The New Mexico Business Coalition has issued the following press release:
New Mexico Business Coalition (NMBC), a nonpartisan organization focusing on improving the business environment and quality of life for all New Mexicans, announced Jan. 11 another unfortunate "worst in the nation" designation for New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was ranked 50th of all U.S. Governors in the recently published 2021 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom: Grading America’s 50 Governors.
The report, covering only the time a governor has been in office, assigns rankings of multiple metric categories for comparison among the nation’s governors. The rankings are then combined to determine an overall ranking of 1 to 50 among all governors. In every case, a rank of 1 is the highest and most preferable ranking while 50 is lowest and least preferable. New Mexico’s Gov. Lujan Grisham received an overall grade of 50.
“Unfortunately, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ranked dead last in the new Laffer-ALEC report on America’s governors,” said Jonathan Williams, Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy American Legislative Exchange Council. “This ranking does not measure the politics or popularity of governors; it simply gives an overview of the chief executives through the lens of the public policy choices in their respective states. In the case of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico, state spending has dramatically increased since her inauguration and unemployment policies were among the worst in the nation. In addition, New Mexico’s welfare dependency and educational freedom both ranked 49th out of the 50 states. Combining those factors with the Governor’s past support for significant tax increases cement her ranking of 50th in our new report.”
Carla Sonntag, NMBC President said, “This Laffer-ALEC ranking reflects the challenges New Mexicans have been facing and shows the necessity for change within our state.”
The Laffer-ALEC report ranks each governor on their current economic performance and their fiscal and executive policies using categories including, among others: Executive Policies, Education Freedom, Welfare Dependency, Economic Performance, Unemployment Rate, Fiscal Policy, Debt, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, Spending per Capita and Federal Unemployment Benefits.
Sonntag also said, “Now that New Mexico has hit the bottom or near bottom of most quality rankings nationwide, there are myriad opportunities for improvement. Governor Lujan Grisham should be looking to successful states for models of what can be incorporated here to improve where New Mexico struggles. It is critical, at this time, that personal agendas and partisan politics be set aside for the good of our people. New Mexicans deserve better.”
See the full 2021 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom: Grading America’s 50 Governors report here.
New Mexico Business Coalition (NMBC) is a statewide, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that focuses on improving the business environment for companies and the quality of life for all New Mexicans. NMBC is the state affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturing and private sector partner for American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). For more information, please visit our website at www.nmbizcoalition.org.
Contact NMBC at (505) 836-4223 or nmbiz@nmbizcoalition.org for more information.
