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High-tech and renewable-energy jobs for New Mexicans
Diane Denish
Jobs are not just an issue in a campaign – they are what helps people get up in the morning, they put food on their dinner tables and put their kids through college.
We are in the midst of a global economic slowdown not seen since the Great Depression. New Mexicans are hurting.
I was a small business owner. I know what it was like to hire someone and give them a job. I also know the pain of tough times and having to shrink my company and workforce – and sometimes not paying myself just to keep the doors open.
That experience has taught me more than anything that we need leaders who are focused on creating a foundation where job creation can flourish here in New Mexico.
My opponent offers a lot of sound bites and a few paragraphs about how she’d create jobs. Well, I know it’s a little tougher than that. Creating jobs is hard work – and in this economy it will take an intense focus – every single day.
And it will also take bold and innovative ideas. That means taking advantage of our natural gifts to build a high-wage economy.
That’s why I propose a two-prong strategy for long-term job creation and the development of new industries. Read my entire plan here.
Innovate New Mexico
First, we have fantastic federal and higher-education resources that we simply must take better advantage of.
That’s why I propose starting a new, statewide high-tech development corporation - Innovate New Mexico – modeled after other successful organizations. It will provide financing, grant support and technical assistance to New Mexico-based high-tech startups.
Innovate New Mexico’s main goal will be to support high-tech spinoff companies incubated by our national labs and research institutions, providing the technical support that will turn ideas into jobs.
Second, creating jobs from the sun – and from all of the other renewable resources that can put New Mexico at the forefront of a green-jobs revolution.
Saving energy and creating jobs – that is what this is all about.
The strategies
To do both, I propose the following strategies:
- A state clean energy investment pool: By linking a portion of severance-tax revenue to incentives and programs for growing the clean-energy economy, we can target state capital to renewable-energy projects.
- Create a center of excellence for green-energy development based at one of our research universities. This center of excellence will go hand-in-hand with the goals of Innovate New Mexico.
- Expand tax credits for clean-energy companies. Increase the Industry Research and Development Tax Credit to 10 percent for clean technology businesses and offer favorable tax treatment to startup founders to encourage them to stay in New Mexico.
- Fight for the expansion of special assessment districts for renewable energy. I will take on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make sure this innovative program, which puts renewable energy directly into the hands of average homeowners, remains a viable green-job engine.
- Support the creation of a green-job business incubator.
- Encourage the conversion government car fleets to high-efficiency and natural-gas.
- Ensure all new state buildings meet green standards, expand renovation of existing buildings and put all government utility bills online for the public to inspect.
- Invest and bond for renewable energy transmission capacity so that New Mexico can sell its renewable power to other states.
- Promote and develop deep-source geothermal energy using spent oil and gas wells. This new effort would be a great way to engage oil and gas companies in the green-energy revolution and create jobs in the oil patch – turning pump-jack jobs into renewable energy jobs.
How I operate
There are some people who focus on the tough times and think about all the things we can’t do.
That’s not how I operate.
I believe the toughest times demand leadership and real, innovative ideas to create jobs and set the stage for future prosperity.
And that’s exactly the type of governor I intend to be.
Denish is the Democratic candidate for governor.
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It all sounds so good on paper. You never ever hear about expanding upon our existing energy sources (most being hydrocarbon based) and looking for methods to make them cleaner. Instead we have to develop a new “flavor of the day” high tech, government subsidized green alternative. My goodness, how much is this experiment going to cost us? The government is so efficient at picking winners and loosers….NOT…. Just about every proposal that Ms. Denish is suggesting requires a substantial and on going subsidy. As if the money grew on trees. I would like to hear about how Ms. Denish thinks about the Western State Climate Initiative. I bet she is for this job killer as well.
Did Diane get a new campaign manager named Chuck? Most commentators got it right – I think the term “pixie dust” was well used. Diane is smart to use this as a feel-good platform in her campaign. In the long run, for environmental, geo-politcal, plain efficiency and other reasons it makes sense to move in the “green” direction. However, much of what people talk about isn’t ready for prime time, and a repeat of teh 70′s will only needlessly waste taxpayer dollars that could be better used to improve our lives. It’s a fine direction to thoughtfully and carefully move in, but it won’t solve our current economic crisis and double-digit employment in the short term at all. So if the pixie dust comes at the expense of real jobs and economic develepment – something we don’t talk much about – then I would be quite concerned. It’s ok to aspire to better, greener pastures, but we are where we are and we can’t let our cool-aid break get in the way of tough decision making and hard work.
Well said stever. In fact, there are dozens of groups trying very hard to pump venture capital into hi-tech start-ups spawned by the national labs, etc.here in NM. The problem is the extremely high risk of such ventures and the poor track record, thus much venture capital is sitting on the sidelines waiting for good opportunities. There is not a shortage of capital and private equity investment, there is a dire shortage of good projects to invest in. Of this, I am very experienced. So when Ms. Denish suggests the state step in (read our money at risk) and pour money into these things, she is proposing we all take a huge risk private investors will not take. In the long run, that will cost us the taxpayers much money in wasted efforts. The state has no expertise or experience in vetting hi-tech start-ups for investment, thus we will be taken to the cleaners by well-intentioned but hopelessly inept bureaucrats and “inventors”.
However wise the idea of creating an economy based on high tech and renewable energy sources, the involvement of the government does not inspire much confidence. Although it makes for a nice sounding campaign platform, there’s not a good record to suggest it would not be terribly inefficient and in a state like New Mexico, yet another way for the taxpayers to get bilked while Santa Fe hides.
