An open letter to Democratic leadership
There is no doubt the public health threat of COVID-19 is extremely serious, but so are the economic consequences that we ignore at our peril.
Thousands of businesses have closed and are facing the real possibility that they might not be able to reopen. Hundreds of thousands of employees have been sent home from work with no guarantee of when (or if ) they will go back. Counties and municipalities have lost millions of dollars in revenue and have no road map on how to budget for the upcoming fiscal year. These are the economic casualties of COVID-19, and everyone outside of New Mexico state government has no choice but to begin making contingency plans to address their circumstances.
This open letter is not intended to criticize the governor for any specific action taken in response to COVID-19, but the effects of these decisions, combined with the oil market crash, will have devastating effects well beyond the health crisis.
Economic concerns have been ignored up to this point. Worries over New Mexico’s economy have been dismissed out of hand. House Speaker Brian Egolf claims New Mexico “is not in a fiscal crisis.” I couldn’t disagree more.
The same curve graph that was used to show the consequences of delayed action in containing the coronavirus could be redrawn to illustrate delayed action on New Mexico’s fiscal health.
House Republicans have requested a special session be called as soon as possible to address what are sure to be significant budget shortfalls. We need to consider an economic relief package for businesses on the verge of collapse, temporarily defer the state’s portion of gross receipts taxes, eliminate interest on income tax payments made on or before July 15, pass a temporary moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and repeal legislation and regulations that substantially harm business.
Counties, municipalities and schools need us to act as well; they need time and clarity to set their operating budgets that begin July 1. They can’t do their jobs until we do ours. Taking the initial step of holding spending to fiscal year 2020 levels is where we should begin. We could return in late July to more deeply reassess our situation; however, some things cannot wait until July.
There is one other crisis we could avert if we went into session quickly. We still have time to save our primary elections. If we don’t act, the June primary could be another casualty of COVID-19.
Every decision being made (or not being made) has major ramifications. Our coronavirus response is not just temporarily shutting down businesses, it is shutting down our recovery. Standing in line and waiting for President Donald Trump to hand New Mexico a big check is not a plan.
We could hold a special session soon if we agreed in advance on a specific few and unaltered legislative actions. This would require implementing social distancing measures, keeping the session to several hours and gathering just enough legislators to make a quorum.
These measures would drastically reduce any health risk. It’s more risky to go to Walmart than to go to the Capitol.
Surely, addressing our growing economic problems and preserving our constitutionally mandated primary elections are more important than searching for a roll of toilet paper.
After recklessly increasing spending, it is time to reprioritize our spending away from special interest projects and pool these resources to help employers and workers survive. It’s time to convene a working group to begin the framework for a special session. And governor, it’s time to stop flirting with a run for vice president and focus on the long-term well-being of New Mexico.