New Mexico was, until recently, a lucky state. Despite being one of the states with the weakest economies—and high unemployment—New Mexico had the Permian, and oil revenues from drillers there flowed into the state’s coffers. This is now over, and it could take years for the industry in this part of the country to recover. What happened in New Mexico is, in a much, much milder way, what happened in Venezuela: ambitious public spending programs, even plans to provide a free college education for all could be paid for with oil money from the shale boom. Unlike Venezuela, however, not all of these programs were passed by legislators, which in hindsight was the right move. Last year, oil revenues made up as much as 39 percent of New Mexico’s general fund revenues, according to a report by the state’s Tax Research Institute. The oil industry’s contribution translated to $3.1 […]