NM hypocritical to seek a ‘get out of jail free’ energy card
Gov. (Michelle Lujan) Grisham has complained about how President Biden’s policy on oil and gas will hurt the industry in the state. She is right on this, but I wonder how much of her concern is over the crushing blow to the industry and the thousands of displaced workers who will be affected. These are good-paying jobs, and a stimulus check and an extra $300 in unemployment will not be much help. I was recently in Carlsbad, and I can assure you based on talking with locals that she will not be getting many votes from that area.
I think her concern may be more focused on the $3 billion in revenue contributed to the state’s budget that comes from oil and gas, 39%, that will falter under the Biden plan. New Mexico is a poor state, and there are no other sources that could replace even a fraction of that revenue. So our governor has finally figured out the so-called “green” policy has a dark side.
The governor seems to be interested in taxing legalized marijuana, but frankly the Legislature’s time would be better spent on real problems. Moreover, in the past I have been a lobbyist for DUI laws. Making marijuana legal will not help the impaired driver problem. And maybe if enough people are stoned they won’t notice the many other problems not being fixed.
She is asking Biden for a pass on these restrictions because New Mexico has made more progress on wind and solar than other states. I cannot be sure whether that is true, but we do have wind farms and solar collectors that I see as I drive through the state, but I have seen similar installations in California and Texas on a much larger scale. New Mexico is indeed blessed with conditions that favor these sources. The state has an average of 280 sunny days per year. New Mexico can be windy, especially in spring . ...
So what makes New Mexico so special it should get a pass from Biden, other than having a Democratic governor and almost allDemocratic congressional delegation? New Mexico ranked third in oil production in 2019, with about 300 million barrels. Texas is by far the largest producer with 1.8 billion barrels. North Dakota is second with over 500 million barrels. Democrats constantly call for equity and equality, but when their ox gets gored they seek privilege . ...
I have no argument with exploring alternative energy sources and in bringing them to market in an efficient and cost-competitive way, but to precipitously attack an industry in hopes of making these alternative sources attractive is bad policy ... for all Americans.
The governor was a staunch supporter of Biden during the campaign and remains so, devoted to a number of positions anathema to someone with conservative views; to seek a “get out of jail free card” at this time is the height of hypocrisy. What did she think was going to happen when Biden and the liberal left was elected? There is an axiom, “be careful what you wish for, you may get it.” Governor, I think that applies here.