New Mexico Votes

Concerning the proposed tax increase HB 346.  First step (prior to any tax rate change):  Require audits and accountability for the school districts.  If no audit, 10% annual reduction in state education funds for district, until they comply.   Next step:  Look at school budgets for cost saving and cost recovery.  As for taxes, consider local tax levy, voter approved (if in fact the local voters want it).   Last resort:  Look at raising state taxes, income or GRT.   Finally, raising taxes in NM during an economic slowdown is generally a bad idea, for a number of reasons.  

Yes, audits and accountability should be first and foremost before any more tax dollars allocated. Never, consider GRT increase as a source until after it has been reformed. GRT is business unfriendly and we need to remove the % on service and treat it more like a sales tax on tangible entities.

With such a close vote in the House, I am confident that our more conservative Senate will do the right thing – Vote NO!

 Aha!  The Bill requires "audits and accountability!"

That explains why Educrat toadie Dona Irwin of Luna County voted contra.

This bill was modified in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee to strike the increased income tax altogether and increase the gross receipts tax to .75%, so it no longer plans to directly tax all individuals, but I'm sure we'll all be feeling the sting at the grocery store after Mr. Albertson takes a hit to the wallet.  The bill was stalled in the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee.  Let's hope it'll stay that way.

No, unfortunately this bill does not nor ever could require "audits and accountability," though that might be nice, in some utopian world, to ensure before this thing ever gets enacted.

This bill does, however, allocate the first $600,000 of its revenue to the Public Education Department for the purposes of "verify[ing] and correct[ing] public school data" and "mak[ing] necessary changes to the department's data collection system."  Whether this "data" is educational or financial, we've certainly proven ourselves as a district and a state to be poor record keepers.  The graduation rates reported to the federal government only took into account Seniors who stayed in school all year and graduated, completely negating all 9th-11th graders that dropped out.  When the feds saw our claim of a 90% graduation rate, they knew we must've been kidding ourselves.  This "data" collection system was designed to collect and distribute inadequate and misleading numbers in a foolish attempt to pacify the public and the feds so that we all might turn a blind eye to the other misrepresentations in the financial department of NM's largest school district.

APS has proven itself time and again to spend our money foolishly and misrepresent the figures to everybody.  Then it thinks it can remedy the situation by suspending the self-styled whistleblowers.  Giving these irresponsible politicians more of the people's money is the last thing that needs to be on our mind.