Land of Enchantment to Finally Develop Economy?

by Angry Midwesterner

 

Someone needs to call Guinness! For once in its pitiful existence, New Mexico may be on the verge of developing an economy! For a state which currently has a pitiful GDP of $61 billion, ranking it soundly under the poverty stricken states of Arkansas and Mississippi (the poorest states overall in the nation), and placing it globally among such wonderful contemporaries as Nigeria and Bangladesh, fortunes may soon rise for New Mexico, if only the voters can find two brain cells to rub together. Are the days of New Mexico begging for handouts soon to come to a close? Will New Mexicans finally become responsible contributors to the national economy? I have my doubts, but it would be nice for them to stop free loading. Currently, for every dollar a New Mexican pays in taxes, they steal $2.00 from the national pot, making them the largest drain on our tax dollars of any US state, and second only to DC if you include federal territories.

If New Mexican voters approve the current plans for a spaceport they might finally be able to develop a serious industrial and commercial sector around it. With recent innovations and corporate support already putting out cash and interest, the time is ripe for economic development, something New Mexico could use dearly. Given the surplus of arid and open land, useless for other economic activities, New Mexico is well poised to exploit the newly developing sector of space tourism, and the industrial enterprises which are sure to crop up as space is finally opened to the private sector.If they want to cash in on this opportunity the voters will have to act quickly and decisively, as they aren’t the only ones with their eyes on the prize. Wisconsin also has plans to develop a spaceport; plans have already been approved to go forward with the new Spaceport to be situated in Sheboygan. Florida, California, Texas, and Virginia also have similar plans to pursue the economic benefit sure to be provided by such a development.

In truth, the only thing which will win this project for New Mexico will be decisive action placing them on the market first (and gaining the momentum imparted by being the first), and full support from the community, as there is little else that New Mexico can offer to make itself attractive. Unlike California, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, and Virginia, New Mexico lacks a highly ranked University with good marks in engineering and research. The copious amounts of empty land it can offer are also assets held by California and Texas, and unlike California, Texas and Florida, it has no experience in dealing with access to space.Still if voters in New Mexico are smart enough to realize the opportunity presented by this deal, the state could be on its way to a healthy economy, and decades of prosperity as they reap the benefits of innovation. In the long run this will likely improve the quality of life enjoyed by everyone in their state, and reduce the burden they place on the shoulders of their fellow Americans, as we constantly work hard to help dig them out of their collective poverty. Please, New Mexico, for our sake and yours, vote yes on the Spaceport.

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Who the Heck Thought Handing 198 million Taxpayer Dollars to a Crazed Rich Guy is Sound Policy?

by Angry New Mexican

 

As the state of the union with the highest number of PhDs per capita and a 50+ year history of R&D on the most destructive weapon mankind has ever devised, we’re no strangers to bleeding-edge technology here in the Land of Enchantment. Besides, if my quick look at the Top 500 List tells me anything, we’ve probably got more computing power per capita than any other state. This isn’t a surprise; along with California, we’ve been driving serious computing for over half a century. So I suppose it’s natural, that seeing New Mexico’s brainpower, Richard Branson, would choose us as the location for his $198 million phallus spaceport.

Fortunately for Mr. Branson, New Mexico is run by a man who wants to be President and he’s failing at it miserably. So despite being bat-shit insane, Mr. Branson clearly knows a mark when he sees one, and Bill Richardson appears to have “stupid” written all over his forehead. With his proposed UNM embryonic stem cell institute in shambles (ANM: radio reports indicate the legislature nixed it, but the Internet has reported nothing yet), Mr. Richardson is desperate to piss away state money to revive his campaign. Actually, I misspoke, he’s desperate to get the population of Dona Ana county to put up the equivalent 2.7% of their yearly median household income to fund Mr. Branson’s latest crazed venture (about $49 million overall; statistics here). Despite having much better things to spend money on, Mr. Richardson is willing to put the state in hock for another $149 million just so Mr. Branson can have a place to shoot his toy rockets into space.

Now I’ve always been of the opinion that funding a space program on the good graces of people whose sole redeeming virtue is that they have enough money to make Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller look poor, is the least sensible thing I’ve heard since thinking it was just fine to let a young Austrian wallpaperer remilitarize the Rhineland. Good grief! If Mr. Branson wants a spaceport, he can pay for it himself! I mean, the total cost is about 3.4% of his $5.72 billion net worth. But no, like any good bourgeoisie snob, Mr. Branson must insist on milking the public teat for every last drop. Why he chose middle-of-nowhere New Mexico for his self-monument is beyond me. I mean, the place is a three hour drive from the nearest airport (and that’s in the booming metropolis of El Paso, Texas). I suppose the advantage of having your spaceport in the middle of nowhere is when your spaceship explodes into a fireball, it’ll at least minimize the casualties (and lawsuits) by us ordinary Joes when fiery ash rains down from the skies. Well, if Mr. Richardson insists on taxing us for this latest insanity, I can at least get a good view of the fireworks.