Furlough

Furloughs are fashionable these days. Back in November, Big Bill ordered 20,000 state employees to take 5 days off - without pay. All of this sounds good and perhaps for your average administrative assistant, clerk, janitor, mid-level manager (or top-level manager for that matter) or political appointee it's a hell of a lot better than having to look for a new job.

Unfortunately, there are a number of positions affected by Big Bill's unpaid vacations that are important and involve public safety even though they're not employed by police or fire departments. One such position is MVD Hearing Officer.

These MVD judges review the case against the accused drunk driver and determine whether or not they will be allowed to keep their driver's license. Hearings must be held within 90 days or the driver gets to keep their license. Of course if the drive is found guilty, the criminal court may revoke their license regardless of the determination (or lack thereof) of the MVD hearing officer.

The problem is that MVD hearing officers are overworked (and our Eyes tell us underpaid) as it is. There are 11 of them for the entire state and they struggle to keep up with the caseload in the best of times. Now they will be forced to take unpaid leave 5 times before the end of the state's fiscal year at the end of June.

The move makes about as much sense as furloughing firemen or police officers. If MVD hearing officers cannot hear an accused driver's case in the allotted time, they could be sending a driver with a serious problem back out on the street to be picked up again or much worse.

Richardson and his merry band of Democrats are using every trick in the book to attempt to cover a deficit created by their own out-of-control spending. They're even looking at borrowing the money!

The truth is the Governor and the Legislature need a 12 step program for themselves. The first step is to admit you've got a problem. The second step is to identify the root cause and change the behavior. Richardson and his cohorts won't admit they've got a problem much less make an effort to fix the problem and in the case of the MVD hearing office - they're actually putting the public in danger.

About Today...

Do you know what today is? The first day all state legislators get together to find a way to cover a five hundred million dollar budget shortfall. Let’s be honest we don’t need the newspapers or the television to tell us how bad things are for a lot of people, we can see with our own eyes and by talking with our family and friends that things are real bad.

At home when the money is not coming in what do most people do? Cut out the items we could do without. What do our elected officials do in Santa Fe? They do the opposite and raise taxes on everything they can think of.

Elected officials, always say the same things when I point this out to them.

1. No one ever contacts me and tells me not to raise taxes.
2. What is a few more cents on the dollar?
3. We can’t cut anything because I want to get re-elected.

Do any of those reasons make sense to you or would you run your household like this?

The major problem the Republican Party has in Santa Fe is they all do their own thing. If ONE Republican votes for ANY tax or fee increase Democrats put out a press release claiming that their effort to raise taxes was bi-partisan.

We cannot allow this to happen again. Republican legislators need to stick together and pledge not to make our lives more expensive at a time when our incomes are already threatened. Contact your elected officials and tell them if they vote for any TAX or FEE increase we will find their replacement this year. Things will never change if you don’t or won’t make a stand for what you believe.

----- Republican Legislators -----

House of Representatives
RepresentativeThomas A. Anderson - (R) e-mail kb5ysg@arrl.net
Representative Donald E. Bratton - (R) e-mail don.bratton@nmlegis.gov
Representative Janice E. Arnold-Jones - (R) e-mail jearnoldjones@aol.com
Representative Paul C. Bandy - (R) e-mail paul@paulbandy.org
Representative Zachary J. Cook - (R) e-mail zachjcook@gmail.com
Representative Anna M. Crook - (R) e-mail anna.crook@nmlegis.gov
Representative Nora Espinoza - (R) e-mail noralee@cableone.net
Representative Candy Spence Ezzell - (R) e-mail csecows@aol.com
Representative Keith J. Gardner - (R) e-mail gardners90@yahoo.com
Representative William J. Gray - (R) e-mail wjgray@pvtnetworks.net
Representative Jimmie C. Hall - (R) e-mail jimmie.hall@nmlegis.gov
Representative Dianne Miller Hamilton - (R) e-mail dianne38john4132@zianet.com
Representative Dennis J. Kintigh - (R) e-mail askdennis@denniskintigh.com
Representative Larry A. Larrañaga - (R) e-mail larry@larranaga.com
Representative Kathy A. McCoy - (R) e-mail katrina@swcp.com
Representative Jane E. Powdrell-Culbert - (R) e-mail jpandp@comcast.net
Representative William "Bill" R. Rehm - (R) e-mail bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov
Representative Dennis J. Roch - (R) e-mail denroch@hotmail.com
Representative James R.J. Strickler - (R) e-mail jamesstrickler@msn.com
Representative Thomas C. Taylor - (R) e-mail tom@tomtaylor.net
Representative Don L. Tripp - (R) e-mail trippsdon@netscape.net
Representative Shirley A. Tyler - (R) e-mail sntyler@valornet.com
Representative Gloria C. Vaughn - (R) e-mail NONE
Representative Jeannette O. Wallace - (R) e-mail wallace@losalamos.com
Representative James P. White - (R) e-mail james.white@nmlegis.gov

