New study finds that NM taxpayers get third-worst return on investment

On Tuesday, it was first reported by The Center Square that New Mexico had ranked very low on a new Wallethub study showing taxpayer return on investment by state.

New Mexico ranked at the very bottom of the list as #48 with only the leftist states of California and Hawaii following the Land of Enchantment.

“Different states have dramatically different tax burdens. This begs the question of whether people in high-tax states receive superior government services,” Wallethub managing editor John S. Kiernan writes. “Likewise, are low-tax states more efficient or do they receive low-quality services? In short, where do taxpayers get the most and least bang for their buck?”

“While New Mexico residents pay the 14th highest local and state taxes among the 50 states, they receive the second worst services,” writes Dan McCaleb of The Center Square.

According to Wallethub, New Mexico is ranked #50 in education, #49 in violent crime, and #48 in resident poverty. 

“New Mexico has the third lowest taxpayer ROI. Although its residents pay fairly high taxes, around $4,600, the state ranks second to last in terms of the quality of government services received,” Wallethub analyst Jill Gonzalez told The Center Square. “Looking at education, New Mexico ranks last for quality of the school system, and has the lowest public high school graduation rate – less than 74%. Moreover, this rate is projected to decrease by 2032 by more than 11%. As a direct consequence of the low graduation rate, the state also has a large share of idle youth – 16%.”

New Mexico has been under heavy Democrat control for most of over 80 years, with taxpayers footing the bill for extreme left-wing policies, however, not getting much in return except a place at the top of just about every “bad” list and at the bottom of every “good” list. Democrats just met during the 2021 Legislative Session to raise taxes on thousands of New Mexicans.