The Albuquerque Journal recently published “Census Wake Up: The Sluggish Growth of the State Shows the Need for Hard Discussion and Big Political Improvements”. This column shows where New Mexico’s rankings lag behind those of neighboring states. The question is how to approach this problem. New Mexico needs to have a vision for its economic future and a strategy to implement that vision, but where are we now? Let’s look at the data comparing Bernalillo County to high tech in Utah County, Utah, home of Provo.
Between 1998 and 2014, Utah County had a median household income of $ 15,000 higher than that of Bernalillo County. In 2015, the median household income of Utah County was $ 19,000 higher than that of Bernalillo County. By 2019, that difference had grown to $ 23,000. For most states, their largest city leads that state’s economic development.
Cities with high-tech private sector economies, e.g. For example, Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Chandler, Provo, etc. have median household incomes $ 25,000 higher than cities like Albuquerque with economies that are otherwise supported. In general, high-tech cities have median household incomes of $ 80,000 or more; Inland cities with no private sector, high-tech economies have average household incomes of $ 55,000 to $ 60,000; and rural areas and small towns have median household incomes of $ 40,000 and less.
In 2017, Albuquerque had a per capita investment of $ 259 in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for university research and development (R&D), compared to just $ 60 for university, according to a Brookings study Provo. New Mexico – the fifth in the country – spends over $ 3,000 per person on research and development, while Utah spends $ 1,200. New Mexico is unlikely to thrive from more R&D investment unless it learns how to get more economic bang from its R&D money.
Many believe that high-tech jobs like those created in Utah are only for Masters of Science and Ph.D. are accessible. Graduates in MINT. However, the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that although STEM employment accounts for 69% of US GDP, 60% of STEM professionals have less than a bachelor’s degree.
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Congressional bill, The Endless Frontiers Act, lists key technology areas that the United States must address in order to be economically and militarily competitive with China: artificial intelligence and machine learning; High performance computers, semiconductors, and advanced computer hardware; Quantum computers and information systems; Robotics, automation and advanced manufacturing; Prevention of natural or anthropogenic disasters; advanced communication technology; Biotechnology, genomics and synthetic biology; Cybersecurity, data storage and data management technologies; advanced energy; and materials science, engineering and exploration relevant to other key technologies.
These are the technologies that the New Mexico defense laboratories will value in the future. At 25% of government GDP, these defense laboratories are our most important asset; Oil and natural gas made up 10% during their boom.
New Mexico has hired SRI to lead our state’s strategic planning efforts. The state targets the “industries” of outdoor recreation, value-added agriculture, world trade, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, film and television, cybersecurity, aerospace, and renewable energy. Four of them are listed in the Endless Frontiers Act. It is imperative that our state does its strategic planning well and does not focus on the construction industry with low median household incomes. As the data shows, we were there and did that.
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