State Senate
Senator Rod Adair - (R) e-mail radair@dfn.com
Senator Vernon D. Asbill - (R) e-mail vernon@asbillforsenate.com
Senator Sue Wilson Beffort - (R) e-mail sue.beffort@nmlegis.gov
Senator Mark Boitano - (R) e-mail boitanom@aol.com
Senator Kent L. Cravens - (R) e-mail klcravens@alphagraphics.com
Senator Dianna J. Duran - (R) e-mail dianna.duran@nmlegis.gov
Senator Clinton D. Harden - (R) e-mail charden@theosogroup.com
Senator Stuart Ingle - (R) e-mail stuart.ingle@nmlegis.gov
Senator Gay G. Kernan - (R) e-mail ggkern@valornet.com
Senator Carroll H. Leavell - (R) e-mail leavell4@leaco.net
Senator Steven P. Neville - (R) e-mail nmsenate@msn.com
Senator William H. Payne - (R) e-mail william.payne@nmlegis.gov
Senator Sander Rue - (R) e-mail sanderrue@comcast.net
Senator John C. Ryan - (R) e-mail johnchrisryan@yahoo.com
Senator William E. Sharer - (R) e-mail bill@williamsharer.com

Mob Rule

A couple of hundred years ago, a group of farmers, businessmen, lawyers, and inventors sat down and through what seemed like endless debated and intrigue came up with the U.S. Constitution. That document contains not only a long list of restrictions on government power that guarantee our liberty, but the very structure of the government that was built to protect and defend liberty itself.

Having just extricated themselves from the condition of subservience, our founding fathers were understandably obsessed with making sure that their new government didn't exchange a tyrant for a tyrant or for a group of tyrants. Their obsession led directly to our system of checks and balances where no single branch of government holds all of the power of government and each branch holds some power over the other two.

Your high school civics class might have left you believing that governmental checks and balances ended with the design of the big three branches, when in fact they are found everywhere. What the framers of the Constitution were most concerned with was guaranteeing individual liberty.

Congress itself was formed deliberately to balance expedience with deliberation - the reactive House of Representatives with its short terms and relatively high turnover balanced against the world's most exclusive debate club, the U.S. Senate. The point was to slow down the mob and give potentially misplaced passions time for reason to creep in.

[Sidebar]
The TRILLION DOLLAR spending, uh... "stimulus" package is a perfect example of the important role the Senate plays in protecting the country from mob rule. The House with nary a second thought stampeded an $800 BILLION spending package right down the taxpayer's throat. When it got to the Senate, the implications of spending for ACORN, condoms, and converter boxes to name just a few, caught up with the bill itself. The public's opinion of the so-called "stimulus" abruptly changed and the Senate is taking the time to actually read it.
[End Sidebar]

By now you're probably wondering... what's all of this really about? There's been a movement lurking through legislatures across the land. It's a movement that started way back in 2000 when certain folks from a certain side of the political spectrum felt that the will of the mob had been thwarted by the rule of law. Their main objective is to destroy the only institution that guarantees that states like New Mexico and her residents have a role in Presidential elections - the Electoral College.

Their first sally against the Electoral College was to agitate for the direct destruction of the institution itself. The problem is the Electoral College was created by the Constitution so only a Constitutional Amendment can remove it. However, states themselves determine how electors are chosen making it possible for a group of states to circumvent the Electoral College itself.

The scheme is to get enough states to sign a binding agreement to enable the signatories to control the Electoral College. When the agreement controls 270 or more electoral votes the signatories are bound to choose their electors not on the basis of who won the state vote, but on the basis of who won the popular vote in the signatory states. That means a state where one candidate has won the popular vote could give its electors to the opposing candidate.

Not surprisingly, the New Mexico version of the scheme was introduced by far left darling Representative Mimi Stewart. The folks over at democracyfornewmexico.com report that Stewart's scheme HB383 passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Thursday.

