On this week's interview Paul talks to Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation. The Tax Foundation is a prominent center/right taxpayer research organization based in Washington, DC. They often testify in New Mexico's Legislature on issues relating to taxation. They also have a new State Tax Competitiveness Index. New Mexico ranks 31st which isn't at t…

Election Day is here. Paul and Wally discuss what's at stake in the election. They also discuss Donald Trump's Albuquerque rally. A recent ABQ Journal editorial calls for fundamental change on crime. Paul concurs but wishes they'd also discussed the economy and education. Defenders of the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission believe THEY have…

On this week's interview Paul interviews former New Mexico Senator, demographer, and election official, Rod Adair. They discuss the role of demography in redistricting, the redistricting process itself, and whether New Mexico's Congressional and legislative districts are "fair." Then Paul and Rod moved on to discussing the 2024 election including t…

Trump is coming to New Mexico. What are the details and what does it mean for the election and New Mexico? Paul voted this week. No lines but it was busy. We're in the 2nd week of early voting. You can vote through Saturday. The ABQ Journal comes out hard for change in NewMexico. This is welcome, but Paul wishes they'd say the same thing about the …

On this week's interview Paul talks to Attorney Germaine Chappelle about the Energy Transition Act and some of its real-world impacts in the Four Corners area (current and prospective). Specifically, Chappelle is working on behalf of the Central Consolidated School District (a heavily Navajo district) to make good on the law's requirements that cer…

Flooding impacts Roswell New Mexico. Early voting is in full swing. Find out where you can vote. Sen. Heinrich expresses opposition to charter schools. Details on AZ's successful ESA program. The Rail Runner is bad for the environment according to the LFC. Albuquerque Journal weighs in on retention ballots for judges. UNM volleyball plays. O'Neill'…

ACE's mission is to advance K-12 educational freedom, with a focus on securing financial support for families so they may access the quality education of their choice. Erik and Paul have a wide ranging conversation on helping families access high quality education including the exciting economic achievement data from ACE's scholarship recipients.…

RGF op-ed. The "rich" already pay more than their "fair share" of taxes. Deconstructing the leftist "freedom" agenda. City of ABQ Ballot measures, what's the point? New Mexico EV shares rise slightly to 4.78%. Evolution of economic freedom in New Mexico. Sen. Martin Heinrich accepted campaign donations from both Avangrid and PNM. How this is both r…

On this week's interview Paul talks to Trent England of SaveourStates.org. Trent and his organization work to preserve the American Electoral College as a means of electing presidents. He is full of information and historical details highlighting why Americans regardless of political party should support retaining the Electoral College. Paul and Tr…

On this week's conversation Paul and Wally discuss the excitement of Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta and the passing of Scott Appleman and John Arthur Smith. Paul recap the Electoral College events with Trent England and highligths the next RGF event. A new study highlights America's Great Transfermation. New Mexico's crisis of progressive governance.…

On this week's interview Paul sits down with Peter Rice. Peter is the owner and lead reporter of Downtown Albuquerque News, an online news outlet that covers downtown Albuquerque. Paul and Peter discuss the importance of downtowns in general, what constitutes downtown, some of the issues facing Albuquerque's downtown and urban cores across the coun…

NM sitting on $6 billion in unspent capital outlay (with the worst roads in the nation). Maxeon Solar (MLG's favorite for which she plans to give big subsidies) has announced a "reverse stock split." The company is hoping to boost its flagging stock price. RGF successfully pushed back against MLG's "over the top school lunch rules." In more good ne…

Last week Paul was in Dallas for a conference talking about New Mexico's lack of economic freedom with other leaders on the issue. What are people saying about New Mexico's lack of economic freedom? Paul led Liberty on the Rocks in Santa Fe on Monday and then was in Farmington, NM for a Rotary presentation on New Mexico's economy. Paul's new opinio…

Paul and Mackenzie discuss the position that the UNM Lobo athletics find themselves as five teams leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12 conference. They also discuss the issues facing all UNM sports but particularly the UNM football program. The conversation then turns to the status of the New Mexico housing market and the factors and issues affec…

We the Living will be shown in Albuquerque on September 24, 2024 at 6:30 pm at Guild Cinema. In this podcast, learn about the fascinating story about his movie which has been found and recovered and the part the movie played in Italy in World War II. Also listen for how to get 50% off tickets.

