Editorials
Editorial content. Content posted here may or may not reflect the opinions of the Beat. They reflect the opinions of the author.
It's Time to Eliminate Social Security Tax
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 25 January 2022 25 January 2022
By Paul Gessing
In the wake of Gov. Lujan Grisham's State of the State address, Republican House Minority Leader State Rep. Jim Townsend, said that during the speech he thought the governor "almost became a Republican." He's not wrong.
After three full years and legislative sessions (not to mention multiple special sessions and the constant invocation of her "emergency" powers) of governing as a hard left "progressive," the Gov. seems to be tacking to the center in advance of her reelection bid this fall. This may be both good policy as well as good politics.
Specifically, in her State of the State address Lujan Grisham announced that she wants New Mexico to stop taxing Social Security. New Mexico is one of just 13 states in the nation to do this and bi-partisan efforts have been made in recent years to eliminate or vastly reduce the tax. Her support for repeal is welcome.
The Gov. acknowledged that the state has the money, as evidenced by her ambitious budget which contains a 13.5% spending increase over last year. The $80 million or so in "lost" revenue from ending the tax is a drop in the bucket when compared with the flood of new revenues. This is a flood that seems likely to continue with high oil prices and record production in the Permian Basin. So, New Mexico has plenty of money to cut taxes. In fact, the Gov. and Legislature should be looking for ways to use this flood of new money to both cut and reform taxes in ways that help diversify the economy.
Want to know how your vaccine batch shows up in VAERS?
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 25 January 2022 25 January 2022
If you have concerns about the Covid-19 vaccines, these links may alleviate your worry or accelerate them. Always do your own research. Don't rely on anyone to tell you what to believe!
VAERS is the acronym for the CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. It is a voluntary program to which physicians can choose or not choose to report any adverse reactions.
The first link takes you to a site where you can enter your vaccine batch number, which should be on your Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card. The links are data collections created by genetics researcher, Craig Paardekooper.
One Year of President Biden: American Energy Independence Lost
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 20 January 2022 20 January 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today marks 365 days since Joe Biden took office, and also the one-year anniversary of a series of events that have eroded American energy independence. On the first day of his administration, President Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline and began a series of attacks that would deliver gas prices that are now more than 33 percent higher, massive inflation and home heating costs that have increased as much as 54 percent. The Biden Administration claims they are not to blame for these huge increases, but it is clear their attacks on energy have real consequences. Power The Future, a non-profit organization that advocates for American energy workers, has outlined the actions taken by the administration that have undermined American energy independence.
"From day one, President Biden targeted American energy workers and now everyone in the country is seeing the results," said Daniel Turner, Founder and Executive Director of Power The Future. "The fact that the Biden Administration is recognizing their one-year anniversary by blaming others and fighting for Vladimir Putin's pipeline should be a huge red flag to American families. Joe Biden isn't fixing this problem because the problem is Joe Biden."
See PDF below:
Governor Lujan Grisham Fights to Increase Taxes and Gas Prices to Fund Green Agenda
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 18 January 2022 18 January 2022
Albuquerque – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham outlined her legislative agenda today, which will include out-of-touch proposals to raise taxes and further increase the cost of gas. Each of these proposals come as New Mexico receives $5.3 billion in record tax revenue from the energy industry while Santa Fe leadership makes the state a national leader in unemployment.
"While Santa Fe is flooded with cash, there's clearly a drought of common sense from the Governor," said Larry Behrens, Communications Director for Power The Future. "These proposals are so out-of-touch it's difficult to understand why the Governor would even want them, until you remember the Governor is fighting for campaign donations from radical environmentalists first and New Mexico's families last."
How NM voter laws compare to other states and nations
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 18 January 2022 18 January 2022
When we vote in-person or request an absentee ballot for a state or federal election in New Mexico, we don’t have to show any identification. How do our voter laws compare to those of other states and nations?
According to Ballotpedia, New Mexico is one of 15 states that does not require voter ID for in-person voting. Republicans control the state legislature in 3 of the states, there is split legislative control in another and the remaining 11 states all have Democrat control.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are 20 states that have photo ID requirements for in-person voting. Two states have Democrat controlled legislatures while all the remaining 18 have Republican controlled legislatures. The remaining 15 states have non-photo ID document requirements.
Fixing New Mexico's Failed Educational System Must Be a Priority
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 14 January 2022 14 January 2022
By House Republican Leader Jim Townsend (Artesia)
As the 2022 Legislative Session begins, lawmakers are going to be confronted with a slew of problems. No one needs to be reminded that New Mexico continues to land at or near the bottom of every critical ranking to know that our state is in dire need of change. From crime, healthcare, economic opportunity, child wellbeing, and education, the progressive policymakers who are leading our state have failed in creating a thriving New Mexico. And once again, these same elected lawmakers will try to chip away at some of these mounting problems rather than fixing what we all know is the core problem --- a failed educational system that is shortchanging our children and grandchildren while also offering a bleak future for our state.
How do we expect incomes to rise, crime to decrease, and the quality of life to improve when New Mexico's public K-12 schools are dead last compared to every other state? We can't. But, the progressives' solution is simply to throw more and more money at this, a broken system. In other words, we are draining our savings account to continually repaint and patch walls on a house that has a deteriorating foundation; the house just needs to be rebuilt.
We also have failed to recognize our school funding formula, an idea meant to provide equality in education across the state, has actually resulted in creating major disparities in the quality of education statewide. In far too many cases, we are locking low-income families into attending failed schools simply because of their address. Sadly, kids in the far northeast heights of Albuquerque are receiving a far better learning experience than those in central Albuquerque or the south valley.
Defeat of Cruz Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Further Weakens America
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 14 January 2022 14 January 2022
Biden's congressional enablers each deserve their own chapter in Profiles in Cowardice.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Power The Future released the following statement in after the Senate defeated a bill that would impose sanctions on businesses linked to Vladimir Putin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will allow the Kremlin to further exert influence in the region and weaken America's standing in the world:
"The American left has spent the last five years complaining about Russian collusion, yet they supported a measure that would enrich and empower Vladimir Putin," said Daniel Turner, Founder and Executive Director of Power The Future. "As if that hypocrisy were not appalling enough, these same senators who were so quick to decry American-based pipelines that support jobs and energy independence had no problem greenlighting both for Russia. In less than a year, President Biden has presided over a precipitous decline in America's standing in the world, starting with the erosion of our energy independence. He has had help from these congressional enablers every step of the way, and each deserves his or her own chapter in Profiles in Cowardice."
Power The Future Slams Biden Administration for Re-Imposing Obama Era Regulations in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 11 January 2022 11 January 2022
Anchorage, Alaska – Today, Rick Whitbeck, Alaska state director of Power The Future, issued the following statement on the Biden administration's decision to return to Obama-era regulations in the vast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the North Slope that prohibits potential oil and gas leasing on an additional 7 million acres of reserve:
"The next time the Biden Administration claims they are powerless to stop high gas prices, remember this decision. For generations, the people of Alaska have done their part to deliver affordable and reliable energy to our nation and the decision by the Interior Department not only hurts jobs and our economy but also provides another nail in the coffin of American energy independence. Alaska and America can do better."