Quote:If presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is utilizing the current pandemic crisis to audition potential running mates, there’s no shortage of failure among his possible choices. No doubt Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer steals the headlines for her divisive actions. However, New Mexico Gov, Michelle Lujan Grisham continues to build a resume of failure not to be ignored.

Just like many other states, New Mexico instituted massive “stay at home” public health orders in March. In a recent glowing story courtesy of The New York Times, Ms. Lujan Grisham will get credit in Camp Biden for continuing to blame the Trump administration for any perceived errors.

The first problem for Ms. Lujan Grisham is the other states doing a better job of fighting COVID-19 — a much better job. As of Monday, a whopping 27 states and territories are more effectively protecting their citizens from the pandemic when adjusted for population. All of those states are dealing with the same federal government, yet they are able to better protect their citizens.

Lost your job due to the COVID-19 pandemic? You’re not alone with well over 100,000 New Mexicans seeking unemployment assistance. While staggering job losses are not isolated to New Mexico, the bumbled response from Santa Fe is “unique.” Newly unemployed families are reduced to tears and are forced to call the state for help 300 times — in a single day. The governor apologized for the colossal failure, but that’s little comfort to families who were enjoying an incredible economy earlier this year.

New Mexico is a state blessed with massive energy resources and the workers who responsibly develop oil and natural gas. Until recently, their efforts delivered more than 100,000 jobs and billions in revenue funding nearly 40 percent of the entire state budget. Let’s be clear, the crash in oil prices can’t be blamed on leadership in Santa Fe. However, the governor’s overspending has led New Mexico to a massive $2 billion deficit.

In less time than it took for Ms. Lujan Grisham to get to the halfway through her first term, New Mexico went from the largest budget surplus in state history to the largest budget deficit. Unfortunately, the governor’s inability to recognize economic consequences are not solely out of negligence; it also borders on malice.

Just over a month into New Mexico’s shutdown, small-business owners pleaded for help from Santa Fe. In response, the governor’s communications director took to Twitter accusing anyone who wanted to responsibly reopen as being members of a “death cult.” The governor still hasn’t denounced the comments.

Even worse, the very same week business owners and unemployed New Mexicans were begging for help from the COVID-19 pandemic, their governor wasn’t working for them. In fact, she really wasn’t working at all. Ms. Lujan Grisham’s calendar shows a state executive who doesn’t average more than half-a-day’s work while the state goes through the worst crisis in decades.

It all adds up to a less-than-stellar audition to be a running mate in a national campaign. Instead, Ms. Lujan Grisham’s performance is worse than Ms. Whitmer’s or many other governors in the country.

That’s an audition that should be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Link

Quote:It may be the longest-running debate in the New Mexico Legislature. And now, it’s back.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday she would support an effort to tap New Mexico’s nearly $18 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund in order to help the state shore up what is projected to be a huge revenue shortfall driven by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“I think we can make a legitimate case that that is an appropriate use in this extraordinary emergency,” the governor said.

For years, lawmakers have proposed legislation calling for a constitutional amendment to access more of the land grant fund to pay for early childhood education initiatives. Fiscal conservatives in the state Senate repeatedly have blocked such efforts, stressing the need to safeguard that money. In doing so, they drew the ire of the measures’ proponents and progressives.

By the end of the legislative session earlier this year, it appeared the eternal debate might be put on the back burner after the governor and legislators came up with a compromise: the creation of a new early childhood trust fund using money from other sources.

But that was before plummeting oil prices and the COVID-19 outbreak unexpectedly ripped a giant hole in state revenue. Key legislators have projected the budget shortfall will be around $400 million for the current fiscal year, while revenue for the 2021 fiscal year could be $1.6 billion below original expectations.

Now, it appears tapping the land grant fund is being considered as a potential fix — not for early childhood education but for the state budget itself.

“I think it’s an idea that has merit, and I expect it to be on the table for the special session,” Lujan Grisham said.

Lawmakers are expected to hold that special legislative session in June to patch the most pressing gaps in the budget, and they almost certainly will need to continue their damage control during next year’s regular session.

So far, legislators have mentioned a wide array of ways they could reduce spending, from cutting planned pay raises to reducing money allocated to the new early childhood fund.

They also plan to tap the state’s reserves, which were set at 25 percent of next year’s budget, and are hoping for federal funding from another coronavirus-related stimulus package that could be forthcoming from Congress.

