Chairman’s Message: Just Right

It’s an argument as old as government. In its current form, fiscal conservatives argue that all government is bloated with unnecessary functions and push for cuts, while social liberals decry the lack of opportunities available to the underclass and plead for more services.

It’s politic’s most basic argument because both arguments are legitimate. The most difficult feat facing any elective body is not how to do more or how to spend less but how to provide just the right level of service most effectively and efficiently.

That’s the bottom line for the members of the Government Restructuring Task Force. Although triggered and necessitated by the continuing economic crisis, the goal of the group is not to just cut but to get New Mexico government back to the right size and improve services and the way they are provided. State government grew dramatically during economic good times and, perhaps, grew beyond its core responsibilities.

It’s time to take a hard look at what exactly state government does and how it does it. And we can’t avert our eyes from any area. Health care for the poor, public schools, higher education – three-quarters of the budget – must be on the table alongside the Organic Commodities Commission and the State Parks. It is not possible to bring spending in line with our depleted resources without touching the biggest pieces of the budget.

Making it through these difficult times won’t be easy but the end result could be a government that is just right.

Luciano “Lucky” Varela

Chairman