Thanks for a Great 2005!

I'm signing off until next year, and I wanted to say thank you. It was just a little over a year ago that I launched this blog, and it has been a blast to write and watch it grow. I thought you might get a kick out of seeing some of the search terms that bring people to this blog:

See a man about a horse
Patricia Madrid
Multiple choice test in finance
Miguel Lausell
Koreans in New Mexico
Water seizure
Governor Richardson DWI plan
Trampling the Constitution
Best three card monte
Funny union representative

Have a Happy New Year!

Parents Are Responsible for Kids

I just read this article, and was particularly struck by the following exchange:

"It goes back to 'Do you know where your kids are and who they're with?' " said Hanover parent Mike Delaney, 53, a father of eight.

June Shire of Plympton, co-founder of the Plymouth County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the blame falls squarely on parents.

"The pendulum has got to start to swing and back to where the parents are parents," Shire said.

But others disagreed.

"You only have so much control of your children. You can't watch them all the time," said Steffen Hill, 31, of Abington.

Hill, who is not a parent, said authorities should focus more on penalizing the youths and not parents.

With an attitude like that, one can only hope that Mr. Hill never becomes a parent.

Nobody's Business

I find this troubling:

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said Friday that the agency will propose regulations to crack down on hidden executive pay as early as next month.

The SEC is drafting rules that would require companies to tally up salary, bonus, stock and option awards, and roll all benefits into a single figure. Cox plans to have the regulations ready "shortly" after Jan. 1.

"Today's regulatory regime permits obfuscation or worse when it comes to executive compensation," Cox said. "The notorious abuses, such as never-before-disclosed exit payments, are the byproduct of this leaky regime."

Institutional investors also are pushing for better disclosure. TIAA-CREF made executive pay a corporate-governance priority for 2006, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union with 1.4 million members, urged companies to give shareholders a vote on compensation.

We don't force disclosure of the compensation packages of other employees, why should that of executives be public knowledge. More regulation is not required. Institutional investors who are unhappy with disclosure practices of particular companies can just refuse to invest in those companies.

Richardson Sets Priorities

Back in March we observed that Governor Bill Richardson was taking a keen interest in the campaign strategies of Mayor Chavez. Administration insiders recently revealed that post-election polling determined that Dukes played a decisive role in the Mayor's victory. As such, it only makes sense that the Governor should ask legislators to put handling the billion dollar surplus on the backburner during this short 30-day legislative session and focus on THE ISSUE that is on the minds of all New Mexicans.

After much deliberation and debate, I wish you all the Happiest of Holidays!

Government Forbids Basic Need

It's cold outside. You gather wood from the pile. The cords were more expensive this year. Hopefully, this will get your family through the winter. You crumple up sections of today's newspaper. Something catches your eye (subscription):

If the sky seems a little grayer this month, it isn't your imagination.

Smoke from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves is boosting the level of pollutants over Albuquerque, making the sky hazy and irritating many people's lungs and eyes.

The second red alert of the winter could be on its way today, depending on weather conditions, said Jeff Stonesifer, a city meteorologist. Wood burning is not permitted during a red alert.

High energy prices are apparently prompting many residents to use their fireplaces more this year to heat their homes, officials said.

"There clearly is an increase in wood burning in our community," said Alfredo Santistevan, Albuquerque's director of environmental health.

Controlled burns in the Santa Fe National Forest may also be boosting the level of pollution from wood smoke.

The government is doing a controlled burn. Your family sleeps without heat. Oh yeah, this makes sense.

A Glimpse of the Future

So, let's go ahead and imagine that Richardson's train gets all of the funding needed. Then let's pretend that despite evidence to the contrary, everyone in NM abandons their cars and chooses to commute by rail. Well, if all of that goes as planned, it can't be long before we have this.