This commentary by Ms. Denish sounds good, but it is just more government handouts (our money) to subsidize and encourage uneconomic and inefficient energy sources. Surely she knows you can’t rob Peter to pay Paul to use inferior economic products and actually grow the economy and create societal wealth. Soon, Peter’s money will run out and you will have driven out superior economic products and thus the cost of living will skyrocket to pay for these expensive, exotic energy sources. All of this for jobs? Why not utilize economically superior products today, invest in R&D to create new technologies that can actually compete economically with existing energy sources? That will create jobs AND grow the economy.
Yes, rdmtndem, being a single mother gives one SO much experience and credibility to hold the office of Governor!! Why with the teenage birthrate of New Mexico and the divorce rate, there’s a long line of women out there who are ready to jump off welfare and WIC straight into the Governor’s Mansion!! What a joke.
I am amazed at how backward folks are when they pooh-pooh the need for development of clean energy and the future economic opportunities associated with renewable resources. I guess drill baby drill is still the GOP mantra even after the gulf oil spill. I am pleased to see a well thought out plan of action to address New Mexico’s needs versus the sound bite of “bold change” (no details behind it other than reduce taxes) from Susanna Martinez. The Martinez campaign continues to dwell on her success at being a lawyer. I’d rather take my chances on someone who has actually owned a small business, has been a single mother, and has experience in dealing with the giant egos in the state legislature.
We’ve been hearing these same “High Tech Jobs” & “Green (~renewable~) Energy” mantras coming from the lips & fingertips of politicians since the Jimmy Carter era.
Yet, with the exception of the steep governmental incentives that were used to advance the microchip/digital revolution, governments have actually had very little impact, that has led to any truly positive economic change, since then.
And even the incredible economic engine of the microchip/digital revolution, has had many notable set-backs. The worst being when the dot-com bubble burst, setting off a substantial loss in jobs & investment capital, as well as a fairly deep recession, as it burst.
Although Denish may be on to something seriously good for New Mexico & the nation too, when she promotes fueling government owned vehicles with natural gas, which New Mexico certainly has plenty of, even that approach is essentially merely an effort in “going back to the future”.
Many private individuals & numerous companies here in the Southern Mew Mexico began powering vehicles with compressed natural gas, butane & propane (there is a significant difference in energy output potential for each type of fuel, noted here for those that may not know) in the 1970′s & used those fuels into the1980′s.
Gaseous fuels were widely used & seemed to be gaining in popularity, until the bone heads in Santa Fe decided to impose & enforce (under harsh penalties), a $.12 per gallon tax on those gaseous motor fuels. And clearly, they did so without fully considering how that tax would quickly become a rather large disincentive into the usage of gaseous fuels.
There’s a huge difference in energy output (noted above, much smaller) for gaseous fuels than for traditional liquid fuels. And, there’s also significant additional vehicle weight, as well as decreased overall fuel mileage, & added maintenance costs too, for each vehicle using any type of gaseous motor fuel.
Perhaps the most significant difference between using gaseous vs liquid fuel is the enormous inconvenience factor, for those using gaseous fuels.
With gaseous fuel availability always spotty (at best) almost all vehicles powered by those fuels must be equipped to use both gaseous & liquid fuels, which adds considerable vehicle weight, & takes up a significant amount of on board storage space too.
With those gaseous fuels disincentives already inherent, it’s important to recognize that when vehicle motor technology leaped from the more easy to convert normally aspirated carburetor systems, to pressurized liquid fuel injection systems, most gaseous fuel users simply quit using gaseous fuels.
That’s due to the great expense to convert liquid fuel injected motor fuel systems into duel fuel systems, & because liquid fuel injected vehicles tend to get much better per gallon mileage, than either carburetor or gaseous based motor fuel systems.
Once one does the very simple math, they can see the price factor swing, & with the $.12 per gallon tax on gaseous fuel being a less efficient expense in duel fuel systems, it’s easy to see that it just isn’t worth all the added expense & all the inconvenience, to install a duel use fuel system these days.
With that so, almost everyone went back to using liquid motor fuels exclusively.
Getting to the bottom line now, although political platitudes about things like “high-efficiency and natural-gas” powered vehicles may seem to be a serious point, that’s only true for the uninformed & the uninitiated.
With this post already being much more lengthy than I had originally intended, I’ll end here. But will address some of the other pixie dust notions that Ms. Denish posted about above, over the course of the weekend, as time permits.
Thank you, LT GOV Denish, for continuing to secure America with clean energy initiatives. Thanks for helping to decrease the billions of dollars we send overseas to unfriendly and unstable nations that don’t have our best interests at heart. Thank you for desiring to implement sound strategies to not contribute more petrodollars that go to IEDs that have killed 16 New Mexican servicemembers so far.
As a US Army combat veteran, I thank you for all you do.
Before setting up a statewide Innovate New Mexico, bringing a large number of government employees onto the taxpayer funded payroll; why not look at what a very large and successful business is doing to get green and encourage energy innnovation…WalMart for example, one of many.
Touting an eco-friendly agenda is incongruous with being the second most frequent flyer on the taxpayer-funded state jet. It’s hypocritical when one considers the carbon footprint Denish has left upon New Mexico’s environment.
Greening our economy is important to the bottom line. Denish seems to know that important business fact. Whether you believe in global warming or not…when a business is “greened”, it is beginning to reduce waste and increase efficiency for the long run. When waste is reduced, the bottom line is increased.
Successful businesses, Walmart or the Mom n Pop down the street are always looking for ways to reduce waste and “greening” your business offers many opportunities.
Green this, green that, green, green, green. Drop the environmental crap and say something substantive. Making sure that every opportunity is going to pacify the global warming kooks is going to cost more taxpayer dollars tha it will help. You are SO out of touch.