Rep. Small and David Abbey

The first part of the David Abbey story is easy. He served the state with integrity; protected the legacy of the Legislative Finance Committee as its executive director since 1997; was a cool head in a room of hot tempers; gave the part-time NM legislators a patina of respect when it came to financial matters and did what he thought was best for New Mexico not what was expedient.

Or put another way by Rep. Nathan Small, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, on Abbey's resignation announced Monday and effective at the end of May: 

Now the more difficult part. 

From '97 to 2009 the state's finances were marked by the usual ups and down brought about by the usual suspect--volatile oil prices--but the underlying strength and forward momentum of the economy was not in question. New business was coming in, the population was growing and the periodic financial panics were short-lived and always followed by better recoveries. 

Abbey, 70, and his cadre of economists ably tracked this action while Gov. Johnson vetoed his way through his second term in the late 90's, followed by Gov. Richardson who reopened the spending floodgates when he took over in 2003. 

Later under Richardson came the national financial crash followed by the election in 2010 of fiscally conservative GOP Governor Susana Martinez and the rise of a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans who took over the state Senate and reinforced the new era of austerity.

That's where the Abbey and LFC legacy gets mixed. The fiscal policy of the 2010 decade soon became obviously wrong. Cutting taxes and shaving budgets for vital social programs in a quasi-welfare state as it experienced deep recession was a calamity. 

The state reeled. Folks fled. Population growth (or no growth) hit historic lows, business formation stalled and the social conditions crisis worsened as more poverty and crime resulted.

Abbey and the LFC are there to serve--not necessarily direct. The majority opinion of the legislature rules. In this case that meant following without serious objection the wrongheaded economic policy for a decade. Does the LFC share in that institutional failing or were they simply doing their job? 

Should the LFC and its economists been more frank about the damage being done as it became more evident--and even as then powerful Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith privately expressed misgivings about budget and economic policy? 

Conservative by nature since its founding in 1957 as a counterbalance to gubernatorial budget power, we suppose the LFC did what came naturally--as did the elected austerity hawks. 

There's a lesson here. There needs to be more tension between the legislature, the executive and yes, occasionally the LFC, in crafting economic policy--especially in tough economic times. 

The disaster that befell the state was not entirely avoidable but the fact that we have yet to regain the momentum of the early part of the century speaks to the permanent damage done. 

Let the next LFC director follow the admirable leadership ways of Abbey but broaden the vision that guides their decisions. That calls for an outside set of eyes to replace the distinguished Abbey rather than an insider.

Joaquin Baca

Maybe we were thinking of former state Sen. Richard Romero or Ambassador Ed Romero or any of a long list of politically active Romeros. Whatever the case, in a first draft Monday we erroneously dubbed soon-to-be District 2 ABQ city council candidate Joaquin Baca as Joaquin Romero. 

We like the sound of that, but the voters will need to get acquainted with Mr. Baca not the fictional Mr. Romero. 

We were hoping 2023 would finally be the year when he we did not have to endure ten lashes with a wet noodle--the traditional punishment here for errors of import. Alas, our backside is now scarlet red from the administration of the cruel but necessary penalty. So for today only, it's a pox on the House of Romero and our apologizes to Mr. Baca. 

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