A Billion-Dollar Windfall, Who Benefits? | Community Forum

With oil prices pushed up by the war with Iran, New Mexico is sitting on nearly a billion dollars in unexpected oil and gas revenue, and Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, predicts that pot will top $1 billion by the time the 2027 legislative session opens in January. He joins Johnny Chandler on this Community Forum to argue that the money should go back to New Mexicans, noting it’s roughly half of the $2.1 billion the personal income tax brings in each year.

Gessing lays out a phased, trigger-based plan to eliminate the income tax, explains why he thinks the state’s $75 billion permanent funds were built on a 1970s scarcity mindset, and shares the Legislative Finance Committee’s own description of an economy that is “tepid or maybe stuttering,” carried largely by oil and gas and data center construction. He and Johnny also talk about what the governor’s race could mean for southeast New Mexico’s energy industry, and about Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller’s new “abundance” message.

Follow Gessing’s work at riograndefoundation.org, on the Errors of Enchantment blog, and on the Tipping Point New Mexico podcast, which also airs on KCCC.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and our website (www.kccc930am.com).

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