Category Archives: Governance

The Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) is forming a joint child safety strike force with the State Police. After a widely publicized announcement, they’ve even had a meeting! This was initiated after a seven-year-old girl was found to have … Continue reading →

For years I have wondered whether our criminal justice system makes sense. I think first about my own safety. Does our system make me safer? Does it prevent crime? Does it make prudent use of my tax dollars? Is it … Continue reading →

Tax policy can make your head spin. Where tax policy intersects with healthcare policy, complicated further by insurance, the picture gets even more confusing. Two recent speakers talking about New Mexico tax policy chose to focus on the same example: … Continue reading →

We New Mexicans don’t trust our politicians. That is built in to our history and the structure of our government. Some years ago I started wondering why we elect not just a governor but several independent statewide officials: attorney general, … Continue reading →

New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte, on a TV interview show recently, mentioned the state’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory. He was particularly proud that it is located adjacent to important facilities of the state Department of Health so that there … Continue reading →

If I were planning to run for the legislature, my list of priorities would look a little different from those you usually see. Instead of reciting the usual passionate platitudes about education and economic development, I would talk about saving … Continue reading →

In the early days of Gary Johnson’s governorship, I had occasion to be at the State Capitol talking with some of his new appointees. “Oh,” one of them said to me, “so you work for the Department of Labor.” He … Continue reading →

Unamendable: a law that cannot be changed, no matter how problematic it has become. Think about that. An “unamendable” provision of the New Mexico Constitution has finally been amended. This was the provision that required school board elections to be … Continue reading →