Merry or Happy... Just Be Well

I'm simply amazed at how much discourse the whole Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas issue is getting. People are going out of their way to express their righteous indignation at being wished Happy Holidays. Worse yet, there are those who are trying to paint this as a Republican versus Democrat issue:

O'BRIEN: Another topic. You guys were talking about this yesterday, everybody was, this happy holidays versus merry Christmas. There's a new poll out, and the polls says that what would say to someone you just met? 56 percent of people overall say they say "merry Christmas," 41 percent would say "happy holidays." As we know, it's broken down between Republicans and Democrats, as you guys sort of pointed out this morning at our greeting. 71 percent of Republicans would say merry Christmas, 54 percent of Democrats would say happy holidays. Cliff, would you really prefer -- I mean, do you have a dog in this fight? Do you care if I say happy holidays or merry Christmas to you?

I just don't get it.

If I wish someone Happy Holidays, couldn't it be possible that I'm just lumping together Christmas and New Year's as opposed to going out of my way to make a point about the need to secularize. Come to think of it, there is nothing secular about the origins of word "holiday."

I'm Jewish, but I don't get offended when someone wishes me Merry Christmas or Happy New Year. I realize that what is most important is that someone is taking the time to wish me well. How could I possibly take issue with that?

A Nail in the Coffin

For three years, Bob Schwartz has held the position of crime czar in the Richardson administration. He recently resigned that position to run for the top crime fighter position in the state, Attorney General. There is only one problem:

Gov. Bill Richardson announced Thursday that he'll seek more treatment for drunken drivers and tougher penalties for domestic violence, selling methamphetamine, gang-related crimes and sex crimes when the Legislature convenes Jan. 17.

Help me out here. If Governor Richardson is just now getting around to focusing on these important topics, exactly what has Czar Schwartz been doing for the last three years? In the Governor's own words:

"This is a strong package that directly attacks the problems that pose the biggest threat to our families and communities," Richardson said in a prepared statement. "These initiatives will help make our state a safer place for all New Mexicans."

Ouch, talk about putting a nail in the coffin. Richardson may as well have said, "Now that Bob Schwartz has stepped aside we are ready to make our state a safer place for all New Mexicans." The only way he could have placed a more negative light on Schwartz's lack of accomplishments during his tenure as Crime Czar would have been to add, "Year after year of having our state's largest metro listed among the nation's most dangerous 25 must come to an end."

Well, maybe Governor Richardson decided to leave that last part out of his prepared statement in appreciation of the loyalty Schwartz has shown him.

Oxymoron - Bureaucratic Logic

Days after Governor Richardson's transportation secretary Rhonda Faught makes some ridiculous statements rationalizing the out of control train budget, John Castillo, Albuquerque's director of municipal development applies the same nonsensical reasoning (subscription) to the over budget excesses of the Tricentennial Towers:

The council adopted a resolution Nov. 7 capping the cost at $840,000, plus 5 percent for contingencies. That was after early estimates - some several years old and somewhat vague - put the project at $370,000 to $500,000.

The project cost is about $919,000, not including contingencies, according to the report by the city Office of Internal Audit and Investigations.

John Castillo, Albuquerque's director of municipal development, defended the city's handling of the project. He said the $840,000 approved by the council is for construction only, and the extra costs cited by auditors are probably related to design.

Thus, he said, the project is still within budget.

Anywhere from double to nearly triple original budget estimates, and he concludes "the project is still within budget." Do we actually pay these people?

A Few Words of Advice

Every blogger loves to see comments posted to their site. It means what they have written has struck a cord. So, far be it from me from dissuading anyone from posting comments. However, a couple of things have been gnawing at me since this guy put up his first comment.

1. If you are running for office and feel that blogs are a good way to get the word out, then why on earth wouldn't you have your own? At the very least do something with your website that still has you running for Congress.
   
2. I'm all for staying on message, but a little depth in criticism is a good thing. The "I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE" strategy works great in the movies, but gets a little old in real life. Plus, Finch's character is actually perceived as mentally unbalanced - not a quality most people look for in their elected officials.
   
