children Executive Director Veronica C. Garcia released the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act: “We are pleased that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld. New Mexico’s children and families will continue to benefit from the ACA. Several provisions that have gone into effect over the past two years have already improved access to health care for New Mexico’s children.
The New Mexicans who are struggling the most would also lose the most under the Republican plan for extending the Bush tax cuts. That’s according to new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ).
New Mexico’s unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund—which pays benefits to the unemployed—should be rebounding at this point in an economic recovery. It’s not and that is due in part to a decrease in the rates employers pay into the fund. That’s according to a new report, “The Need to Strengthen New Mexico’s Unemployment Trust Fund,” from the NM Fiscal Policy Project, a program of NM Voices for Children.
Veronica C. Garcia, Ed.D., has been hired to serve as Executive Director of New Mexico Voices for Children. Dr. Garcia is best known for her tenure as the state’s first Cabinet Secretary of Education. Along with advocating for the passage of the New Mexico’s Pre-K Act, she pushed for funding for programs like school-based health clinics, breakfast in the schools, elementary physical education, and extended school year programs like Kindergarten Plus.
—New Mexico Voices for Children released the following statement about Governor Martinez’s veto of SB 9. “Governor Martinez has said that she did not support closing a tax loophole for out-of-state corporations because she did not want to ‘pick winners and losers.’ But by vetoing SB 9 she has done just that, making winners out of big corporations that can continue to game our tax system,” said Bill Jordan, Policy Director for the child advocacy group.
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.
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.