mcarristo

When the federal government sneezes, New Mexico catches cold.
A new ranking of states based on their economic dependence on federal spending identifies New Mexico as the number one most dependent state, which is not altogether surprising given the presence of two national laboratories, four military bases and federal ownership of just over a quarter of the land in the state.
Other factors in the state’s dependency on federal spending are likely the high rate of poverty, a growing elderly population, agricultural subsidies and the success of the congressional delegation in lobbying for federal dollars over the years.
New Mexico ranks ahead of Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama as the most dependent, while the least dependent states were New Jersey, Delaware and Illinois, according to Washington, D.C.-based WalletHub.com.
Federal spending often fills the role of smoothing differences between states with strong economies and states going through tough times by transferring resources from one to the other, said James Feigenbaum, an associate professor at Utah State University.
The fact that some states perennially get more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes, New Mexico chief among them, is arguably “problematic,” he noted.
Feigenbaum is one of seven academicians who provided WalletHub.com with statements providing insight into how and why federal spending works differently among states.
“(Federal) spending is concentrated on areas with high poverty and elderly, and areas that are centers of federal employment,” said Vanderbilt University professor David C. Parsley. “This last creates incentives for our congressional legislators to try and direct federal spending to their states.”
New Mexico looks like a sweet spot for federal spending on social programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
At 21.9 percent, New Mexico had the second-highest poverty rate in the country in 2013, according to the Census Bureau. Another census report projects the state’s percentage of senior population could grow to fourth highest in the country by 2030.
The labs and military bases, plus agencies with a big presence, like the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs, require a steady flow of funding that seems as though it could go on forever. The truth is that the flow could drop with a base closing, budget cuts to research programs or the downsizing or relocation of an agency office.
“Some states receive federal funds, expecting that the flow of funds will continue indefinitely,” said Thomas B. Cooke, a professor at Georgetown University. “They establish or expand programs without reasonable consideration of what can happen if the federal funds decrease or cease. This is a very risky way to conduct business and there can be dire consequences.”
The federal government’s oversized presence in New Mexico was long considered a kind of economic ballast, holding the state steady when the rest of the country was buffeted by economic storms. The stabilizing effect stemmed from a high level of federal spending relative to the state’s low gross domestic product, data indicate.
While that largesse has propped up New Mexico’s economy in the past, cuts in federal spending over the past several years have slowed the state’s recovery from the Great Recession.
The rallying cry to move New Mexico forward has become economic diversification.
“The overall economic impact of the federal facilities and jobs has been a very good thing for the state. They’re high point makers for what it takes to build an economy,” said Steve Vierck of New Mexico Partnership. “Clearly, now we need to build up and grow the private sector side of things.”
WalletHub’s ranking uses four metrics:
• The ratio of incoming federal funding to outgoing federal income taxes, which placed New Mexico at fifth highest, at $2.19 in funding for every $1 in taxes. In addition to direct payments, incoming money includes federal contracts, grants and insurance payments (hurricane damage in Florida, for example).
• Federal funding as a percentage of state revenue, which placed New Mexico at ninth highest, at 38 percent. The range among states is a low of 19.5 percent in North Dakota to a high of 44 percent in Mississippi.
• Ratio of federal employees to the total population, which placed New Mexico at sixth highest with a ratio of 0.01850 federal employees per capita. The range among states was a low of 0.00296 per capita in Wisconsin to a high of 0.05437 per capita in Hawaii.
• Ratio of federal civilian employees not working for a military branch or the Defense Department to total population, which placed New Mexico at third highest, with a ratio of 0.00903 per capita. The range among states was a low of 0.00175 per capita in Connecticut to a high of 0.01519 per capita in Maryland.
WalletHub is a financial website oriented to consumers and small-business owners.
By: Richard Metcalf (Albuquerque Journal)
Click here to view source.

