"The waste here is merely a reflection of the corruption that is occurring nationally."

Source: BIG Government  Bold emphasis mine N.E.H.

 Graft, Greed and Waste in State Government: New Mexico Edition

by Doug Turner

In early 2008, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson grabbed national attention when he ran for the Democratic nomination for President. He dropped out early in the race but still made headlines for endorsing Obama over Hillary. As thanks, Richardson was named the nominee for Commerce Secretary.  One of the first scandals of the Obama Administration followed almost immediately.  Due to a controversy surrounding a pay-to-play scandal, Richardson was forced to withdraw his name from consideration after only one month.

Richardson quietly slipped out of the national spotlight and most Americans forgot about New Mexico’s corrupt Governor.  Most don’t realize that prosecution for the scandal was quietly discontinued when the Obama team drained the investigator’s budget resource, leaving them unable to pursue prosecution.  The case is still pending and will likely remain that way.

Now back in New Mexico in his final year as Governor, the behavior of a man who was an inconvenient nuisance to the Obama team has revealed itself to be nearly cataclysmic to my state’s future.

Just seven years ago, New Mexico was one of only a handful of states in the black, thanks to the leadership of our previous Republican Governor.  Now, we’ve got an estimated $500 million deficit this year thanks to a government that continues to loot the pockets of taxpayers.

Aside from the absurd corruption, pay-to-play scandals and shady investment deals one of the most obvious evidence of poor management is the sheer size of New Mexico’s government.  With new state agencies and 4,500 new employees, our state government has grown by more than 50% in the last 7 years costing taxpayers $250 million annually. Further, the numbers don’t even include the hundreds of exempt political appointees now drawing a government paycheck.  Those people got jobs as payback for family, favors and financial contributions. Estimates put new political appointees in the neighborhood of 450 costing taxpayers around $50 million a year.

Already I’ve accounted for more than half the budget shortfall, and I haven’t even begun to talk about the fraudulent investment schemes, pay-to-play scandals and pork projects that have nearly sunk our state.

To put it into perspective, for every 100 private sector employees there are 24 state and local government employees.  The average ratio is 12 per 100.  I can assure you, my interaction with government in this state is not twice as good as it was seven years ago.

And now, the Governor who doubled the size of government has to find a way to pay for his distends.  His answer?  Well, it isn’t cutting state employees.  And it isn’t cutting unfriendly regulations to grow small business.   Nope.  His answer is—you guessed it—NEW TAXES.  During our last legislative session, lawmakers proposed taxes on candy, cigarettes, soda and even tortillas.

All proposals died a slow death and our legislatures failed to come up with a budget.  Now, they’ve been called in to a special session that begins next week.

I am running for Governor of New Mexico to put an end to the graft, greed and waste that has run rampant in New Mexico.

The moment I am elected, I will immediately demand the resignation of every unnecessary political appointment.  I made a pledge this week to roll back the number from over 600 to 167.   I have called upon the Democratic candidate, Lt. Governor Diane Denish, to make the same pledge. The Lt. Governor has been trying to distance herself from the present administration’s defective distends, but a promise to return to a reasonable number of political positions would be a substantive statement, should she be willing to make it.   Sadly, I expect silence will be her response.

The issue of bloated government is not limited to New Mexico.  The waste here is merely a reflection of the corruption that is occurring nationally. For those among us who challenge the wisdom of Federal Stimulus dollars, look no further than the state of New Mexico for evidence of its failings.  Those dollars only fuel our inefficient government and do nothing to force our government to fix itself.