Albuquerque Journal (Op-Ed): NM elected officials still under the influence of alcohol industry

01.28.2024 / By Dede Feldman
Albuquerque Journal (Op-Ed): NM elected officials still under the influence of alcohol industry

The alcohol industry is at it again. For three decades the industry, its powerful lobbyists and its allies in the hospitality industry have been successful in staving off increases in the state’s alcohol excise tax with arguments about how even a modest increase will hurt restaurants and local breweries. Increased prices for alcohol won’t result in less drinking anyhow, they say. The argument was most recently echoed in an Albuquerque Journal editorial. Meanwhile New Mexico is No. 1 nationwide in alcohol-related deaths and alcohol now accounts for one in five deaths of working age New Mexicans. Treatment programs are hard to come by, and not only families are paying the price. A recent study by the UNM Department of Economics says that excessive alcohol consumption costs New Mexicans $2.77 per drink in the form of crime, domestic violence, DWI and Medicaid payments.

The alcohol industry is at it again.

For three decades the industry, its powerful lobbyists and its allies in the hospitality industry have been successful in staving off increases in the state’s alcohol excise tax with arguments about how even a modest increase will hurt restaurants and local breweries. Increased prices for alcohol won’t result in less drinking anyhow, they say. The argument was most recently echoed in an Albuquerque Journal editorial.

Meanwhile New Mexico is No. 1 nationwide in alcohol-related deaths and alcohol now accounts for one in five deaths of working age New Mexicans. Treatment programs are hard to come by, and not only families are paying the price. A recent study by the UNM Department of Economics says that excessive alcohol consumption costs New Mexicans $2.77 per drink in the form of crime, domestic violence, DWI and Medicaid payments.

These are only a few of the statistics Steve Terrell and I documented in a recent report we wrote for Common Cause New Mexico about how the liquor industry influences New Mexico elected officials.

During the past decade we found the alcohol industry spent more than $2.6 million on political activities in New Mexico between 2013 and the spring of 2023. This figure includes:

Nearly $1.8 million in campaign contributions by industry lobbyists to legislators and statewide candidates.

More than $456,000 spent by industry lobbyists to wine, dine and entertain policymakers.

More than $800,000 in campaign contributions to candidates from alcohol companies, retailers, distributors, breweries, wineries and affiliated individuals.

More than $180,000 spent by industry political action committees and allied organizations, including the New Mexico Restaurant Association.

The secret sauce of their efforts has been the industry’s well-know lobbyists, some of them ex-legislators and relatives of sitting legislators. In addition, popular local breweries have become the face of what is actually a multinational industry.

Our report, “Still Under the Influence,” didn’t take a position on an alcohol tax increase specifically, but did include evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNM and other states where increased taxes have decreased the excessive drinking that has elevated our death rate here.

We urge legislators and the public to consider all sides in this important debate — not just the loudest voices.

Dede Feldman is a consultant for Common Cause New Mexico.

 

To view this op-ed online, click here.

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