Economic Security and Prosperity
The economy should work for everyone, not just a select few. But for New Mexicans who lack job skills and education, and work in low-wage jobs with little hope for advancement, economic security is just a dream. Long-term economic prosperity involves promoting economic and workforce development opportunities for all New Mexicans, as well as supporting access to adequate wage and work supports for those in crisis and those who are unable to work.
Featured Content
Tax Policy: A Powerful Tool to Advance Racial Equity in New Mexico
Systemic racism isn’t accidental – it’s the result of public policies that benefit one group while disadvantaging others. Our state and national tax systems have been built to benefit those at the top (who are mostly white) while disadvantaging people of color. This report looks at concrete ways New Mexico can make our tax system more equitable.
The Working Families Tax Credit Will Help New Mexico Bounce Back
Tax credits for low- and moderate-income working families are a common-sense way to spur economic activity by putting money into the hands of consumers who will spend it. But New Mexico needs to do more than increase its Working Families Tax Credit – it needs to end exclusions that keep too many families from receiving it.
Essential But Excluded
Despite the fact that immigrants work, pay taxes, and are a vital part of our economy, many were left out of the relief packages Congress passed to help blunt the pandemic-caused recession and assist displaced workers and small business owners. Not only is that harmful to many New Mexico children and families, it also will impede our ability to rebuild our economy. This report looks at ways the state an address the problem.
Recent Publications
New Mexico KIDS COUNT Profile: 2021 Pandemic Indicators
Fact Sheet The national 2021 National KIDS COUNT Data Book uses the most recent data available for its 16 indicators of child well-being. Since this year's report is based mostly on data from 2019, some limited pandemic-era data have been added, including some dsiaggregated by race and ethnicity. (State-level data on six pandemic-related indicators)
New Mexico KIDS COUNT Profile
Fact Sheet The national 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, assesses and ranks the 50 states on 16 indicators of child well-being, which are categorized into four domains - economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. After three years of ranking in last place, New Mexico moved up to 49th in 2021. (State-level data on indicators of child well-being)
Recent Blog Posts
Pre-pandemic improvement in child well-being a glimpse at what investments can do
Incremental improvements show us both that progress is possible and also that creating the nurturing environments our kids deserve and need to thrive will require bold and sustained actions and investments.
The HB 291 tax package will make our tax system more racially equitable
Like other public policy, tax policy can either advance or hinder racial and ethnic equity. It is never race-neutral. As the legislative session enters its final week, one important tax bill - HB 291 - is still being debated. There are numerous reasons to support (it raises revenue and makes our tax system more stable, among others), but one reason has particular meaning in a state where people of color comprise the majority of the population. This blog explains.
Recent News Coverage
When inspiration isn’t enough
New Mexico ranked 49th in child well-being based on data gathered before the coronavirus pandemic. The year before, our state was 50th. New Mexico Voices for Children partners with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to release the annual Kids Count report that tracks 16 metrics of children's access to education, health and economic and social stability at home.
Pre-pandemic improvement in child well-being a glimpse at what investments can do
Incremental improvements show us both that progress is possible and also that creating the nurturing environments our kids deserve and need to thrive will require bold and sustained actions and investments.
Current Initiatives
Working Poor Families Project (WPFP) is a national initiative focused on strengthening state workforce development policies as a way of reducing poverty for working families. One way to address poverty among working Americans is with so-called ‘work supports,’ which help stabilize low-wage workers while assisting their climb up the job ladder. Work supports include child care assistance, health care coverage, funding for adult basic education and community college attendance, and unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
Fiscal Policy Project, our program focusing on tax and budget policy, also covers work supports and wage issues.
Resources
A Basic Family Budget Calculator is an important tool in determining if a family lives in poverty, because the system currently in place to do that is completely outdated.
Federal poverty guidelines, which dictate whether a family is eligible to receive assistance such as Medicaid and Food Stamps, are tied to a formula that was created in the 1960s. It was based on what the typical family spent on groceries because that was a family’s biggest expense at the time. Today, necessities like housing, childcare and health care take up a far greater share of most family incomes than groceries. Not only do the guidelines not take these changes into account, they do not take into account regional differences in the cost of living.
Because the federal guidelines are so inaccurate, families are generally considered low-income when they earn up to twice (or 200 percent) the poverty level. This makes up for some shortfalls in the guidelines, but they are still nowhere near as accurate as a Basic Family Budget.
- Click here to find out the minimum amount families need to earn in order to live at a basic, no-frills level in New Mexico’s cities and counties