Amtrak will stay on track with the existing New Mexico route for the Los Angeles-to-Chicago Southwest Chief, according to a report in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
As early spring softens into the tourist season, one of New Mexico’s prized connections to the Midwest and Pacific Coast appears safe at last.
Amtrak will stay on track with the existing New Mexico route for the Los Angeles-to-Chicago Southwest Chief. Pictured here is an Amtrak train in Chicago, which is the final eastern destination of the Southwest Chief route.
Amtrak will continue to make stops in the New Mexico towns of Raton, Las Vegas, Lamy and Albuquerque, the company announced, ending more than two years of uncertainty in Northern New Mexico’s smaller communities about whether Amtrak would alter the route.
Amtrak has pressured New Mexico to invest in track improvements so the train can travel through the state at maximum speeds. Gov. Susana Martinez in 2014 authorized $150,000 for a study of the Southwest Chief’s costs and benefits.
Despite the lack of upgraded tracks in New Mexico, a Jan. 1, 2016, deadline for funding track improvements has been lifted, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
“We are making progress. There is no imminent cutoff date. … We do not want to move this train to another route,” he said.
By: Mike English (Albuquerque Business First)
Click here to view source article.

New Mexico’s job picture in February had its best showing in nearly a decade, with employment growing at 2 percent or 15,900 jobs compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions.
February’s increase marks the first time that over-the-year job growth in New Mexico has reached the 2 percent threshold since December 2006, when it was 2.4 percent, said department spokeswoman Joy Forehand.
The “New Mexico Ready to Work” job fair at the Albuquerque Convention Center on August 22, 2014. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
“This is New Mexico’s 30th consecutive month of over-the-year employment growth and the most substantial growth the state has seen since December 2006,” according to a release from the agency. “This is also the first month since May 2006 that no industry (employment sector) has posted an over-the-year loss in employment.”
“We’re not terribly surprised,” said Jeffrey Mitchell of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at the University of New Mexico about the strength of February’s job growth rate. “The numbers have been trending like this since about July. I think the news has generally been positive.”
“The strategy of diversifying our economy is working,” said state Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela in response to the report. “There’s still work to be done. We need to stay the course.”
The unemployment rate in February dropped from 6.7 percent to 6 percent, year over year, although it ticked up from 5.9 percent in January. The national rate for February is 5.5 percent.
The February job growth rate follows a comparatively strong January, when the department reported jobs grew statewide at a rate of 1.3 percent. It usually takes three months to set a trend, Forehand said.
“We’ll wait to see what the March numbers turn out to be,” she said.
The first over-the-year job loss was registered in New Mexico in November 2008 and continued unchecked for the next two years, according to historical data provided by Forehand. Monthly job gains and losses took turns from early 2011 to September 2012, when the current streak of 30 months of consecutive job growth began.
For most of the current streak, New Mexico’s job growth rate has been less than 1.5 percent, often ranking among the lowest in the country.
New Mexico’s 2 percent over-the-year job growth rate in February holds true using both not seasonally adjusted data from the Department of Workforce Solutions and seasonally adjusted numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusting data basically smooths out seasonal fluctuations over the year.
Based on the BLS seasonally adjusted numbers, New Mexico’s job growth rate was 20th highest in the country in February.
New Mexico’s 2 percent rate, while comparatively strong, still trailed February job growth rates of 2.8 percent in Arizona, 3.3 percent in Colorado, 3.1 percent in Texas and 4.2 percent in Utah, according to the BLS numbers. Only adjacent Oklahoma had a lower rate in the region at 1.4 percent.
Friday’s news release did not contain a breakdown of employment and job growth numbers for the Albuquerque metro area, which has trailed the state as a whole in the modest job recovery. In January, for example, the metro saw over-the-year job growth of 0.9 percent compared to the average 1.3 percent increase statewide.
Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said her impression, based on feedback from chamber members, was, “The economy is still challenging but it is better this year than the same time last year.”
In its monthly news release on employment, the state tracks 13 employment sectors, one for government and 12 private sectors.
The most dynamic employment sector for the past several years, education and health services, accounted for one out of every four new jobs created between February 2014 and February 2015. The state’s lagging manufacturing sector was the big surprise in the February numbers, posting an over-the-year gain of 300 jobs.
By: Richard Metcalf (Albuquerque Journal)
Click here to view source article.
 

