The president of policy watchdog the Rio Grande Foundation thinks New Mexico taxpayers should receive some of the surplus from the state's general fund, as is the case in Colorado.
Paul Gessing wrote in the Eastern New Mexico News that the budget for the general fund was $7.882 billion for the 2020 fiscal year, which is nearly $1.5 billion more than it was in 2018.
"With the current group in charge, New Mexico government is going to grow fat on oil and gas revenues while average New Mexicans pay higher taxes due to hikes passed during 2019," Gessing wrote. "There’s a better way to use the surplus and we don’t have to look far to find it. Policymakers should visit Denver to see how fiscal restraint in 'blue' Colorado has created that state’s booming economy."
Rio Grande Foundation President Paul Gessing
| https://www.riograndefoundation.org/
Gessing cited the fact that Coloradoans voted to get their surplus returned to them, and it was after the passing of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. He believes New Mexico needs the same law and that it would be a game-changer for the state's economy.
If the surplus were divided evenly, it would put a $731.90 refund back in the pockets of each New Mexico taxpayer, Gessing wrote. He wrote that New Mexico's economy is trailing behind Colorado, despite the states having many similarities.
"Colorado’s strict limit on government spending is not the only difference between the two states," he wrote. "But it is rare for neighboring states to differ so starkly when it comes to overall economic conditions and population growth."
Gessing believes that Colorado has made itself desirable by limiting government growth, while New Mexico continues to have a "vast untapped potential." He also noted that voters should demand to have some of the surplus returned to them instead of it being taken by the state government and, if done, maybe that's the key to unlocking some of that potential.
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