Youth Today--For the most part, I found New Mexico’s social workers to be kind, strong individuals. It also seemed evident that they are being asked to do one of the most difficult jobs in state government. Helping to decide the fate of children is no small matter, and even the best-intentioned decisions can go terribly wrong.
While New Mexico families are focused on making sure their loved ones are safe and healthy during this fast-moving crisis, other problems are brewing at the state level that may cause pain for years to come. Plummeting oil and gas prices are draining the state budget of funds needed for public safety, health care, education, and more. Actions by the Trump Administration will make this long-term revenue crisis worse.
“It is especially important that New Mexico is relatively well-prepared to weather a recession because we will be harder hit than other states by lower oil and gas prices due to our over-reliance on that industry as a revenue source,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children.
Public News Service--"It's really easy to do," he said. "You can do it online, you can do it by mail, you can do it over the phone -- and all of those ways will ensure that no one ends up knocking on your door, so you can continue to self-isolate if that's important to you."
On Wednesday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham took the necessary step of declaring a state of emergency in New Mexico in order to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As the state moves forward with immediate activity to address the health implications of this global pandemic, we also urge lawmakers to consider enacting policies that will help mitigate its economic fallout for families and children in New Mexico.
Policy Brief New Mexico is one of just nine states to effectively tax capital gains less than the wages and salaries earned by hard-working New Mexicans. Beginning in 2003, those with capital gains income – who are overwhelmingly the wealthiest in New Mexico – were allowed to deduct 50 percent of their capital gains from their state income taxes. In 2019, legislators reduced the amount to 40 percent.
Ruidoso News--According to New Mexico Voices for Children "there are major challenges when it comes to having enough food to eat, but there are common-sense policy solutions that we can take to end food insecurity and improve children’s health, well-being, and opportunities to reach their full potential."
Las Cruces Sun-News--Some of the money that supports New Mexico’s education system comes from royalties and rental payments paid by the oil and natural gas industries. Because we understand how fortunate we are to have those natural resources, we tend to forget our responsibility to be the very best stewards of them that we can be.
We applaud Senator Tom Udall’s sponsorship of this bipartisan bill. The royalty and rental rates, as well as minimum bids, charged by the Bureau of Land Management on oil and gas extraction are woefully outdated – some haven’t been increased in a century.
Santa Fe New Mexican--“This is good news for Santa Fe and good news for New Mexico,” Amber Wallin, deputy director of the nonprofit child advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children, said of the citywide minimum wage increase. “More New Mexico families will be able to afford safe housing, great child care and fresh food, and a greater amount of kids will be able to reach their potential.”