“New Mexico hopes to join a growing number of states including Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, and New Jersey to ensure that every vote is equal,” said Stewart. “We deserve a fair system that guarantees one person, one vote.”

-democracyfornewmexico.com

First of all, if Stewart were concerned about 1 person, 1 vote, she'd be concerned about the shady activities of groups like ACORN registering the Dallas Cowboys in Nevada. Second, take note of the states in Stewart's list. Except for Hawaii, all of them have massive populations compared to our fair state and all of them are safely held by Democrats.

You don't think that the fact that Stewart's a D has anything to do with her little scheme? It couldn't be that effectively destroying the Electoral College would allow highly populated, heavily blue (Democrat) states to choose the President for years? Naw...

The truth is that the Electoral College creates a modicum of balance just like having two U.S. Senators from every state balances the more populous states who dominate the House. In our nation's history there have only been 3 incidents where the winner of the Electoral College count failed to win a plurality of the popular vote (1876, 1888, 2000).

Normally, we'd believe that Stewart's scheme is a solution in search of a problem. But in this case it's something more nefarious - an attempt to irrevocably tip the Presidency to the left cynically hidden under the banner of voter rights.

If implemented, Stewart's scheme would effectively strip the voting rights away from every state with less than 10 or 15 Electoral College delegates. Folks that's a road to tyranny of the masses. A road to mob rule.

On Another Plane

At a time when state employee travel is severely restricted, the State of New Mexico is in the process of purchasing another plane. The good news is that this plane is not another luxury jet, but a turbo-prop.

The State of New Mexico's General Services Department Aviation Services Bureau (the "Agency") requests proposals for the purchase of an aircraft. The aircraft's primary mission will involve the transportation of government officials within, but not limited to, the State of New Mexico. Secondarily, the aircraft will be available for use by State of New Mexico agencies, commissions, institutions and employees in the furtherance of state business as allowed by law. Appropriations totaling two million eight hundred thousand dollars ($2,800,000) for the proposed procurement were made to GSD during the Second Regular Session of the 48th Legislature.

- State of New Mexico General Services Department

The bad news is that we're spending $2.8 MILLION for a plane that will essentially replace the Beechcraft King Air C-90 that was sold in order for the Guv to get his jet. What's worse, we only got $500,000 for the Beechcraft.

The administration has sold the plane to make up the difference between $5 million provided by the Legislature to buy a state airplane and the $5.45 million purchase price negotiated for a new Cessna Citation Bravo.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The state is in the middle of a half-BILLION dollar budget crisis brought on by out of control spending. We bought a train at the expense of roads (ABQ Journal -Subscription). Now we're buying another plane to haul state employees around the state at a time when non-essential travel has been forbidden.

It's clear that the Governor and the Legislature exist on another plane - one where money grows on trees. Down here in the real world, the money they spend comes directly from us - a result of our creative genius and hard work. Perhaps it's time to sell a $5.5 MILLION lightly used jet to pay for a new Turbo Prop? We could lower maintenance costs, pay for the new plane, and maybe - just maybe - have some money left over.

Shuttering the Scam-eras

The Almighty stepped down from his perch on the 11th floor to inform the drivers of Albuquerque that they're safe from the scam-eras... for now (ABQ Journal - Subscription). Apparently the Legislature passed legislation that would take at least part of the recently reduced scam-era fines. So, the mayor - claiming that he can't afford to run the scam without taking in all or most of the loot without a state subsidy - has ordered the scam-eras shuttered.

Remember folks, this was all about public safety not about the profit... uh, "excess revenue" that the scam-eras generated. So, now that the city doesn't benefit from the misdeeds of your motor vehicle it's time for the scam to end.

Wait a second... Wasn't the city contractually obligated to continue scamming motorists through 2009? Now that the legislature has taken Marty's largess there's suddenly a way out of the contract? Something is not adding up here.

Don't get the wrong idea, we're thrilled that the scam-eras won't continue to prosecute malicious motor vehicles, but we suspect that Marty's announcement has more to do with manipulation. The mayor seems to be attempting to put pressure on Big Bill almost daring him not to veto the legislation.

Think about it... Governor Richardson indicates his willingness to sign legislation stripping the City of Albuquerque's largess, so the Almighty Alcalde calls a news conference to announce that there's no way the program can continue without the ill-gotten gain or at the very least a state subsidy.

