Eleanor Chavez
In just a few days the Legislature will meet in a special session to address New Mexico’s budget crisis. Amid the cries for cuts by some, there are those who are willing to speak publicly about what got us here in the first place and have even proposed solutions.
The governor, on the other hand, is working hard to make sure the call of the special session avoids the possibility of addressing the mounting budget deficit in a constructive manner. The media has effectively quieted the voices of those who believe that not raising revenues will only lead to future disaster.
The governor demands the special session agenda focus on cuts and only cuts. While he promises not to cut education, his plan to plug the education deficit with stimulus money is only a temporary fix. Medicaid, he says will only take small cuts, but so far, Governor Richardson has failed to be specific.
What’s wrong with this picture? Having a one-sided conversation that leaves out raising revenue ties the hands of legislators who want to protect their communities from education and Medicaid cuts and future job losses.
The governor needs to recognize that his tax policy is a failed policy. When he insisted on the 2003 tax breaks for the high-income earners, many warned that it was the wrong thing to do. He refused to listen.
Since 2003, we have lost $500 million in tax revenue. If there had been no tax breaks, our crisis would not be so deep. If we had addressed the corporate income tax loopholes, along with other tax reforms, perhaps we would not have to be called into a special session to spend yet more money.
Cutting education even 3 percent negates the hard work that we all have done to raise the quality of education in New Mexico to make sure our kids have a future. Cutting Medicaid and denying health care doesn’t save money but forces more sick people into emergency rooms, raising the cost of health care for all of us. Putting off going to the doctor saves money in the short run, but in the long run we will have sicker citizens and more chronic disease.
Cutting jobs further exacerbates the high unemployment that we already face and puts more people out of their homes and into the streets. In the long run, we will have to pay for our short-sided approach to the problems that we face today.
A solution with the future in mind
Many sectors of our community have recommended a solution with the future in mind. Nine university professors of economics have said that this is the worst time to consider budget cuts. Reducing spending, they warn, will make the recession worse.
The Catholic Church has asked the governor and lawmakers not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. A broad-based coalition of union and community advocacy groups has called upon legislators and the governor to raise revenue so that jobs are not lost and programs maintained.
The only two western states that have not raised taxes are New Mexico and Alaska. The only two states that allow corporations to get away with not paying taxes on their profits are New Mexico and Oklahoma. Thirty states have raised taxes in a response to recent budget shortfalls.
By an overwhelming majority, phone calls and emails I have received favor raising revenues. The same numbers have begged me not to vote for cuts.
How the special session will end remains to be seen. But making cuts and not raising revenue will throw New Mexico into a deeper recession, and “We told you so” is little comfort.
Chavez is a Democratic House member from Albuquerque.