I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh praised lawmakers on Monday for taking tax increases off the table during the special session.
“Many New Mexico lawmakers are doing the right thing by looking first at budget cuts instead of opting to put the government’s hand even deeper into the pockets of New Mexico taxpayers,” Weh said.
“New Mexicans deserve a quick recovery from this economic recession, and that won’t happen if we raise taxes to continue to pay for the excessive government budget of the past seven years created by the current administration.”
The tax increase bills were voted down because they were determined to be “not germane.” That is, a majority of committee members said they were not relevant to Governor Bill Richardson’s directions for the session. In his official proclamation, Richardson indicated that tax increases should not be considered in this year’s special session.
The bills were not debated on their merits, but on their relevance to the governor’s proclamation, which some legislators say is too restrictive.
So, one could read into Weh’s statement that he was praising Richardson for trying to prevent tax increases. But the rest of the statement criticized the governor, saying he increased spending by 50 percent over his eight years in office.
As Weh said, “The Albuquerque Journal reported today that Governor Richardson is leaving the door open for tax increases come January during the next legislative session.”
So Weh is still no fan of Richardson — except perhaps in this specific instance.
