RIO RANCHO, N.M.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The global oil bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz has generated an enviable \u2014 and politically sensitive \u2014 financial windfall on the other side of the world in New Mexico, a rare Democratic-dominated state where fossil fuels are a bedrock of progressive social services.<\/p>\n
New Mexico produces more oil than any other state besides Texas, and the state\u2019s revenue from taxes, royalties and lease sales helps cover the cost of college tuition, all school meals, health insurance and a new initiative for free universal child care.<\/p>\n
Now that oil prices are surging from the conflict with Iran, money is flooding into the state treasury and creating an uncomfortable situation for Democrats who oppose the war and would rather reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard for people to think about, \u2018Oh great, we have this windfall,\u2019 and children are getting killed on the other side of the world,\u201d said Deb Haaland, the former U.S. Interior Department secretary running for governor.<\/p>\n
Haaland is one of two Democrats running to succeed Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is wrapping up her second term in office. A former congresswoman and state party chair, Haaland worked to limit unfettered oil and gas exploration while serving in President Biden\u2019s Cabinet. <\/p>\n
Now she wants to use money amid the energy boom to increase New Mexico\u2019s child tax credit and boost the refundable working families tax credit, payouts that would most benefit people with low incomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have obligations to try to have a better world overall,\u201d said Haaland, a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo who could become the first female Native American governor in the U.S. \u201cI think we can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her rival for the Democratic nomination, Albuquerque-based Dist. Atty. Sam Bregman, said he wants to offset inflation with one-time $500 checks from the state to residents making less than $200,000 a year. He also wants to waive personal income taxes on residents 65 and older. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the resources of the people that\u2019s generating that revenue,\u201d he said. \u201cWe ought to give it back to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
For every $1 fluctuation in the average annual price of oil, New Mexico sees a roughly $59 million swing in state government income.<\/p>\n
That means the state is likely to see a $850-million surge in annual state government income for the budget year ending in June alone based on war-time price changes \u2014 equivalent to 12% of annual general fund spending, according to the state Legislature\u2019s budget and accountability office.<\/p>\n
New Mexico sends much of its relatively heavy crude oil from its patch of the Permian Basin to Texas distribution hubs and refineries along the Gulf Coast. Prices could remain high with no end in sight for the war despite a fragile ceasefire.<\/p>\n
A nest egg that moderates dependence on oil<\/p>\n
In New Mexico, surges in oil income automatically flow into a series of trust accounts designed to gradually reduce the state\u2019s reliance on fossil fuels, helping the state generate investment income to underwrite Medicaid, early childhood education, infrastructure projects and an expansion of mental healthcare.<\/p>\n
The strategy has tempered discomfort among many Democrats with dependence on oil income, in a state with entrenched swaths of extreme poverty and the nation\u2019s highest enrollment rate in Medicaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor New Mexico and New Mexicans and especially the progressive left \u2014 which sort of controls the state \u2014 it\u2019s always something they really don\u2019t want to admit or talk about or get angry about,\u201d said Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor who has analyzed voting behavior in New Mexico and directs the LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State University. \u201cLike, \u2018We should not be funding our stuff with that money.\u2019 I\u2019ve heard those arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The winner of this year\u2019s governor\u2019s race will take the helm of a state investment council overseeing a roughly $68-billion state nest egg, including investments that defray costs for K-12 public education.<\/p>\n
New Mexico is not alone in reaping the financial benefits of the war. In Alaska, the state forecast an additional $1.05 billion for the current fiscal year and the one beginning July 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really is this small group of energy-reliant states like North Dakota, Alaska, New Mexico and Wyoming that are going be affected most directly,\u201d said Justin Theal, who researches state fiscal trends as a senior officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts. He described the situation as \u201ca double-edged sword.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt raises costs for households and businesses, which can potentially dampen consumer spending and reduce sales taxes that almost every state relies on as well,\u201d Theal said. <\/p>\n
Wartime oil prices hold silver lining for New Mexico<\/p>\n
Three contenders for the Republican nomination are advocating for even more aggressive tax relief while oil prices are riding high.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepublicans are using the \u2018e-word\u2019 \u2014 eliminate income taxes,\u201d said Albuquerque-based pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling Inc. A Republican last won election to statewide office in 2016.<\/p>\n
At the same time, they\u2019re questioning whether universal childcare will be financially sustainable.<\/p>\n
The program is coming under direct fire in a lawsuit from cannabis entrepreneur and Republican candidate for governor Duke Rodriguez. He previously served as human service secretary under former Gov. Gary Johnson, a crusader for limited government who unsuccessfully ran for president as a Libertarian.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges the childcare program was implemented in November by Lujan Grisham without required authorization from the Legislature \u2014 though supporting legislation was passed this year. A court has ordered the administration to respond within 30 days.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the state\u2019s oil income, Rodriguez says, \u201cWe don\u2019t have a resource problem, what we have is a real results problem. We just spend and spend and spend with no accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republican businessman Doug Turner describes wartime oil prices as an opportunity to overhaul the state tax code and wants means testing for childcare benefits. He lost the 2010 Republican primary to then-Dist. Atty. Susana Martinez, who went on to serve two terms as governor.<\/p>\n
Gregg Hull, a former three-term mayor of Rio Rancho on the outskirts of Albuquerque, wants New Mexico to join the ranks of states with no personal income tax like Texas and Wyoming. Personal income taxes account for about $2.2 billion in annual state government income, offsetting about a fifth of annual general fund obligations.<\/p>\n
Hull said he wants to double down on the oil economy by funneling budget surpluses to infrastructure projects in the state\u2019s main oil-production zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis morning, when I was looking at a price of a barrel of oil, I said, \u2018Well, that\u2019s not great for consumers, but it\u2019s awesome for New Mexico,\u2019 \u201d Hull said.<\/p>\n
Lee writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RIO RANCHO, N.M.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The global oil bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz has generated an enviable \u2014 and politically…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8091,39871,1275,11145,11557,39873,34,5155,39870,213,882,396,39872,5603,894,878],"class_list":{"0":"post-115708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-cost","9":"tag-deb-haaland","10":"tag-democrats","11":"tag-fossil-fuel","12":"tag-governor","13":"tag-gregg-hull","14":"tag-iran","15":"tag-money","16":"tag-new-mexico-politician","17":"tag-oil","18":"tag-oil-price","19":"tag-people","20":"tag-personal-income-taxis","21":"tag-president-biden","22":"tag-state","23":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116580219744113047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}