New Mexico Should Invest in Real Jobs, Not Handouts to CEO’s and Investor Sector
As House and Senate Finance Committees Meet, Members Need to Look More Closely at the State’s Economic Development Spending Policies.
This morning, and throughout the next two weeks, State Representatives and Senators will be reviewing and eventually voting on the fiscal year 2027 budgets for state agencies.
There is a lot of talk by the Governor and a handful of legislative leaders about investments in data centers, quantum computing investment, including making investments in produced water research to facilitate diversifying the economy of the state.
They parrot the talking points of the corporate and investor sector which make all kinds of promises about the high paying jobs these investments will create.
Yet, for all the hype you find about promised job creation in press releases from the Governor’s Economic Development leaders, and the State Investment Council, you don’t find anything concrete as to when, and even if, those jobs will be created.
Over the next few weeks, as the House and Senate finance committees are each developing their respective appropriation budgets for all legislators to vote on, The Candle will be releasing information from research compiled over the last eight months regarding what jobs are realistically achievable versus the hundreds of millions of dollars of state revenue that a handful of legislative leaders want to deliver to high powered corporate interests bearing shiny objects.
The New Mexico Economic Development Department’s website notes, “Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has designated nine target industries for growth. EDD is dedicated to helping grow a sustainable, appropriate, and diverse economy by focusing support on these industry sectors.”
The industries listed are, Aerospace, Film and Television, Intelligent Manufacturing, Outdoor Recreation, Sustainable and Clean Energy, Biosciences, Sustainable and Value-added Agriculture, Cyber Security, and Global Trade.
But not one of the industries listed deals with the development of the workforce that is regionally and nationally recognized as being the fastest growing for the next decade – Healthcare related employment.
A close look at the historical data from job reports generated from federal and state workforce agencies, make it clear that health care related employment represents the most promise in job development and availability if the state makes a serious financial commitment to see the sector grow.
Healthcare and Social Assistance jobs in 2024, were the largest component in all of the job types – 150,192, representing about 17.3% of the workforce.
These are jobs that New Mexicans can attain faster than most of the jobs the industries the Governor has directed over-investing in – with the full support of legislative leaders – all of whom seem to be star-struck by corporate and hedge-fund investor promises.
Healthcare and social service jobs provide care and services to developmentally disabled New Mexicans who have been historically denied availability of sufficiently staffed services, and the growing population of aging New Mexicans – signaling a key area for growth in jobs needed and for which the state actually receives a match in revenue it dedicates to these jobs that is similar to what the Governor and legislators like to point to in the film and television industry.
Look here over the next few weeks for economic development proposals that will actually produce real good paying jobs that almost any New Mexican could have in the same year the investments of state funds are made – not jobs that may exist in five or ten years.