I've written here before about the dysfunction we see in Washington and how it stands in the way of tackling so many of the challenges that our nation faces. The latest episode is delay and inaction on raising the debt ceiling - "Russian roulette" in the words of Warren Buffett .
Our nation's debt is a serious issue and it deserves a serious debate, but when independent forecasters warn that our economy could dive into a second recession, partisan politics need to be put aside for the good of New Mexico and the whole country. This weekend my predecessor, former Sen. Pete Domenici said :
"I have more than one time put my head on my desk and just thought ‘How can we do this to ourselves with high unemployment and so many other problems? How can we stab ourselves right in the heart?' This should not be happening."
At a time when families are already dealing with extremely tight budgets, a default would mean increased costs for just about everything - from food and gas to housing and sending the kids to college. It would also jeopardize critical federal benefits that veterans, seniors and others depend on to pay the bills and stay healthy.
For example, more than 360,000 people in New Mexico receive Social Security - for retirement, survivors benefits or disability. Here's how it breaks down across the state:
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
If the debt ceiling is not raised by the deadline, the more than 360,000 Social Security recipients in New Mexico would be in danger of their benefits being disrupted.
Failure to extend the debt ceiling would be a real crisis for our state, with every New Mexican paying the price:
- More than 174,000 New Mexico veterans would be at risk of having their benefits disrupted.
- Almost 1,000 active-duty military personnel from New Mexico may stop receiving payments for their service to our country.
- Local communities in New Mexico received $27.5 billion - or just over $37,000 per household - from the federal government in 2009. These investments included funding for Social Security, Medicare, grants to local and state governments for law enforcement, transportation and other initiatives critical to communities. With a default, that funding would be in jeopardy. States and localities may be forced to raise property taxes on families if these investments are threatened.
- Mortgage payments would increase by more than $1,000 for the average family. The average monthly mortgage payment in the United States is $1,022. A 75-basis-point hike in Treasury Bond interest rates, as estimated by J.P. Morgan to occur with a default, would raise the average mortgage payment by roughly $85 a month - or $1,020 per year.
- Credit card interest would increase by $250 for the average family. Credit card interest payments in the U.S. total approximately $94 billion per year. A 75-basis-point hike in rates would increase this by $5 billion to $99 billion. In 2009, nearly half of Americans had credit card debt, with a median balance of $3,300. That means the average family with credit card debt will pay nearly $250 more in interest.
The funding that every county in New Mexico receives would be in jeopardy:
| County | Total Federal Expenditures | Retirement & Disability | Other Direct Payments | Grants to State & Local Gov't | Purchases of Goods/Services |
| Bernalillo | $9,629,048 | $2,204,877 | $891,716 | $1,560,747 | $3,749,572 |
| Catron | $38,181 | $20,274 | $4,146 | $8,971 | $396 |
| Chaves | $502,791 | $201,472 | $99,312 | $163,356 | $4,835 |
| Cibola | $143,756 | $76,835 | $23,305 | $23,678 | $2,075 |
| Colfax | $154,334 | $55,813 | $25,604 | $61,391 | $5,593 |
| Curry | $538,149 | $146,047 | $97,288 | $113,073 | $35,492 |
| De Baca | $31,692 | $8,430 | $5,807 | $16,419 | $201 |
| Doña Ana | $1,832,372 | $608,237 | $269,923 | $435,220 | $324,390 |
| Eddy | $836,151 | $162,455 | $96,590 | $164,923 | $351,315 |
| Grant | $286,883 | $128,986 | $56,316 | $84,084 | $1,966 |
| Guadalupe | $62,739 | $13,096 | $8,624 | $37,833 | $396 |
| Harding | $7,899 | $2,893 | $2,290 | $1,988 | $132 |
| Hidalgo | $73,377 | $17,887 | $10,164 | $31,255 | $384 |
| Lea | $388,792 | $141,392 | $107,593 | $130,641 | $1,558 |
| Lincoln | $146,132 | $85,376 | $26,533 | $22,946 | $3,612 |
| Los Alamos | $2,639,942 | $47,060 | $16,469 | $55,964 | $2,497,885 |
| Luna | $223,451 | $95,395 | $43,387 | $53,344 | $990 |
| McKinley | $850,281 | $174,721 | $88,289 | $390,583 | $50,896 |
| Mora | $72,283 | $21,009 | $7,566 | $40,653 | $432 |
| Otero | $694,906 | $254,233 | $72,479 | $87,777 | $45,259 |
| Quay | $127,291 | $41,218 | $34,996 | $48,024 | $484 |
| Rio Arriba | $839,035 | $126,929 | $63,987 | $234,076 | $392,313 |
| Roosevelt | $166,644 | $46,314 | $62,775 | $47,182 | $4,994 |
| San Juan | $895,116 | $316,584 | $176,700 | $291,426 | $12,928 |
| San Miguel | $384,872 | $105,590 | $55,603 | $206,378 | $2,681 |
| Sandoval | $670,675 | $334,628 | $96,909 | $197,809 | $16,467 |
| Santa Fe | $2,136,925 | $468,542 | $140,560 | $1,252,927 | $161,980 |
| Sierra | $155,103 | $73,004 | $35,188 | $37,636 | $2,789 |
| Socorro | $206,858 | $57,036 | $25,479 | $106,312 | $5,019 |
| Taos | $314,924 | $112,722 | $40,410 | $131,707 | $6,617 |
| Torrance | $113,437 | $49,555 | $17,135 | $42,406 | $585 |
| Union | $43,994 | $14,459 | $12,373 | $13,181 | $477 |
| Valencia | $493,322 | $240,885 | $95,726 | $115,974 | $19,041 |
| Non-County | $1,770,827 | $715 | $994,292 | $743,361 | $32,458 |
| NM Total | $27,472,182 | $6,454,670 | $3,805,535 | $6,953,245 | $7,736,211 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
It is time to put partisan politics aside and stop looking at this crisis as a political opportunity to score rhetorical points. It is time to do what is right for New Mexicans. We must increase the debt ceiling, and we must do it by Aug. 2.
