Crony Capitalism: Stalling NM’s Economy?
Our partner KUNM hosted a call in show on Thursday, February 4th, to discuss “crony capitalism” in New Mexico and its effects on the economy.
UNM political science professor Michael Rocca, along with the Washington, D.C.-area business think tank Committee for Economic Development, released their report “Crony Capitalism, Corruption and the Economy in the State of New Mexico” detailing how our state’s government caters to the small amount of wealthy elite instead of working in the interest of the public good.
Guests include:
•Professor Michael Rocca, Report author and UNM Political Science Professor.
•Russell Contreras, Associated Press reporter
•Sherry Robinson, Operator of the New Mexico News Service.
Listen to the discussion here with correspondent Gwyneth Doland.
The report includes three recommendations to eliminate “crony capitalism” (as excerpted from the report):
•Require full disclosure of campaign contributions and lobbying activity. Doing so would increase oversight and accountability in the government decision-making process.
•Establish an independent ethics commission. Such a commission would educate elected officials about the state’s ethics laws to help prevent violations, and address and enforce ethics laws. New Mexico is currently one of seven states without one.
•Conduct regular and rigorous evaluations of tax subsidy programs. Elected officials and the public currently lack sufficient information about whether the benefits of current tax subsidy programs outweigh the costs. Items need to be studied often enough to provide policymakers with up-to-date information and to allow the time to produce thorough, detailed studies.
New Mexico in Depth shared a story about the report that can be accessed here.
Dark Money: Senator Bill Soules
Watch Senator Bill Soules speak about why the public is becoming frustrated with the ugliness of state and national politics:
We are a collaborative, multi-media partnership between KUNM-FM, New Mexico PBS, New Mexico In Depth and the New Mexico News Port. The People, Power and Democracy Project is supported by the Thornburg Foundation.