3. If you're going to post variations of the same comment over and over and over again, at least have someone proofread it.

Ok, I've got that out of my system.

Oh Yeah, This Makes Sense

Q: What is worse than unrestrained spending on a train to nowhere?

A: $225 million being spent on a Spaceport by a state with one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.


A company agrees to spend $1 million over five years (that's $200,000/yr), and the state pledges to invest $225 million in infrastructure costs. Am I the only one who thinks this is insane?

Left Drops Richardson a Love Note

Governor Bill Richardson brands Democrats "as the party of abortionists." Those on the left have a few choice words for New Mexico's Jet-Setter in Chief.

Just About What You'd Expect

The Albuquerque Journal has given an awful lot of ink to the Rail Runner train system over the last few days. Yesterday, aside from the hopes and dreams of various politicians, the main point was that Governor Richardson's much ballyhooed project is already running behind schedule (subscription).

Mind you, this revelation comes on the heels of a series of articles that confirmed that the project is already at least $200 million over initial projected budgets (subscription). Is the Administration concerned about the delays and rapidly escalating costs (subscription)?

State planners in a special February 2004 Journal report on the commuter train pegged the cost of building the service at $55 million to $75 million between Belen and Bernalillo and more than $250 million between Bernalillo and Santa Fe.

Neither figure included the costs of a track lease or purchase. At that time, planners believed they would be leasing the line and included lease costs in their operating-cost estimates, not their construction-cost estimates.

Faught said her agency knew well over a year ago that it needed to use more than $300 million of GRIP money to pay for the service, supplemented by federal funding that is now anticipated at $75 million.

Currently, "we show $318 million out of the GRIP," she said, referring to the state money.

But Gene Moser, a fiscal analyst for the Legislative Finance Committee, said Faught's agency has not told committee legislators of that funding plan in at least the past year.

Ok, there you have it... No Worries. The administration can handle this by simply not informing the legislators of the true costs.

But wait a minute, if the first part of the choo-choo was supposed to cost $55 - $75 million and instead cost $393 million, then what will the Bernalillo to Santa Fe portion really cost? It is was estimated at $250 million. Based on current performance to budget that would peg the true cost at somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.3 billion. An amount just shy of the entire transportation package for our road infrastructure.

On second thought, it seems there is plenty to worry about.

Celebrating Process Over Performance

The title of this post is without a doubt the theme of the Richardson Administration. The latest example of this can be found here:

The [The State of State Science Standards 2005] report credited eight states -- Virginia, New York, New Mexico, Tennessee, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and West Virginia -- with adopting new science standards since 2000 that boosted the states' grades from "Ds" or "Fs" to "As" and "Bs".

In New Mexico, which ranks near the bottom on nearly every education ranking, education officials were elated to go from an "F" to an "A" this year. The state's new science standards were designed in partnership with scientists at New Mexico-based Los Alamos National Laboratory, state Education Secretary Veronica Garcia told Stateline.org.

"What we're dealing with in New Mexico are the growing pains of education reform. Our standards recently have become much more rigorous and as we get our teachers better trained to meet the higher standards we believe student achievement will follow," Garcia said.

To illustrate how ridiculous it is celebrate these process improvements, let's put the Secretary's comments into a business context. Imagine reading this in a business publication:

At Company X, which ranks near the bottom on nearly every business ranking, business officials were elated to go from an "F" to an "A" this year. The company's new employee policy and procedures manuals were designed in partnership with professors at New Mexico state universities, CEO Veronica Garcia told Forbes Magazine.

"What we're dealing with at Company X are the growing pains of business reform. Our new procedures manuals recently have become much more rigorous and as we get our employees better trained to meet the higher standards we believe shareholder value will follow," Garcia said.

Would you invest in this company?

Limiting Profitability

It looks like the payday loan issue is going to be on the table again during this legislative session, and I can't help but wonder why.

