The unemployment situation in New Mexico continues to grow bleaker in New Mexico with the latest job cut announcement:
About 700 employees are expected to be out of work starting in two weeks. That means more people out of work in a town that’s already suffering from a high unemployment rate. The city’s unemployment rate is sitting at 8.9 percent as of January of this year.
Yet, in the spirit of the Sheriff of Nottingham, the Democrats in the legislature pushed a food tax increase on the unemployed and our Democratic Governor is poised to sign it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, now they are going to make it even harder for struggling families to keep the lights on, and for those poor souls with electric stoves, cooking their newly taxed meals will also come at a premium:
In general, the state would set greenhouse gas emission caps based on its reduction goals. Companies would be allowed to exceed state-set emissions caps by buying “allowances” from others that reduce their emissions more than required.
Critics argue that a cap-and-trade program will drive up the cost of electricity and other fossil fuel energy sources, and say they make no sense at the state level.
The Environment Department announcement this week was accompanied by a lengthy and highly technical “white paper” on the program and solicitation for public comment regarding the basis for the cap, distribution allowances and rate of cap reduction.
It did not address potential costs or economic impact.
Well, let me help fill the void and address the potential cost and economic impact. It will cost those already struggling to get by even more money. See, when you raise the cost of energy source providers, they pass those costs onto consumers of energy. What makes this particular “hidden tax” increase so abhorrent is that it is an end run around the legislature.
We already know that the Democrats holding the legislature hostage have no problem raising taxes on struggling working families and the unemployed, but even they had the sense to avoid passing the nonsensical statewide cap and trade tax that has been introduced in the last few sessions. Yet, the Governor and his minions are once again showing a lack of respect for our legislative process and adopting a dictatorial decree (AKA regulatory law making) approach to increasing taxes.
The thing is… the people have had just about enough of this.