They arrived riding tractors, pushing strollers and carrying signs.
About 150 opponents of the massive Santolina Master Plan marched to City Hall on Wednesday and packed the meeting chambers for a hearing before the Bernalillo County Commission.
Then they sat and listened to hours of testimony, mostly from county staffers and other agencies, about water supplies, land-use regulations and economic assumptions.
What they didn’t get was a firm answer on whether the master plan will be approved and, if so, what conditions the county would impose. Instead, the hearing will continue at 9 a.m. this morning, with a presentation by the development team and public comment.
Santolina is the largest master plan ever considered by Bernalillo County. It would cover roughly 22 square miles on the far West Side, near 118th and Interstate 40.
Fifty years from now, supporters say, it could be home to 90,000 or more people, rivaling the size of Rio Rancho now.
The development team says the plan would ensure smart, well-coordinated growth and make it easier to attract employers to the West Side.
Opponents questioned Santolina’s fringe location and its strain on the water supply, among other criticisms.

“Water is the lifeblood of northern New Mexicans,” farmer Don Bustos said before hopping aboard a tractor and driving through Downtown Albuquerque to the meeting. “Water isn’t just to sell to the people who buy it.”
Water dominated much of Wednesday’s discussion.
The county doesn’t operate a water utility itself, but it considers the “physical and legal availability of water” in land-use decisions of this kind.
Mark Sanchez, the top executive at the local Water Utility Authority, told commissioners his agency could serve the development but isn’t committed to doing so. That decision won’t even be considered unless Santolina has a master plan approved by the county.
Ultimately, the water authority’s governing board – composed of three city councilors, three county commissioners and the mayor – would have to approve a development agreement with Santolina, outlining the conditions required for water service.
County Commissioner Art De La Cruz asked Sanchez directly whether the authority had “adequate water to serve Santolina.”

Sanchez said “yes,” but “there would have to be significant investment in re-use infrastructure” at Santolina to keep water-use levels low.
De La Cruz’s questioning of Sanchez seemed to be aimed at showing there’s enough water to support Santolina. He asked Sanchez questions that revealed the water agency isn’t using the full amount of water it’s legally allowed to and that it has a long-range water plan to serve the Albuquerque area, even as the population climbs.
“The water authority assumes and plans for growth,” De La Cruz said.
Commissioner Debbie O’Malley was more skeptical. Her questioning of Sanchez revealed that Rio Rancho and other communities are pumping enough groundwater to affect the supply beneath Albuquerque’s West Side.
Bernalillo County residents, O’Malley said, have been “asked to conserve and conserve, and then they see something like this. … We’re talking about a very, very large development.”
In an interview, Jim Strozier of Consensus Planning, which is working for the development team, said Sanchez’s answers made clear the water authority is managing supplies wisely and will carefully consider the development before agreeing to service. The authority, in fact, has planned so well that it’s been in a position to provide water to help farmers, he said.
Opponents of Santolina asked that Commissioner Art De La Cruz abstain or be disqualified from hearing the issue Wednesday. They said he couldn’t consider the issue objectively because he wrote an opinion column in the Journal stating his support for the development. (Greg Sorber/Albuquerque Journal)
At the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting, opponents of Santolina asked that De La Cruz abstain or be disqualified from hearing the issue. They said he couldn’t consider the issue objectively because he wrote an opinion column published in the Journal stating his support for Santolina and outlining the reasons for his position.
County Attorney Randy Autio said the master plan and related decisions are being handled as a legislative matter, not a quasi-judicial proceeding in which commissioners are supposed to act as judges and refrain from talking to people about their position.
De La Cruz didn’t recuse himself, and no commissioner moved to have him forced from the case.
Opponents took aim at De La Cruz in other ways, too. At their rally, some people carried fake $100 bills with his picture on them instead of a president’s image.
The bills said “Don’t play with our tax dollars” and “No to Santolina Master Plan.”
In an interview, De La Cruz said the bills first surfaced last fall at a Day of the Dead parade he helped sponsor.
He said he has approached his job honestly, simply trying to make the best decisions that help his South Valley-based district. That includes supporting planning, development and other efforts to bring jobs to the area, De La Cruz said.
“I was disappointed,” he said of the fake money. “I don’t think I deserve it.”
By: Dan McKay (Albuquerque Journal)
Click here to view source article.