Efforts to reach consensus on payday-loan legislation have failed for years. This year, the loan industry supported Lundstrom's bill, while Gov. Bill Richardson , Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Attorney General Patricia Madrid pushed for interest-rate caps on payday loans.

Brian Condit, Richardson's deputy chief of staff, said the governor plans to put the payday-loan issue on legislators' agenda when they convene a 30-day session Jan. 17. But parties appear to be no closer to agreement on the matter.

Madrid has proposed rules capping annual interest rates on payday loans at 54 percent, while a governor-appointed task force is working on recommendations that likely will include limiting the number of times a borrower may renew a loan.

How can one industry be singled out when it comes to profitability? I know from the years that I worked in retail that it is not uncommon for the price of clothing to be marked up at least 100 percent when it first hits the stores. This article has jewelery markups at 250 percent. Does that mean there should be a governor-appointed task force recommending a limit on the amount of bling an individual can purchase? How about those two cookies you just bought for $2.50 at the mall? How much do you think they were marked up?

The above profits are on goods sold, not on a risk taken by loaning money, and make no mistake there is a risk. If there wasn't, the borrowers could walk into a bank and get a loan at a much lower cost. Legislators and the Governor need to leave this issue alone.

You know, with OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN EXTRA TAXPAYER MONEY flowing into state coffers, it might be wiser to spend the 30 days focused on how to manage that money. After all, that is the constitutional purpose of this session.

Holiday Spirit

That new radio spot that is spreading good cheer can be heard here. (Hat tip: Whitney Cheshire)

New Taxes Proposed Despite Record Surpluses

You've got to love the logic here. The tax revenue has increased every year that Governor Richardson has been in office. The Governor and the legislature have found a way to spend every penny of it, and this year we are projected to have a surplus of over $1.5 billion. Yet, UNM leaders came up with the following proposals during a recent summit (subscription):

• A quarter-cent statewide gross receipts tax to compensate hospitals for the cost of treating indigent and uninsured patients. The tax would raise an estimated $110 million a year.

• A half-cent gross receipt tax for Bernalillo County to compensate UNMH for the cost of indigent county patients. It would raise an estimated $65 million a year and replace an existing property tax.

• A $13.2 million appropriation to hire an additional 30 physicians and raise salaries for medical school faculty.

• A $40.4 million capital outlay request to pay for buildings, equipment and maintenance costs at the Health Sciences Center.

Now this call for raising taxes comes at the same time that the Richardson administration is spending $75 million to buy unneeded tracks for a rail system. Of course, we all know how profitable government run rail systems can be, so you can bet there will be tens if not hundreds of millions of taxpayer funds required for operation of this system.

Enough is enough.

Close the Economic Development Office

Lots of talk going on about increasing the statewide minimum wage. However, check out all of the states around us and you'll see that our minimum wage is no less than theirs. So, if legislators and the Governor decide to goof with it during this upcoming legislative session, they may as well refund any taxpayer money being spent on economic development efforts.

Papers Please

The more I think about this, the more troubling it becomes. The scary part is that it is spreading across the nation at a rapid clip. This is a very slippery slope.

FCC is Way off Base

What is this guy thinking:

Chairman Kevin Martin, reversing a course set by predecessor Michael Powell, told lawmakers on Tuesday that cable subscribers could benefit if given the option to pick individual channels instead of being forced to sign up for predesigned programming packages. Another option would be the creation of "family- friendly" packages....

No one forces consumers to buy anything. If you don't like what is being offered, you don't buy it. What's next? Are we going to start telling restaurants that they must all sell ala carte meals? Are we going to require Costco to break up bulk packages?

The government does not need to get involved in this issue. The market will take care of itself. As it is the cable providers continue to lose market share. "The dish" programmers can pick this up as a competitive edge if it is a viable market segment. Same is true for the telecoms.

Again, I say, "Let's get back to basics folks."