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Now Is The Time For Universal School Choice

In March 2020, schools nationwide started closing their doors. Government bureaucrats fought to keep schools closed for over a year while parents struggled desperately to cope with mandatory remote learning. Reading and math proficiency scores declined in school districts across the country, creating the greatest educational inequity in our lifetimes. But there’s a silver lining… […]

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With Biden Absent, Some Southwest States Combat Inflation

Erin Norman, senior messaging strategist at State Policy Network, recently published critical commentary of President Joe Biden’s inflation-fighting plan. Introduced last week, Biden highlights his plan in the Wall Street Journal. Composed of over 1,100 words, he spent one third of the article telling Americans how good things are right now. But the public begs […]

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The Best And Worst State Economies Of The American Southwest

The personal finance website WalletHub just released its report on 2022’s Best and Worst State Economies. The WalletHub methodology incorporates twenty-eight indicators across three broad categories of economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential. The weighted final score is then used to rank each state. Source: WalletHub As seen before with metrics such as post-pandemic […]

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New Mexico Paid Sick Leave Takes Effect July 1

Even employers with a single employee are obligated to implement a sick leave policy under the new law. Next month, on July 1, 2022, the New Mexico Paid Sick Leave Law will take effect. The Healthy Workplaces Act of 2021 requires all private employers, no matter the size, to pay sick leave to all employees. […]

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Post-Pandemic, Utah’s Unemployment Rate Recovery Tops The Charts

According to WalletHub’s latest report, post-pandemic, Utah’s unemployment rate has recovered more than any other state in the nation. Source: WalletHub In order to identify the states whose unemployment rates are bouncing back most, personal finance website WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on six key metrics that compare unemployment […]

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Southwest Public Policy Institute Joins Free Speech Alliance

The Southwest Public Policy Institute is the latest addition to the Free Speech Alliance, joining over 90 organizations and individuals who oppose the silencing of conservative voices on social media. You can find out more about the Free Speech Alliance at mrc.org/freespeechalliance. Here’s the Problem. Conservatives are under attack. Conservatives face an existential crisis as social […]

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Uvalde Makes The Somber Case For School Choice

The nation mourns the loss of so many innocent lives. How do we prevent future tragedy? The answer is school choice. In New Mexico, Senator Martin Heinrich is capitalizing on the Uvalde school shooting to demand changes in gun laws. Elsewhere, former President Barack Obama is using the crisis to stoke racial tension. They are […]

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PNM Requests Proposals, Acknowledges the Energy Crisis

The Energy Transition Act is shaping up to create the worst energy crisis the southwest has ever seen. On May 17, the Southwest Public Policy Institute (SPPI) released data on a comprehensive energy survey. With over 3,000 respondents, New Mexicans clearly prioritized affordable and reliable energy with 7 out of 10 preferring either affordability or […]

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Texas Severs Ties with NSBA, All States Should Follow Suit

Texas is the most recent state to leave the NSBA following the “domestic terrorism” controversy involving Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Texas School Board Association (TSBA) announced on Monday that it was cutting ties with the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The NSBA sent a letter to President Biden in September 2021 requesting federal […]

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Latest Unemployment Rates of the American Southwest

The latest unemployment figures have been released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In April 2022, New Mexico tops the list as the state with the worst unemployment rate in the country at 5.3%. Utah was among the best at 1.9%, with only Nebraska reporting a lower unemployment rate. State Labor force Unemployed […]