Those who are foolish enough to give up their due process rights in the name of the illusion of additional safety are going to be emailing and calling the governor telling him their very lives depend on the continuation of Marty's red light scam. Never mind that they very well may be facing one of the fictitious violations with absolutely no way to prove their innocence. They need these scam-eras to feel save.

This has never been about public safety. It has always been about the money that these electronic eyes bring in and your inability to effectively defend yourself against their charges. It would be more honest to simply charge every driver $150 every year because they might run a red light, stop sign, or exceed a speed limit at some time during the year. Think of it as a kind of traffic indulgence.

Make no mistake... Marty is trying to out maneuver the legislature and the governor. Marty can win by forcing the governor to veto the state takeover, or by getting the state to subsidize his scam. He only loses if the governor calls his bluff by signing the bill ending the program and proving once and for all that the scam-eras have always been about the money.

Lightning in a Bottle - Or at Least a Bottleneck

Senator Boitano's Tax Lightening Bill passed the State Senate Thursday by a significant margin. This is the bill that extends the current 3% cap on assessed property value to buyers of properties. The bill now heads to the house and faces the standard two committee gauntlet before it will be heard on the House floor.

If you haven't heard by now many Bernalillo County property owners were struck by the state's tax lightning - some to the tune of as much as 400%. Senator Boitano's bill would cap the increase at 3% and lower assessed values to 2004 levels. The objective is to make sure that two property owners in the same subdivision in houses that may be identical and even right next door to each other are paying similar amounts in property taxes (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

Our Eyes told us about one case where the property taxes went from $1,900 a year to $8,000 a year. That's more than a 400% increase making the monthly property tax bill $667 a month an increase of $408 a month. Unfortunately, large increases aren't uncommon and tend to hurt older property owners on a fixed income the most -their move to a smaller home to save money and effort only results in being struck by "tax lightning."

These tax inequities are particularly pronounced in the older areas of the city where homeowners can be and often are the original owners. The result is that one neighbor is often paying 2, 3, 4 hundred percent more than the other for the same services.

We've long maintained that the best tax policy is one that is wide (spread out over the maximum number of people) and shallow. The result is a revenue stream for the state that doesn't punish achievement and is less susceptible to the natural cycle of the economy; most people call that stability.

Right now just about every county and every municipality in the state is facing budget shortfalls due to the correction in our economy. Unfortunately, almost every governmental entity has been spending the largess of the last eight years like drunken sailors. Even more distressing is that they've been spending our cash on new programs that will require on-going taxpayer support.

(Sidebar)
A perfect example of this short sighted party like it's 1999 spending is the Rail Runner that is projected to cost you and me $20 MILLION a year just to keep the trains running, even if they're not on time!
(End Sidebar)

SB 450 does something that we haven't seen in quite a while; it imposes restrictions on spending by disallowing egregious jumps in assessed values maintaining taxpayer equity and tax predictability.

So who doesn't want this type of sensible tax legislation - just about every governmental entity that relies on property taxes for a large portion of its revenue. Can you say the City of Albuquerque?

The only way to reduce government spending and stop our spiraling tax burden is to restrict the amount of money going into the system. Legislators will be forced to create priorities for spending not just new programs for our tax dollars.

SB 450 is a step in the right direction. If you'd like to help move this legislation through committee contact one or all of the legislators listed below. The first hearing is Tuesday in the House and Government Affairs Committee - then it will move on to the House Taxation and Revenue Committee.

The problem is time. The Session ends Thursday and getting it through committee in a couple of days will be difficult to say the least. You can help it along simply by letting the committee members know that you want the bill heard on the House floor.

Representative Edward C. Sandoval Chair Democrat

Representative Roberto "Bobby" J.Gonzales Vice Chair Democrat

Representative Janice E. Arnold-Jones Member Republican

Representative Ernest H. Chavez Member Democrat

Representative Nathan P. Cote Member Democrat

Representative Anna M. Crook Member Republican

Representative Keith J. Gardner Member Republican

Representative William J. Gray Member Republican

Representative George J. Hanosh Member Democrat

Representative Ben Lujan Member Democrat

Representative Rodolpho "Rudy" S. Martinez Member Democrat

Representative Andy Nuñez Member Democrat

Representative Daniel P. Silva Member Democrat

Representative James R.J. Strickler Member Republican

Representative Thomas C. Taylor Member Republican

Representative Richard D. Vigil Member Democrat

----- Post Script -----
We received a comment that greatly concerns us. It's the first comment below. The poster argues that somehow it's OK for someone to have a 400% increase in taxes simply because the taxpayer may own a more expensive property than others.