Trump was targeted in a second assassination attempt over the weekend. Paul and Wally discuss the details as they understand them. Brian Sanderoff polling data released shows Harris/Heinrich leading in New Mexico. MLG names close ally Marianna Padilla PED secretary., Paul and Doug Peterson discuss Mayor Keller's plans for downtown in ABQ Journal. T…

On this week's interview Paul talks to David Osborne of the Pennsylvania-based Commonwealth Foundation. Osborne is Senior Fellow of Labor Policy and helped author the recent report "The Battle for Worker Freedom: Grading the 50-states public sector labor laws." Unsurprisingly New Mexico does not fare very well in the report with a "D-" ranking over…

On this week's conversation Paul and Wally discuss a bizarre article in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal by MLG's Secretary of Higher Education about NMSU president search. Rob Black to become MLG's economic development secretary. Is this a good sign on the Gov.'s economic policies? MLG and Democrats celebrate ground breaking of taxpayer funded abortio…

Rather than an interview this week Paul and Wally take a detailed look at the stances of presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Using 10 metrics relating to economics, education, and the rule of law, Paul and Wally give letter grades to Harris and Trump. How do the candidates stack up on issues of concern to the Rio Grande Foundati…

MLG's latest education secretary departs. Paul and Wally discuss the depressing reality of education policy under MLG. I attended the APS state of the district address. Here's what I saw. Kamala Harris no longer claims to support EV mandates. Is she just lying about her policies at this point? RGF tracked down the cost of Dona Ana County's new EV c…

On this week's interview Paul interviews Dr. Patrick A. McLaughlin of the free market Mercatus Center. They discuss his new "Snapshots of State Regulation 2024" report which attempts to analyze the regulatory burdens in each state. New Mexico ranks 19th overall. We discuss the methodology of the report and why certain states have allowed regulation…

I was in Phoenix last week and got to meet with former Gov. Doug Ducey and others. Michelle Lujan Grisham's speaking on behalf of Kamala Harris Democrat convention should disqualify Harris. Meanwhile, NM's oil and gas gravy train keeps rolling along. New Mexico shouldn't be sitting on billions of dollars (contrary to an opinion piece by two legisla…

Paul talks with Isaac Orr about the RGF study that finds New Mexico’s “clean fuel standard” will dramatically raise fuel prices. Isaac Orr is a founder and Vice President of Research at Always On Energy Research, where he conducts energy modeling and writes about energy and environmental issues, electricity policy, and natural resource development.…

Paul is in Arizona. What’s going on? Mayor Keller has big plans to turn downtown Albuquerque around. There are worse ideas than the Baby bond idea being discussed for next year’s legislative session. Paul was in National Review recently with a piece outlining the potential harm Kamala Harris would do to NM’s economy. EBON says they’ll begin constru…

On this week's interview Paul talks to Rebecca Dow about "back to school" issues and education reform. Rebecca heads up the Opportunity for All Kids (OAK) education reform project for Rio Grande Foundation. They discuss everything from New Mexico's worsening education outcomes (and possible solutions), a lack of functioning air conditioning in scho…

MLG woos another money losing solar company with our tax dollars. MLG COULD do something worthwhile to attract doctors to NM. Instead she’s taking out full page ads in Texas outlining NM’s radical abortion laws. While Biden/Harris have stalled LNG exports France more than doubles imports from Russia. RGF has published a new report on New Mexico's C…

On this week's Tipping Point conversation Paul and Wally discuss the announcement that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be Kamala Harris' VP candidate. They discuss his record and pertinent statements. In the morning paper there was an announcement by the owners of New Mexico Gas that they would be selling the company (pending PRC approval). New Mexico…

On this week's interview Paul interviews former New Mexico House member Janice Arnold-Jones. They discuss New Mexico's elections and their security. How is New Mexico and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver doing when it comes to accurate results this fall? Paul and Janice also discuss the SAVE Act passed by the US House which would (if adopt…

On the latest Tipping Point conversation Paul and Wally look at New Mexico's "economic strategic plan" and encourage listeners to take a moment to comment on it. Biden lays out plans to impose 18 year term limits on the US Supreme Court. We have thoughts. A new study claims climate change has stopped Sun Belt migration. Is that the case? What drive…

On this week's interview Paul talks to Steve Jones, the GOP candidate to run against uber-left-wing Democrat Melanie Stansbury in Congressional District 1. Jones had been living in Ruidoso before the latest fires so Paul and Steve discuss that, but they quickly get into the myriad issues facing CD 1 and his solutions to them. They also discuss Stan…

Biden drops out, we have questions (lots of them). NM's special session was a dud. On the bright side the ABQ Journal's John Trever had a great cartoon about it. The Salt Fire and several smaller fires around Ruidoso earlier this summer were arson. According to a Learner.com report that includes higher education, NM spends more than all but 3 other…

