<\/p>\n
The explosion of income and wealth among New Mexico\u2019s richest, the dramatic drop in their personal state income tax rates,\u00a0our state\u00a0lawmakers\u2019 budget cuts for the\u00a0past three years, the cutting of public services, and the cutting\u00a0of education\u00a0for the middle class, working poor, and poor are coming home to roost.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s happened to the average New Mexican, whose\u00a0pay has been stagnant for the last 30 years? Today\u2019s 30-year-old male, if he has a job\u00a0(more than 45 percent of young people in Northern New Mexico don\u2019t), is earning the same\u00a0pay as a 30-year-old male earned 30 years ago,\u00a0adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n
Although women in New Mexico are doing better than they did 30 years ago,\u00a0their\u00a0pay still trails men\u2019s.<\/p>\n
According to expert national and state economists (Paul Krugman,\u00a0Robert Reich, Gerry Bradley), the bottom 90 percent of New Mexicans now earn, on average, about $280 more per year than they did 30 years ago. That\u2019s less than a 1 percent gain over more than a third of a century.<\/p>\n
Our families are only doing better because so many\u00a0of us\u00a0now\u00a0must\u00a0rely on two incomes.<\/p>\n
New Mexico\u2019s economy is more than twice as large now as it was 30 years ago. So, where did the money go?<\/p>\n
The richest New Mexicans\u2019 share of income (annual\u00a0net\u00a0incomes of $72,000 or more) has doubled: from about 9 percent in 1977 to over 20 percent now. The richest one-tenth of 1 percent\u2019s share of income has tripled.<\/p>\n
Given this explosion of income\u00a0for the wealthiest New Mexicans, we\u00a0might think our state\u2019s personal income tax system would demand a larger share from them.\u00a0But we would be wrong.<\/p>\n
New Mexico\u2019s state senators and representatives cut personal state income taxes for the rich in 2003. The\u00a0wealthiest New Mexicans\u00a0also spend only about 4.5 percent of their income\u00a0on all state taxes combined, while the rest of us pay about 10 percent of our income.<\/p>\n
Even before the recession, the share of New Mexico\u2019s total income that went to the middle class, working poor, and poor had shrunk. Our tax burden had grown. We\u00a0were paying a bigger chunk of our incomes in payroll taxes and sales taxes than decades before.\u00a0Then came the 2008 stock market crash, the\u00a0recession,\u00a0and lower state tax revenues.<\/p>\n
All levels of\u00a0New Mexico\u2019s state\u00a0government are squeezed. The middle class, working poor, and poor can\u2019t pay more in taxes. But\u00a0our lawmakers,\u00a0Democrats and Republicans,\u00a0seem to lack the guts\u00a0to support the obvious: Restore personal state income tax rates on the rich to 2003 levels, and close out-of-state corporate income tax loopholes.<\/p>\n
Three years of state budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of\u00a0thousands of K-12 and higher education employee positions.\u00a0More public services\u00a0and public service jobs have been\u00a0cut, too. But the richest New Mexicans and out-of-state corporations are allowed by our lawmakers to continue to enjoy state income-tax cuts and corporate income tax loopholes.<\/p>\n
This is where\u00a0some Democrats and most Republicans want New Mexico to be: Blame state government, blame public employees, and blame unions.\u00a0Pit public- and private-sector employees against one another, divide the voters, waste critical time on\u00a0wedge issues, frustrate the public, promote the false idea that we\u2019re in a zero-sum game. Promote that New Mexico can\u2019t afford to do anything, but cut education and public services again.<\/p>\n
The overwhelming majority of New Mexicans\u00a0see how the richest among us,\u00a0and out-of-state corporations, are doing. We see their tax cuts, their tax giveaways and tax exemptions. We see and feel results of budget cuts to our schools, colleges, universities and public services.<\/p>\n
We see. We say, \u201cYa Vasta! Bastante!\u201d<\/p>\n
New Mexicans,\u00a0demand that state senators and representatives raise these revenues before\u00a0they go home March 19:<\/p>\n
If\u00a0our lawmakers\u00a0do this, they\u00a0will help restore balance to a distribution of income and wealth that\u2019s\u00a0dangerously\u00a0out of whack in New Mexico.<\/p>\n
The people,\u00a0especially the north, have heard enough excuses from lawmakers. We say, \u201cStand-up to Governor Martinez!\u201d\u00a0Put these revenue-raising bills on\u00a0her desk.\u00a0We dare her to\u00a0veto them.<\/p>\n
New Mexicans,\u00a0especially the north,\u00a0dare\u00a0Gov. Martinez to\u00a0run to for re-election on her\u00a0vetoes of revenue-raising bills. If she does, the odds are\u00a0overwhelming that she will be the first Hispanic female\u00a0one-term governor\u00a0of New Mexico.<\/p>\n