Fairness is a value and a virtue that must apply equally to everyone or it ceases to exist. There is no such thing as being "more fair" even though society is replete with examples of government attempting to do so. Affirmative Action, admission quotas, and "progressive" taxation are all examples of society attempting to be "more fair."

The truth is that creating a system that favors one individual over another is by definition unfair, discriminatory, and just plain wrong - whether or not the favored individual is in the minority, majority, poor, or filthy rich.

As a community and as a nation it's long past time we get past this idea that being fair somehow requires us to be "more fair" to one group and "less fair" to another. When we finally understand and implement that concept we will truly have thrown off the shackles of our past.

Appeasement

What we needed was freedom. What we got was appeasement. Monday night the city council voted to reduce fines for dastardly Dodges and frenetic Fords who run one of Albuquerque's 20 scam-era intersections (ABQ Journal - Subscription). Remember it's not drivers who run through red light scam-era intersections - it's their vehicles that are the motorized miscreants.

In general the council brought the fines associated with both the scam-eras and the scam-vans in line with their criminal counterparts.

Councilor Don Harris said city residents are beginning to accept the cameras, adding that making the fines equal to officer-issued citations was a step in the right direction.

"We have to accept that we have this technology and make sure it is fair and (that) due process is protected," Harris said.

- ABQ Tribune

We beg to differ with the councilor from district 9... We certainly do not have to "accept" this technology and the tweaks the council made last night do nothing to address the program's inherent due process problems. Technology has never been the issue except in its implementation that necessitates a delay in notification and a reliance on the state's "evidence" for your defense.

Right now, it is possible to put GPS tracking devices in every vehicle registered in the City of Albuquerque. These devices could continuously monitor our vehicles every move - more specifically every mile per hour over the posted speed limit. That data could automatically generate a citation that would be sent to the vehicle under the STOP Ordinance scheme. Not only would the city be a safer place, but the city could keep tabs on each and every one of us so that we were never in any danger. Little brother Marty would always be there to protect you.

You can bet that a system like that would make money for the city and The Almighty Alcalde at an astronomical rate. It might even be more effective at "changing driver's habits" than the current Redflex system. But even if it increased overall traffic safety by over 50%, would you want it?

Last night's action by the council only makes the STOP program appear more equitable by reducing the penalty. Offending vehicles and their owners will never, we repeat never get their day in court because they will never have the opportunity to appear in one.

(Sidebar)
What a difference a year makes. Marty, after claiming that there's no way to keep the program operating with these fine reductions is now in favor of them. Hmmmm... Seems that His Honor agrees with us (read it here).
(End Sidebar)

Now there are rumblings in Santa Fe that Big Bill and the Legislature have their collective eyes (no relation) on the scam-era green. Since the fines have been reduced, it's likely that it'll be the state that's taking Marty's "excess money" from now on. How long do you really think it'll be before scam-era revenue is just another income stream for the state to waste?

Monopoly

When was the last time that the consumer benefited from an absolute monopoly? The answer is simple - never. That's why we have anti-trust laws to keep any one company from becoming the only provider for a good or service.

Competition has always been the cornerstone of high quality and low cost. If there were only one grocery store (or grocery store company) here in Albuquerque, that store could set the price of its goods at whatever level they chose. Fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, just about anything with a shelf life would sit longer because consumers wouldn't have a choice to purchase better fresher produce somewhere else and the stores lose money when they have to dispose of spoiled goods.

It's called the market and it's really quite intuitive. If you were able to sell some product or service that was in demand and you were the only one able to produce that good or service, you could pretty much charge whatever you wanted. Food is certainly one of those items that every one of us needs and must buy - so is health care.

Yesterday, the House Health and Government Affairs Committee passed unanimously a single payer health care scheme that would in essence create a state run monopoly on health care in New Mexico (ABQ Journal - Subscription). How does the saying go...? If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it's free.

Nothing, we repeat... nothing is free. We all pay for health care. In fact right now, in addition to our own health care we pay for indigent care with our tax dollars. Currently, every emergency room must treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. How much more "universal" can you get?

What so called "universal" health care schemes do is create a government run health care system complete with all of the coercive influences and legislative power of the state. It would be similar to centralized control of the economy. The state is not equipped to make the millions, even hundreds of millions of decisions required to keep an economy moving, much less healthy.

