Bernie’s bold plan for energy transition, Naomi Klein’s rebuke of the DNC, videos on the Amazon fire, a plan for swift transition to electric vehicles, wind, solar and comic relief from Colbert, plus news on an important Interim Hearing.
In brief: Important Interim Hearing Wednesday
There is an important Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee hearing on Wednesday in Red River. We are hoping that some of you might be interested in the road trip to experience an Interim Hearing and to observe some important issues being raised. The agenda is below. Click here for an excellent Santa Fe New Mexican article on the work being done in preparation for this meeting, how budget and revenue projections are generated and what will be discussed on Wednesday. If you can attend this hearing, please email me at paul@retakeourdemocracy.org. It is often said that a budget is a moral document. Well, this critical meeting is where the scope and scale of our 2020 legislative morality are first limited by fiscal constraints that are often determined as much by numbers as they are by conservative ideology. If you can possibly attend, please do and let me know asap. Thanks.
Red River Conference Center 101 W. River St. Red River, NM 87558
–JOINT MEETING WITH THE REVENUE STABILIZATION AND TAX POLICY COMMITTEE Agenda-–
8:30 — Welcoming Remarks — Linda Calhoun, Mayor, Red River
8:45 — Preliminary FY19 General Fund Revenues, FY20 Revenue Update, FY21 Outlook, and General Fund Financial Summary — Olivia Padilla-Jackson, Secretary, Department of Finance and Administration; Stephanie Schardin Clarke, Secretary, Taxation and Revenue Department; Dawn Iglesias, Chief Economist, Legislative Finance Committee
11:45 — [This panel is most important.] Enhancing Fiscal Stability Amid Revenue Growth and Uncertainty — Dan White, Director, Fiscal Policy Research, Moody’s Analytics; Allen Knudson, Fiscal Director, North Dakota Legislative Council; Olivia Padilla-Jackson, Secretary, Department of Finance and Administration; Dr. Jim Peach, Professor, Economics, Applied Statistics and International Business Department, New Mexico State University • Options for Mitigating Revenue Volatility • Building Stable Revenue Streams to Support Recurring Funding Needs • Preparing for Fiscal and Economic Downturn
— Working Lunch
3:00 — Legislative Finance Committee Early Childhood Accountability Report — Nathan Eckberg, Program Evaluator, Legislative Finance Committee; Dr. Sarah Dinces, Program Evaluator, Legislative Finance Committee; Alejandra Rebolledo Rea, Acting Director, Early Childhood Services, Children, Youth and Families Department
A Look At Last Week’s Posts
The Only Way to Avoid Extinction Begins Today, In NM
I highly recommend this over other pieces from last week. Many felt it was among the best and most important post, we’ve done in a very long time, so if you missed it…..
Tuesday, August 20. Greta changed the conversation, one young girl made a decision to get serious and launched an international movement. Now some adults, governors, presidents, and CEO’s need to act forcefully and quickly. It will require sacrifice, no doubt. And leaders in every jurisdiction indicate the same thing– that what they do in their country, state or county will not turn the tide on climate change. But until someone steps up, like Greta, and says “this is a crisis and we are going to treat it as one, we will never get it done. Here is a plan for how NM could be first to lead the way. Click here to read the full post.
LANL Proposes Expansion of Nuclear Work, Causing Retake to Ask: What if all those resources were devoted to addressing the climate crisis?
Thursday, Aug. 22. Greg Mello’s guest post describes LANL’s frightening nuclear expansion plans. I ask: What if LANL focused its resources on addressing the climate crisis instead of endangering the entire local environment to build nuclear bombs? What if? Greg Mello does an excellent job of laying out what is being proposed, what it means, and what we need to do about it. Click to read the full post. Recommended.
Weekend Reading: Naomi Klein on the DNC’s Refusal to Debate Climate & Bernie Sanders Climate Plan
Saturday, Aug. 24. We include two articles, one from Naomi Klein covers the DNC’s refusal to treat climate change as a crisis. In These Times writes on Bernie’s new climate plan to create a national public energy network by 2035. No More PNM’s. Both articles are well worth your review. Klein is always so eloquent in zeroing in on the heart of any matter and Sanders’ plan mirrors what was recommended by Retake: eliminating privately owned monopolies managing our transition to renewables. Click here to read the full post.
Sunday at the Movies
Sunday, Aug. 25. We include Two Colbert clips, a sobering report on the Amazon fires and we close with an uplifting report on how renewable technology disruption could change everything. Also included a link to an excellent story on 2019-2021 state revenue projections. The New Mexican article really spells out how dependent NM is upon gas and oil revenue. Click here to read the full post and watch two very interesting videos.
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