House GOP: Budget Assumptions Wishful Thinking

Tom Taylor

Santa Fe – As the 2011 legislative session winds down it is becoming clearer and clearer to some political observers exactly how the majority of House and Senate members are going to balance the state budget. They are going to continue their spending habits and "assume" aggressively when it comes to economic performance. This will be the approach despite the Environmental Improvement Board and the Richardson Administration delivering a series of crippling blows to the industries that form the foundation for their cheery "assumptions."

Don Bratton

Just before midnight on Wednesday all House GOP Caucus members present voted against what they say is an unbalanced state budget supported by Democrats for the second year in a row. Many Republicans point to the last three budgets passed out of the New Mexico House of Representatives and asserted that this year’s version of the budget once again "assumes" New Mexico’s economy will perform at an unrealistic level.

“This budget, once again, plans for the best and assumes the best,” said Rep. Tom Taylor (Farmington, Dist. 1.) “Instead the budget should hope for the best, and plan for the worst,” he continued. “This budget puts our financial house on a foundation of sand,” added Rep. Don Bratton (Hobbs, Dist. 62.) No doubt Democrats feel comfortable acting as if Santa Fe can continue to assume the role of Santa while leaving all the tough lines to be said by the "Grinch" to Governor Susana Martinez. How aggressively with the new governor use the veto in a sea of denial? Stay tuned.

House GOP: Budget Assumptions Wishful Thinking