(Sidebar)
The 70 year Soviet experience proved our point. Shortages were the norm and the quality was so poor that when they finally started to open their markets, McDonalds had to build their own meat processing plant in order to obtain high enough quality ground beef. We're talking McDonalds here. Not that we have anything against them but their ground beef isn't exactly filet mignon.
(End Sidebar)

Hospitals are complex operations (pardon the pun) that require thousands of decisions that directly affect quality and cost. More importantly, theses decisions often have life or death consequences.

We are often told that the goal of "universal" health care is to get those who can't afford health care out of the state's emergency rooms. Single payer healthcare plans won't get the poor out of emergency rooms (or their "universal" scheme equivalent); they'll simply put the rest of us in there with them.

Long lines, poor care, shortages of doctors, nurses, and staff, not to mention strikes will be a very real part of our health care future should a single payer scheme be implemented. Governor Richardson's plan would be better than a single payer scheme but would bring the full weight of government to bear on doctors by forcing them to accept all insurance plans regardless of whether or not the payment covers their expenses.

Once you get past the class envy - do you really believe that doctors should or would work anywhere for free... would you? We already have a problem keeping or getting doctors in this state, it simply makes no sense to create a health care system that covers everyone but results in a situation where there are no doctors and nurses to cover them.

In the final analysis, government intrusion into health care is dangerous at best - and would more likely be a complete disaster. What we need for government to do is to create an environment where competition can flourish and the consumer can make informed decisions about the health care plans available. Comparison and choice are the heart of competition - something a single payer health care scheme cannot and will not provide.

Getting in on the Scam-eras

Tuesday Governor Bill Richardson announced that he's got a hankerin' for some scam-era cash (ABQ Tribune). We figured that it would only be a matter of time before Santa Fe got into the act and tapped the new revenue stream that the Almighty Alcalde has created. With oil and gas tax revenue dwindling and state roads crumbling due to the Rail Runner raid on the state's road fund, we guess it was only a matter of time before Big Bill and company succumbed to the scam-era tax temptation.

Gov. Bill Richardson has added Albuquerque's controversial red-light camera program to the agenda of state legislators, with an eye on using some of its revenue for DWI prevention.

-ABQ Tribune

During last year's legislative session we were hopeful that Governor Bill would sign legislation that stripped the city of its prize "excess revenue" cash cow. After all, Marty said last year that he would have to end the scam-eras if the state got hold of his red light booty.

Senate Bill 780, unanimously approved by the Senate last week, would require the city to give the state $74 for every citation issued by the traffic camera program.
"This bill is a program killer," Chávez said. "This is very unfortunate. The state's largest city comes up with an innovative program to improve public safety, and the legislators just see green."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

It's amazing how a year and two failed attempts at higher officer have changed The Almighty One. Now it seems that the city and Mayor Marty are ready to share and in a courageous statement made by Marty's political, uh... police chief, Marty embraced the Guv's idea.

"The mayor would welcome the opportunity, as of course would the Albuquerque Police Department, to work with the governor and the Governor's Office to utilize this excess revenue for traffic awareness and enforcement on a statewide level," Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said Monday.

- ABQ Tribune

Note the repeat of the phrase "excess revenue," known to the rest of us as profit. The scam has raked in over $5 MILLION in pure profit thus far. Marty has already used part of its largess to balance the city budget and Bill is moving to get his share just like Bill's neighboring gubernatorial colleague and Sandia High School graduate, Janet Napolitano.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano says the deployment of new photo radar or other speed enforcement technology on state highways is all about public safety. But her proposed state budget counts on the anticipated speeding fines to help erase a projected revenue shortfall.

- Breitbart.com (Hat tip Eye Reader)

We had that AP story emailed to us over the weekend and couldn't believe our Eyes. Governor Napolitano came right out and nearly screamed "it's all about the money!" At least the Arizona Scammer-In-Chief is being honest about her desire to balance the state budget on the backs of scammed drivers. Our own Governor is trying to pass off the state's monetary pursuit as a philanthropic venture benefiting DWI prevention programs.

It's a new twist on a "sin tax." Eventually, we can sell prepaid scam-era indulgences to people who don't drive so well or just want to be careless for a week or two. Perhaps we can encourage participation by giving bulk discounts - buy a pack of ten and get one free. Just think - we'll all be able to sleep better knowing that we've already paid for something that we haven't done yet since we haven't got a chance to prove that we didn't do it in the first place.

