Fact Sheet Despite the fact that New Mexico needs college-educated workers now and in the future, the cost of college has gone up dramatically. Meanwhile, little of the state's financial aid is granted to students with financial needs. Even the lottery scholarship goes disproportionately to students who could otherwise afford tuition. (State-level data on college affordability)
Fact Sheet After New Mexico expanded Medicaid to low-income adults under the Affordable Care Act, enrollment increased. The state also added jobs in the health and social assistance industries. Meanwhile, cost increases to the state have been minimal.
Fact Sheet Corporate tax cuts backed by the Martinez administration were supposed to make New Mexico more "business friendly," which would bring jobs to the Land of Enchantment. Despite the high cost of these tax cuts - which has led to deep spending cuts in education, health care and public safety - unemployment in New Mexico remains stubbornly high.
Infographic In the world of revenue-estimates and budget-making, numbers can seem pretty abstract. This infographic takes a look at how the revenue provisions in HB 202 might actually be invested to stem more harmful spending cuts.
Presentation Drawn from our policy brief A Blueprint for a State in the Red, this looks at New Mexico's budget problems and the ways lawmakers could address the lack of revenue in order to avoid more harmful spending cuts. Presented to the League of Women Voters of NM.
Presentation Looks at some possible funding sources for New Mexico's child abuse prevention programs, as well as presents the NM S.A.F.E. campaign as a good model for determining if legislation would protect future victims from violent crime. Presented at the UNM Health Sciences Center’s conference, Childhood Adversity: The Impact of Maltreatment—Definitions, Prevention and Intervention Strategies.
Fact Sheet The Earned Income Tax Credit has long been called the "best anti-poverty" measure to come out of Congress. New Mexico's state version, the Working Families Tax Credit, is also a powerful poverty-fighting tool. But legislators could make it better. (State-level data on recipiency)
Fact Sheet New Mexico will never attract companies with good-paying jobs unless we invest more in developing our workforce. But cuts in spending on higher education and the subsequent tuition increases have made college less affordable than ever. This fact sheet looks at a few steps the state can take to make college more affordable.
Fact Sheet Myths abound when it comes to who earns the minimum wage. It's not teenagers looking for pocket change anymore. More and more minimum wage earners are older, have some education, and even have families. This one-pager looks at some of the most surprising facts about minimum wage earners. (State-level data on the minimum wage workforce)
Policy Brief New Mexico has long been ranked at the bottom of the 50 states on overall child well-being. However, in some of the 16 indicators of child well-being, it would take just a small change to move our state up in the rankings. This series of fact sheets looks at what it would take to move the needle on each indicator (A KIDS COUNT policy brief; state-level data on indicators of child well-being)