Japan had zombie companies. NM has zombie programs. Both robbed their youngest generation of hope.

Japan's lost decade was defined as stagnant economic and population growth and decreased ranking among its peers. New Mexico has experienced the same with one exception: New Mexico is approaching two lost decades.

A Bright Future

In the 1970s and 1980s, Japan's economy was strong and projected to exceed the United States as the number one economy in just a few decades.

In 1980, New Mexico was shining brightly among the other forty-nine states. The Santa Fe art market was among the top five in the world, led by the Indian and Spanish markets. Albuquerque was a second-tier technical hub led by LANL, SNL, Intel, Phillips, Digital, and others. We had a robust manufacturing sector from jet engines, Levi blue jeans, and machinists/fabricators capable of building radio telescopes to pressure vessels shipped around the globe. An energy sector that provided inexpensive electricity to fuel a growing economy.

Then, their political leaders robbed their youngest generation of a bright future.

Japan's economy suffered a severe asset price bubble collapse beginning in the 1990s. Japan's strategy for addressing the collapse was to prevent Japanese banks from declaring non-performing loans (asset bubble collapse) in default. This saved companies and banks from declaring bankruptcy but robbed them of the cash necessary to grow the economy. This is why they were called "Zombie Corporations"; they were dead but kept alive with a constant infusion of government cash, robbing future investments.

Bill Richardson was elected Governor of New Mexico, his last steppingstone to be elected President. Many of his actions as Governor were to smooth the campaign trail to the Presidency. To secure the support of organized labor, he recognized the public employee unions and increased the number and pay of public employees. He enacted the first union-only construction project in New Mexico. For the Environmentalist, he mandated the first renewable energy requirements for utilities, more regulations on the oil and gas sector, attacked Intel for degrading the environment and stopped the opening of WIPP. For the visionaries, he had Spaceport America and our supercomputer. The criminal justice folks received the abolishment of the death penalty. Richardson placed loyal political friends throughout the state government committed to propelling him to the presidency. When Bill Richardson left office, New Mexico was deeply in debt, with a bloated bureaucracy and a state government loyal to the Santa Fe Democrats (not loyal to the hard-working people of New Mexico).

Where is New Mexico Today?

Before Bill Richardson, Democratic legislators were employed in private and public government. After Bill Richardson, many Democratic legislators are public employees or employees of non-profits receiving state and local funding. Their loyalty is to the organizations that boosted them into power, not to the hard-working men and women of New Mexico.

The New Mexico Public Education System is losing students every year. Ex-NM House Speaker Sheryl Williams Stapleton (who is waiting for a federal trial for embezzlement of federal education grants) and NM Senate Pro-Tempore Mimi Stewart were both employed by Albuquerque Public School, members of the teacher's union and NM State Legislatures for decades. They have overseen the teacher's union's gain of power and money while our students' education suffered. Now, our education system is at the bottom of all the states.

The New Mexico Criminal Justice reform/programs (resulted in NM being ranked as America's most dangerous state). New Mexico, Bernalillo, and Albuquerque invested over thirteen million dollars in the empty Route 66 visitor center. The Southwest Albuquerque visitor center was to overcome what City Councilor Klarissa Pena has described as "historic disinvestment." However, Pena never mentions that a ten-acre commercial development project in Southwest Albuquerque was canceled when a gunshot victim stumbled into the middle of the onsite development meeting on a Tuesday morning. After the gunshot victim was taken away in an ambulance, the traumatized Phoenix developer told the Albuquerque group that he was never coming back.

Instead of spending tax dollars to make our neighborhoods safe, schools to educate our youngest generation and a natural environment for good-paying jobs, the Santa Fe Democrats are throwing hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to entice the nation's fat cats and scam artists who promise get-rich-quick schemes.

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Next week's article will discuss how Japan breathed life into its economy and how New Mexico can again be a beacon of hope for the country.