In the final analysis, Governor Richardson is doing nothing to address the program's underlying injustices; he's merely providing yet another justification for continuing it. The scam was bad enough already with a mere 20 fixed locations and a couple of scam-vans participating. Just think if the state gets into the act spreading a couple hundred scam-era locations and ten or twenty scam-vans across the state. Public safety? Rrrrright.

Tax Crunch

While everyone was out doing their last minute shopping and enjoying their family, friends and a well deserved eggnog, the governor's Task Force on Mortgage Lending weighed in its report on how to fix the subprime lending "crisis." The Christmas Eve story in the Journal is a perfect example of how government tries to slip a story past the public at a time when they are distracted by more pressing concerns. The last time we saw this type of chicanery was when the Almighty Alcalde tried to slip his trolley past the voters while we were focused on the 2006 mid-term elections.

According to the Journal, the Task Force's mission "was to evaluate the potential local impact of the subprime lending crisis and to come up with ways to protect consumers against abusive lending practices. (ABQ Journal - Subscription)." First of all, beware any time the government starts trying to "protect" the public, especially when it has to do with your money. Generally the result is your money being sent somewhere you don't want your money to go.

Strictly speaking the subprime mortgage "crisis" is not a crisis at all. It's the logical result of over-eager lenders making money available to people who shouldn't be getting it in the first place. The result is a tightening of the money available by the very people who were practically begging you to take out a loan just a year ago. The reality is that not everyone should own a home; there are those whose financial position is better suited to renting at least for now.

Back to the governor's Task Force... Since the subprime "crisis" was created by over-zealous lenders and brokers, you'd think that the recommendation of the task force would be some sort of restrictions on lending (not that we'd like that much either). Nooooo... The task force's recommendation is to make all private home sale prices public. Why? Because the task force blames the "crisis" on "unscrupulous appraiser[s]."

"One of the problems in the mortgage meltdown were loans based on inflated values," said task force co-chair Michael Loftin, who is executive director of Homewise, a nonprofit home ownership organization in Santa Fe. "So if you make more transparent what the values (home sales prices) are, it makes it harder to cook an appraisal."

- ABQ Journal

First of all, the market has a perfectly functional mechanism for taking care of unscrupulous appraisers who either over-value or under-value property - lenders stop using them. Lending institutions rely on accurate appraisals to determine risk. When appraisals are inflated, lenders run the risk of having to foreclose on a property that cannot be sold at a price that allows them to recover their investment.

Second, the Journal story implies that appraisers have no access to sales price data and are somehow working in a vacuum seemingly coming up with prices based on some kind of gut feeling or something. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It's safe to say that most houses in Albuquerque are sold by Realtors using their private Multiple Listing Service. Every house sold through the MLS is recorded along with its sales price. Appraisers use this data (and have for years) to determine comparable prices or comps for a specific property. Since most homes are sold through the MLS the comps are usually very accurate.

So what is all of this really about? Since 2004 New Mexico has required that all sales prices be reported to the county assessors. That data was not to be used for assessing value. Of course if they have the data they will find a way to use it. Before 2004, property owners could choose to provide the sales price but weren't required to do so.

(Sidebar)
The Bernalillo County Assessor's office used to send out a very official letter to new homeowners that asked them to report the sales price. The letter was constructed in such a way as to make you believe that casual observers would believe that they had to report their sales price. In other words, before 2004 the county assessors would trick you into reporting your own sales price.

(End Sidebar)

Of course this whole thing isn't about protecting anyone from predatory lending; it's about separating you from your money. Requiring every sale price to be reported will allow the assessors to easily increase your property value and therefore increase your property taxes.

Before you start thinking "it's only fair that the assessed value track the market," remember that there's a very real possibility that people who have lived in a home for an extended period of time will be taxed right out of their home. In addition, our assessment system was taken into account when our property taxes were set so changing the assessment method will simply result in increased revenue not originally planned for. In other words, a tax increase where the hardest hit will be those on fixed incomes. (How's that for progressive taxation?!) Plus, you know that the sales data will be used to support an increase in assessed value and won't reflect market corrections when they occur.

With the state facing a substantial reduction in new revenue, we'd bet that Governor Richardson sees fit to put this on his upcoming legislative agenda. Make no mistake, this is about money not consumer protection and should New Mexico become a disclosure state we'll be filling state coffers on the backs of people who can least afford it.