NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/author/carter-bundy/page/2/)
If you listen to the GOP and their leader, Susana Martinez, you’d think that not only is the budget bigger than under Gary, but that we have 5,000 more state employees than we had before the current administration. Nope. In fact, the opposite is true. Continue Reading
Susana Martinez continues to consistently claim that state government has grown by 50 percent (sometimes she says 54 percent) during the last 7.5 years. Her allegation about state government is simply not true, and it’s not even close. Continue Reading
It’ll be interesting to see if Susana Martinez keeps doubling down on a whopper, or if she comes clean and says she’s simply changed her mind about vouchers (which might antagonize her fellow Republicans). The latter might make her a flip-flopper, but at least there’d be integrity to it. Continue Reading
Tea party ideological rants about government being evil don’t provide any guidance for how to improve our economy. Instead, now is the time to have a real debate, and a specific, detailed discussion about how to help the private sector rebound and how to improve the public sector. Continue Reading
Let’s not pretend that health-care reform is some socialist plot, or government takeover, or the end of freedom as we know it. Only two types of people make those claims: those ignorant of what’s in the bill, and those who know better but who are hoping for political gain based on fear. Continue Reading
Lost in the whole health-care debate are simple questions, like what kind of system creates the best incentives for people to stay healthy. The answer to that question was made clear to me this week by CIGNA. Continue Reading
One part of our state budget negotiations that has drawn almost no attention from the media or from advocates is that the bulk of revenues being discussed are scheduled to be phased out. They’re being called “temporary.” Keeping that “T” word in revenue legislation would be an enormous mistake, both fiscally and politically. Continue Reading
The state now has one employee for every 87 residents. Under libertarian Gary Johnson? One employee for every 81 residents. I hope legislators on both sides of the aisle start to acknowledge how trim our state government has become and work toward a balanced approach to filling our budget gap. Continue Reading
There’s no way — none — to continue using a cuts-only approach to balancing the state’s budget without directly hurting New Mexicans even further. The good news is that there are a variety of sensible revenue ideas that don’t hurt economic recovery. Continue Reading
The politicking and proselytizing of Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson is wrong, but there’s nothing wrong with looking at why a 7.0 quake in Haiti kills 100,000 or more Haitians while a similar temblor in similarly dense Los Angeles kills only a handful of Americans. Continue Reading
If Dems can find the backbone to support four reforms that benefit almost all Americans, and the GOP can find the decency to resist fear-mongering against workers, gays and immigrants, 2010 can be a golden year of bipartisan reform. Continue Reading
As 40 Republicans and one Joe Lieberman dig in their heels to protect big insurance companies, it’s becoming clear that health reform is going to be watered down significantly. There’s one major exception though, and it’s called “guaranteed issue.” Continue Reading
This Thanksgiving, I hope our legislators in Santa Fe and Washington remember the Golden Rule. After all, being grateful means understanding that we’re all a bit lucky, and being gracious enough to extend the opportunities we’ve been afforded to everyone else. Continue Reading
Everyone, from state workers to educational employees to millionaires to out-of-state corporate giants, needs to realize we’re in a genuine crisis. Sacrifice is going to be needed from everyone, but if we’re smart about how we cut, we can preserve many of the public safety, health and educational gains over the last seven years. Continue Reading
The big question in the aftermath of the Oct. 6 Albuquerque municipal elections is whether the GOP mayoral and city council wins are a precursor to the Nov. 2, 2010 statewide elections. While there are certainly some lessons that are relevant to statewide matchups, there are also significant differences. Continue Reading