New Mexico struggles despite federal largess

Average per-capita income in Rio Arriba: $20,000, well below half Los Alamos County’s $50,740. The contrast highlights an unusual wealth gap in New Mexico: Unlike other states, the richest residents of New Mexico work mainly in the public sector, while almost everyone else is employed in the private sector. That dynamic is both a blessing and a curse. In all, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trust’s Fiscal Federalism Initiative, about 35 percent of New Mexico’s economy comes from the federal government – the highest such figure for any state. Critics say an inability to diversify the economy has exacerbated income disparities. They say that at a time of tight federal budgets, the state can’t afford to stake its economic future on government spending. Unless new industries can be attracted, workers will have to settle for whatever lower-paying government jobs are available or for low-wage service industry work, according to political leaders and experts on the state’s economy. “The rest of the nation is subsidizing New Mexico,” said Jake Arnold, a political consultant. New Mexico ranked last among states for job growth from January 2011 through 2013. It is second, behind Mississippi, in the percentage of its residents living in poverty – a percentage that increased from 20.8 percent in 2012 to 21.9 percent in 2013, Census figures show. It also consistently ranks at or near the bottom of national rankings for education and child welfare...more

New Mexico struggles because of the federal largess, not despite it.