Lujan Grisham said she would favor accessing the land grant fund for one or two fiscal years in addition to tapping reserves and said legislators had been discussing the idea.

However, it appeared Tuesday that such an effort could run into resistance from the same legislators who have opposed dipping into the fund in the past.

“I still don’t think it’s responsible,” said Sen. John Arthur Smith, the Senate Finance Committee chairman who has long blocked efforts to access the fund. “I fully understand the desire to try and rob Peter to pay Paul, but I think there are other things that can be done between now and then.”

Smith, D-Deming, said his main concern was that dipping into the fund for one fiscal year could open the door to continuing to draw from it again and again. He added that’s likely since legislators expect the current economic downturn to last a considerable amount of time.

He also said the current shortfall is so large it requires a more complex response than just tapping permanent funds and reserves.

“This debate needs to be expanded far beyond hitting the piggy bank,” Smith said. “When you have a cancer to your revenues, a shot in the arm isn’t going to take care of that cancer.”

There could also be legal obstacles to an effort to tap the fund right away, as it would likely require a constitutional amendment that would need legislative approval and would then be put to voters.

According to Article 19 of the New Mexico Constitution, amendments can be proposed by legislators “at a regular session.” The article does not mention the possibility of proposing them at special sessions.

The next regular session is not scheduled to occur until January.

The Land Grant Permanent Fund held $17.9 billion as of March 31, according to the State Investment Council. The fund makes regular distributions to public schools and other beneficiaries.

Link

Quote:New Mexico's Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is hurting communities throughout her state by favoring big box stores over small businesses in coronavirus shutdown orders, the state's Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said Wednesday.

Appearing on "Fox & Friends" with host Steve Doocy, Pearce said that Lujan's restrictions have been "totally unfair."

"It's discriminatory," he stated. "New Mexico is big and rural. We have a couple of population centers, but everything else is sparsely population."

"Mom and pops drive the state," Pearce explained. "And so, the initial order weeks ago -- the governor said the big box stores can open. No restrictions on them. The small mom and pops had to shut down. Many of them are just going to be forced into bankruptcy [and] will not be open."

"In the meantime," he continued further, "counties which do not have even one case: the residents of those places -- no big box stores there -- they are having to drive into Albuquerque, or Santa Fe, or Las Cruces in order to hit a big box store. That puts them closer to people who might have the virus and so it just has never made any sense."

"But, mostly it's just the patented unfairness that drives our money into the big box stores. They ship it out of New Mexico at the close of [the] business day. They don't use local banks," Pearce remarked. "So, we are robbing the state for capital into the future. We have been saying that: 'Wait, it has got to be a level playing field. There has got to be competition from both sides. There have got to be choices. Local businesses should get the same rights as the big mom and pops, the out-of-state corporations.'"

"What is your message to [Grisham] about this uneven playing field?" asked Doocy.

"Well, my message is that the small business owners throughout New Mexico -- they are the fabric. They are the heart and soul of our state," Pearce replied.

"And, I would just say to the governor: you are driving a stake into the heart and the spirit and the soul of our state," he asserted. "The small communities depend on local business owners that they're the ones that support the basketball team [and] the football team. They are the ones that are there for the Rotary Clubs [and] Kiwanis Clubs."

"Give them a fair chance. They can survive OK, but they are not under the current orders," Pearce concluded.

Grisham announced Tuesday that employees at restaurants and essential businesses operating as a retail space with a footprint greater than 50,000 square feet will be required to wear face coverings or masks starting May 6. She also announced that all essential businesses operating as a retail space will need to require employees to wear face coverings or masks starting May 11.

The governor reminded New Mexicans Tuesday that social distancing needs to continue in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She also stressed that in order to continue with the mid-May goal of lifting some restrictions in the emergency health order, social distancing is key to that plan.

Link

I believe it is the goal of Democrats to put the mom and pop businesses out of business because big corporations do are easier to control and do not have outspoken owners.

Gov. Michelle Wujan Grisham first spent all surplus in the state, doubled her staff, gave her cabinet pay raises, started spending projected money from oil and gas, and raised taxes. Now she has destroyed businesses people saved to start in one of the least populated states. It;s hard for me to say, but these voters here will still vote for her and her party so they deserve what they get.