Before this latest world crisis is over New Mexicans may have to be treated for a guilt complex. 

The rising cost of oil--trading at around $100 a barrel--is going to contribute untold millions in royalties to already bulging state coffers, if the price stays anywhere near that level. Add in a humongous $1.7 billion budget increase being proposed for nuclear bomb making at Los Alamos Labs. Taken together our little state, perennially last in many social standings, may soon be the most financially healthy one.

But any guilt of benefiting from the war dissipates when New Mexicans fill up at the pump and then head to the increasingly pricey grocery stores. This inflation-induced decline in the standard of living is now making Dem Guv candidate Sam Bregman's call for $500 tax rebates for every state resident more welcome instead of seeming like a gimmick. Real relief is needed. 

And the state Republican party, moribund of late about the economy, finally wakes up and joins GOP  gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez in calling for the elimination of the state personal income tax. Senate GOP leader Bill Sharer and his colleagues are elbowing in on what is likely to be a top issue this fall:

In addition to a tax rebate, the senators also proposed the outright elimination of the Personal Income Tax (PIT), a move which would help make New Mexico competitive with other states who do not impose a state income tax. A suggested alternative would be to offer targeted tax relief by expanding current exemptions for social security income, military salaries, and military pensions, as well as by exempting tips from taxable income.

Outright elimination of the PIT is probably a bridge too far since it would cost over $2 billion annually but doing away with it for a sizeable portion of taxpayers is more than doable. 

That's because the state's overall reserves in permanent funds and the like are growing beyond the imagination of a Pharaoh--soon to top $100 billion. That and the economic hurt felt in average income households could and should reset the debate over the state's tax structure. Democrats have been reluctant to go there but if $5 a gallon gas is around the corner, they may be dragged there.

THE TRUMP FACTOR

While the state GOP has awakened on taxes, they are being shoved back into hibernation by the outlandish social media activity of President Trump. It's motivating the Democratic base for the November election, further dashing any slim chances the GOP has of taking the governorship or other statewide office. 

Dem US Rep. Melanie Stansbury, the most progressive member of the state's congressional delegation, is throwing red meat to the gathering crowd: 

This man is threatening mass killings and war crimes on social media posts. When will enough be enough? This is why the 25th Amendment and impeachment were created. These aren’t policy differences. He is threatening crimes. The Cabinet needs to invoke the 25th Amendment. But Congress can’t just sit on its hands and wait for that to happen when the President is threatening to commit war crimes. This is all hands on deck—Democrats, Republicans, Independents—Americans must look at using any and every tool to stop the President and his unauthorized war including the 25th Amendment, Impeachment, and War Powers Resolutions. The world is watching, and history will remember.  

What may have sounded extreme a mere month ago is now much more mainstream, and that's a problem for the likes of Duke Rodriguez, Gregg Hull and Doug Turner.

ELECTION CHAOS? 

Reader David Strip writes:

By what perverse logic can the NM Supreme Court rule that Duke can run for an office that the state constitution disqualifies him for? This is a formula for chaos. What happens if he wins and the court says he can't take office? Now play this out in the 2028 presidential election. Trump runs for a constitutionally prohibited third term and wins, and the court says he can't be seated. If you thought Jan 6 was bad, wait for the chaos this will sow.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.