Pearce unveils New Mexico ‘investment plan’

New Mexico gubernatorial hopefuls – Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Rep. Steve Pearce – are pushing dueling economic plans.

Pearce says the state should expand its greenhouses, look to new mining ventures and push growth in artificial intelligence businesses to transform the state’s struggling economy. The Republican congressman told business leaders on Monday in Albuquerque that potentially strong companies leave New Mexico because the state fails to provide “middle round of financing” for them to take products to market and to hire staff.

Pearce says New Mexico also should make Roswell a destination for painting large aircraft and do more to take advantage of Spaceport America. The Hobbs Republican unveiled his plan to increase state investment as former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca was in the audience. Apodaca told attendees he liked what he heard from Pearce.

Last week, Grisham released her “7-point plan” that would address poverty by raising the minimum wage to $10 per hour statewide and adding more regulation against payday lenders

An annual report in June showed New Mexico fell to last place in child well-being as the number of children in the state living in poverty and without health insurance increased. The Kids Count analysis also found that 30 percent of New Mexico children were living at or below the federal poverty level in 2016.