Pete Campos
Daily, reality reminds even the most optimistic among us: The sour New Mexico economy cannot turn around fast enough to avoid even more cuts to state services. Our challenge now is to work equally hard at minimizing the harm from those cuts and at maximizing our economy’s ability to recover.
We have the human and natural resources, when wisely developed, not only to survive but to thrive in today’s economy. We’re all in this together, and there are several things we can do as residents and as policymakers during this difficult time that can help us both individually and as a state.
Tourism
For example, tourism is one of our economy’s drivers, and we should take advantage of the fact that New Mexico is an attractive and affordable destination. New Mexico has an abundance of state parks that are attractive for day trips or overnight camping (click here), and communities across the state play host to a variety of interesting, entertaining and exciting events virtually every day (click here).
Towns like Springer and Ruidoso are great places to shop for antiques, and sports fans and families looking for affordable fun can take in an Isotopes, Lobos or Aggies game. Local chambers of commerce, the Tourism Department and the Economic Development Department are encouraged to cooperate in touting New Mexico as a tourist destination for both New Mexicans and out-of-staters.
New Mexicans looking for an affordable vacation need look no further than home, which would both help their own checkbooks as well as that of local businesses and governments. And any resources we devote to attracting tourists from surrounding states are returned to the state many times over as those dollars are imported into New Mexico.
It is important during these tough economic times for families to prudently manage their expenses, cutting back where they can and saving more. But it is also important for all of us to remember that if we cut back too much on our personal spending, we do very real damage to the local economies and local governments. Money that we spend locally helps our local businesses, local suppliers and local governments.
Oil and gas industry
Another economic driver in New Mexico is the oil and gas industry. While it is important to protect our state’s environment (after all, New Mexico’s clean and healthy environment is one of the things that attracts so many tourists), we must balance that with the need to grow the oil and gas industry, which provides jobs and a significant source of revenue for our public schools and health and public safety programs.
It may be that some regulations are best left to local, not state, regulators. And in all cases, the potential benefit of a particular regulation must be carefully weighed against its cost to economic recovery, stability and, eventually, prosperity.
Infrastructure
State government has a role to play when it comes to supporting a strong economy by thoughtful investment in infrastructure. State and local policymakers must evaluate our infrastructure — everything from roads to community centers — and apply precious available resources where they are needed, not just where they are wanted.
Good transportation systems, diverse cultural and community resources, up-to-date water and wastewater systems and modern public safety facilities are important to businesses — and their owners and managers — that are looking to relocate or expand.
Education and health care
For their part, state policymakers must continue to invest wisely in our public schools and health care systems. We will only achieve our full potential when students enter school healthy and graduate from school ready to meet the challenges of the workplace or of higher education. Good schools are the best economic development incentive a state can offer. The latest report card on our schools’ efforts to achieve adequate yearly progress shows some glimmer of hope but also shows how far we have to go to be successful.
Business owners and top executives want to know that they’ll have a broad, deep pool of workers from which to draw and that their children and the children of their employees will have an opportunity to learn in good schools. We can and must do a better job of educating ourselves and our children.
This is the time to bring New Mexico’s education leaders and educators, policymakers and parents and business and labor leaders together to plan a holistic future for our public education system. Rather than continuing the piecemeal approach to reforming our schools, we must change course immediately and work toward a complete
overhaul of our schools and then be prepared to commit the money, time and effort necessary to implement those reforms.
Even though state money is tight, we cannot afford to hurt our children’s futures by cutting back on education spending, nor can we callously tell those who cannot afford health care that they’ll no longer receive our assistance. As our population ages, affordable health care will be even more critical to our economic and social well-being.
Working together
The challenges we face are formidable, but by working together, by tapping the experience of our most veteran leaders and the vigor of our youth and by committing the necessary resources, we can ensure that every pocket of New Mexico enjoys a new level of prosperity. We are the state that is enchanted.
Campos is a Democratic state senator from Las Vegas and president of Luna Community College.