Monday, May 16, 2005
Cannon Air Force Base: Back to the Future
There is a scene in the movie "Back to the Future” when Marty McFly travels back in time to when his uncle was a baby and enjoyed being in his playpen. Marty knew this uncle would later in life spend a great deal of this life in jail. The line goes something like this: Marty: So you're my Uncle Joey. Better get used to these bars, kid.
In my opinion, the closing of Cannon Air Force base is New Mexico’s wake up call for future levels of federal government money and jobs. They will go down for a long time to come. Federal Government: So you’re New Mexico. Better get used to these funding cuts, kids.
As drastic as the cuts at Cannon will be if the Pentagon’s closure list is accepted by the BRAC, Congress and the President, it is nothing like the dramatic future reductions in funding levels that New Mexico will face over the next 20 years. Here’s why.
1. Senator Domenici will eventually either die or leave office. By virtue of his sonority and tireless hard work, Pete has kept the federal dollars flowing to New Mexico. Unfortunately, Pete can’t go on forever. Senator Bingaman while lacking Domenici’s work ethic and influence is also long in the tooth. It is a question of when, not if New Mexico will loose its high ranking duo of senators.
2. While Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce have the makings of great politicians for New Mexico over the long-term, the fact that New Mexico only has three representatives will reduce their ability to sway policy from the House of Representatives. In addition, both may eventually be candidates for a Senate seat.
3. Tom Udall will continue to be reelected as far as the eye can see. In my opinion, his only redeeming quality is his ability to get reelected. The flies on the wall in Washington tell me he is not respected in the Democrat caucus in the House for either his intellect or work ethic. If the House stays strongly Republican his influence and effectiveness promise to be nearly zero.
4. The federal budget deficits need to be reduced. This means less money for every state, even New Mexico.
So what can we do? There is this economic force that many other states have used over the years to grow their overall economies. It’s called the private sector. New Mexico better get on the path to becoming the most business friendly state in the nation in order to attract private business growth. If not we may find ourselves in an economic dust bowel for years to come. Let’s not let our state go Back in the Future!
In my opinion, the closing of Cannon Air Force base is New Mexico’s wake up call for future levels of federal government money and jobs. They will go down for a long time to come. Federal Government: So you’re New Mexico. Better get used to these funding cuts, kids.
As drastic as the cuts at Cannon will be if the Pentagon’s closure list is accepted by the BRAC, Congress and the President, it is nothing like the dramatic future reductions in funding levels that New Mexico will face over the next 20 years. Here’s why.
1. Senator Domenici will eventually either die or leave office. By virtue of his sonority and tireless hard work, Pete has kept the federal dollars flowing to New Mexico. Unfortunately, Pete can’t go on forever. Senator Bingaman while lacking Domenici’s work ethic and influence is also long in the tooth. It is a question of when, not if New Mexico will loose its high ranking duo of senators.
2. While Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce have the makings of great politicians for New Mexico over the long-term, the fact that New Mexico only has three representatives will reduce their ability to sway policy from the House of Representatives. In addition, both may eventually be candidates for a Senate seat.
3. Tom Udall will continue to be reelected as far as the eye can see. In my opinion, his only redeeming quality is his ability to get reelected. The flies on the wall in Washington tell me he is not respected in the Democrat caucus in the House for either his intellect or work ethic. If the House stays strongly Republican his influence and effectiveness promise to be nearly zero.
4. The federal budget deficits need to be reduced. This means less money for every state, even New Mexico.
So what can we do? There is this economic force that many other states have used over the years to grow their overall economies. It’s called the private sector. New Mexico better get on the path to becoming the most business friendly state in the nation in order to attract private business growth. If not we may find ourselves in an economic dust bowel for years to come. Let’s not let our state go Back in the Future!
# posted by Tommy Paine : 10:18 AM