On this week's conversation Paul talks to Carol Wight of the New Mexico Restaurant Association. Paul and Carol discuss President Trump's plan to exempt tips from income taxes. They also discuss the culture of tipping at restaurants and other businesses. They discuss the economics of the industry these days and how inflation is impacting restaurants…

Paul went out of town for one of the momentous two week periods in American history. The debate was a disaster for Biden. An assasination attempt against Trump. JD Vance was named his VP pick, Biden appears to be staying in the presidential race. Also, the Secret Service received a massive black eye due to their incompetence (which will be analyzed…

On this week's episode Paul sits down with newly minted House minority leader Rod Montoya to discuss the upcoming special session of the New Mexico Legislature. The session has been called by Gov. Lujan Grisham to discuss crime issues. Montoya and Gessing discuss the specific issues being put up for discussion, whether they will address New Mexico'…

On this week's interview Paul sits down with Carlos Garcia of the Garcia Auto Group. They begin by discussing crime issues in Albuquerque, but mostly discuss the Gov.'s electric vehicle mandates which will do great damage to car dealers throughout New Mexico. Paul and Carlos discuss the Biden Administration's approach to the issue as well and where…

This week's podcast is a recent talk in Albuquerque given by Corey DeAngelis. Corey is one of the most prominent and effective advocates for school choice. He is also the author of the new book "Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining our Schools." Corey visited Albuquerque and Alamogordo to discuss his book and the growing …

On this week's Tipping Point conversation Paul sits down with former Congresswoman and current candidate for Congress Yvette Herrell. We discuss the fires that recently burned in Ruidoso and her work to reform federal lands policies. We also discuss the economy and various issues from free trade to inflation. Don't miss this important conversation!…

The last few weeks have been busy. We can briefly run down some of my travels. New Mexico is hoarding our money. Blue Hawaii cuts income taxes. Voices for Children (the left wing think tank) says minorities can't handle standardized tests: https://errorsofenchantment.com/voices-for-children-says-nm-minorities-cant-handle-standardized-tests/ Pew Cen…

On this week's show Paul talks to private space expert Doug Messier about the latest from Virgin Galactic, their collapsing stock price, and challenges they face turning a profit in the future. Messier writes at his substack.

Paul and Wally Recap the Foundation's events with Corey DeAngelis in Albuquerque and Alamogordo. In driving to Alamogordo Paul also saw some of the impacts of the tragic fires burning in Ruidoso. Oil and gas brought in $15.2 billion for NM in FY 2023. Artesia celebrated 100 years of oil and gas over the weekend. Another disappointing result in Kids…

On this week's Tipping Point interview Paul talks to independent researcher Leanna Derrick. Derrick has been working to uncover and highlight the outsized influence of "progressive" group Emerge New Mexico which recruits, trains, and funds left wing women in public office throughout New Mexico. They discuss the "Emerge" group which operates in two …

In this week's interview Paul sits down with District 1 GOP congressional candidate Louie Sanchez. Louie has a compelling story having grown up in a family of modest means. He now is involved in the medical device industry and owns Calibers gun range. Paul and Louie discuss the medical industry, 2nd amendment issues, COVID, and Rep. Melanie Stansbu…

Education reform and school choice evangelist Corey DeAngelis is heading to Albuquerque. Get your seat today. Paul's opinion piece on 40% vote threshold ran on Sunday in Albuquerque Journal. The vote was sadly postponed. A bid to remove the City's "sanctuary city" status failed 5-4 as well. Fauci testifies to Congress. Also notes 6ft rule was made …

On this week's interview Paul sits down with Doug Peterson. Doug is the principal of Peterson Properties which owns a great deal of real estate in the Albuquerque area. Paul and Doug discuss rising property taxes and what he/we get in return for those taxes. Doug is outspoken on crime issues (follow him on Twitter here). What is going on with crime…

Good news/bad news on jobs for New Mexico. The NIH director acknowledges that no science supported COVID distancing rules (but we did find an amusing old post from Sen Heinrich on social distancing and how to make a cloth mask). A proposed move to shift vote threshold to 40% at city council is sensible and quite arguably "pro-democratic." Paul rece…

On this week's Tipping Point interview Paul talks to Sammy Chioda. Sammy is a leader of the Gallup community. He owns a fantastic sports bar (Sammy C's Rock N' Sports Pub & Grille) with one of the largest memorabilia collections in America. Paul and Sammy discuss the challenges he has in finding workers, the hard-hit area's recovery from the COVID …

On this week's Tipping Point interview Paul talks to Sarah Smith. Sarah is a home school mom who got politically active during the COVID 19 pandemic. She is from Las Cruces and describes herself as a political moderate, but has become outspoken and tireless in her work on numerous issues facing her city, state, and the nation. Paul and Sarah discus…