Catholic Bishops say, Don't cut education.
Thursday, September 24, 2009 - Don't Cut Spending, Bishops Tell Gov.
By Dan Boyd And Olivier Uyttebrouck
Journal Staff Writers
By Dan Boyd And Olivier Uyttebrouck
Journal Staff Writers
New Mexico's Roman Catholic bishops waded into the debate over how to close the state's estimated $433 million buget deficit Wednesday, urging Gov. Bill Richardson and legislators to repeal a 2003 income tax cut instead of cutting services they say would hurt the poor.
The New Mexico Conference of Bishops, in a letter sent to the Journal, added its voice to a coalition of public employee unions (AFT New Mexico) and social advocacy groups (“Better Choices New Mexico” ) opposing spending cuts.
Repeal of the income tax cut would restore about $400 million annually in state revenues, nearly as much as the state deficit this fiscal year and the one projected for the coming year. However, the repeal is opposed by Richardson and business groups, which say a repeal would be a big blow to taxpayers and the already struggling economy.
"We are deeply concerned about cuts that would hurt the elderly, the poor, the children, our schools, in order to meet the budget," Diocese of Las Cruces Bishop Ricardo Ramirez said Wednesday. "We often see that when there are cuts in spending, it's usually the little people who are affected."
Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT.