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Thursday, September 04, 2025On The Biz Beat With Quantum Computing: Will State's New Economic Dream Be Just Another Disappointing Sideshow? History Says It May It is an interesting sideshow but stands in stark contrast to the mayoral campaigns in ABQ and Santa Fe focusing as they are on the long struggle here to address homelessness, crime and rampant drug dealing and addiction. MLG says she wants the state to be the “home of quantum computing" but such grand goal setting has been notably absent during her seven years at the helm when it comes to the aforementioned social issues. She has tried to chip away at them without ever acting on them in the singular way she is cheerleading esoteric quantum technology. It is the decayed social environment that has kept the state an economic backwater, with little population growth, a stagnant economy, caused professionals (e.g. doctors) to reject the state and created a general malaise regrading the future. The sideshow strategy by the state's political class has a long and sorry history but apparently a successful one. The electorate has repeatedly given second terms to its top leaders. Here's a glimpse of that history. Eclipse Aviation. Touted as the centerpiece for making ABQ a hub for all sorts of aviation firms, Eclipse crashed and burned after hefty government subsidies. Intel--A shining star when it set up shop here in the 80's, the spinoff firms that were predicted to result in a mini Silicon Valley never happened. Today Intel here is a shell of its former self and with no lasting legacy. Innovate ABQ--This was the brainchild of ABQ Mayor Richard Berry to create economic and job creation at a seven acre campus near downtown. Millions of dollars later, it fizzled. ART--Another Mayor Berry scheme that tore up Central Avenue to create a fast bus lane and spur the economy but instead caused economic chaos on the Route 66 corridor that persists to this day.  Today Maxeon Corporation, a Singapore-based solar manufacturing firm, is dubbed the new hope and is receiving generous government subsides but has now announced severe financial challenges and has delayed plans to build here. Space--Not entirely a disappointment but the Spaceport was to be a launching pad for Virgin Galactic to send tourists into space, fostering an economic boom in the desert near T or C. After more than 15 years, it still hasn't happened. Related to that is Orion Center, a satellite builder described as an economic "game-changer" by Mayor Keller where more than a thousand would be employed. Now long gone. Legal Marijuana--MLG pushed for nothing harder during her two terms than legal marijuana. When she finally got it, she declared; "The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic driver in our state with the promise of creating thousands of good paying jobs for years to come." Instead the industry is a mess and those "thousands of good paying jobs" remain a mirage. Imagine if the financial and intellectual resources spent on these failed efforts had gone to address what really troubles the state today. There is a difference with the quantum project. It is not a public-private partnership but one with the federal government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Maybe that gives it a better chance of success? Maybe. At the ceremony announcing the partnership, state Economic Development Secretary Rob Black said: One of "those days," or as Frank sang, "just one of those things"? ABOUT QUANTUM The definition: Quantum computing is an emergent field of computer science and engineering that harnesses the unique qualities of quantum mechanics to solve problems beyond the ability of even the most powerful classical computers. The field of quantum computing includes a range of disciplines, including quantum hardware and quantum algorithms. While still in development, quantum technology will soon be able to solve complex problems that classical supercomputers can’t solve (or can’t solve fast enough). This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
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