It must be spring \u2013 spring in an election year.\u00a0 The first candidate of the season has beat the hummingbirds to my front doorstep.\u00a0 She is walking my neighborhood, petition and voter registration list in hand, asking for a signature.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s running for the legislature.\u00a0 What\u2019s her top priority, I ask.\u00a0 Changing the tax law that reduces income tax for rich people \u2013 the one enacted when Richardson was governor.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the problem, I say.\u00a0 Before this tax rate change, New Mexico had the highest income tax in the region for the wealthy.\u00a0\u00a0 Rich people can choose where they live, and will choose states where the tax rates are favorable. \u00a0States compete for them. \u00a0Long ago, I thought New Mexico was so enchanting that our tax rates wouldn\u2019t matter, but I grew up.<\/p>\n
Rich people are good for the state.\u00a0 They bring not just wealth, but business opportunities, jobs, and support for the arts.\u00a0 The top prize, where New Mexico loses every time, is where companies choose to locate corporate headquarters. \u00a0That\u2019s where the big philanthropy is. \u00a0The ostensible purpose of the change in tax rates was to encourage rich people to move here.\u00a0 Did it work? \u00a0I have previously discussed this with a seasoned legislator, who told me there isn\u2019t any data on this question.<\/p>\n
What we need, I tell this candidate, is the right data.\u00a0 When we don\u2019t have it, we\u2019re flying blind, which our legislature does a great deal of.\u00a0 I invite her to come in and sit down. \u00a0I tell her about issues that concern me, my usual themes:\u00a0 regulations, small business, state agency structure, workers’ compensation, and the fact that state agencies get plenty of data, but often it\u2019s not what policy makers need. \u00a0She does not know this detailed analytical stuff.\u00a0 \u00a0We spend half an hour.\u00a0 She is gulping information.\u00a0 We thank each other.<\/p>\n
Surfing through political web sites, I read about another legislative candidate who trumpets that he is in favor of education. Oh, good.\u00a0 Is anybody against education? \u00a0\u00a0Or economic development, another favorite?\u00a0 From a potential first-year legislator, this statement doesn\u2019t mean much.\u00a0 \u00a0Some new ideas are really new, but more often they are old ideas that have already been tried and keep getting reinvented.\u00a0 There\u2019s that lack of data again.\u00a0 Besides, if a rookie legislator has wants to introduce a proposal on education that hasn\u2019t already been tried or killed, the bill has very little chance to get past the first committee.\u00a0 On the big subjects, all a newbie can do is vote on bills written by the older hands who have both influence and experience.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s political season was held back by delays in redistricting.\u00a0 Now that district boundaries are settled and state conventions have been held, we know who are local candidates are. \u00a0So now is the time to think about what you will say when candidates knock at your door. Now, while they are hungry for your vote, is your best chance to learn what they care about and educate them about issues that matter to you.\u00a0 And give them data.<\/p>\n
An incumbent state senator has a party to kick off his re-election campaign.\u00a0 This senator sponsored a couple of bills that caught my attention in the 2012 session. \u00a0We even exchanged a few e-mail messages. \u00a0I go to his party so I can chat with him just enough to remind him. \u00a0He\u2019s surprised that I actually came with an active interest in specific legislation.\u00a0 Most people don\u2019t, he says.\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s a beautiful afternoon, other local candidates are basking in the glow, and everyone is enthusiastic.\u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019m so glad campaign season starts in the spring.<\/p>\n
Contact Merilee Dannemann through www.triplespacedagain.com.<\/em><\/p>\n Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2012<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It must be spring \u2013 spring in an election year.\u00a0 The first candidate of the season has beat the hummingbirds to my front doorstep.\u00a0 She is walking my neighborhood, petition and voter registration list in hand, asking for a signature. … Continue reading