Pub. 17 2020 Issue 2

14 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S people to evaluate what kind of country they want this to be. Our inability to handle this crisis at the top of our govern- ment has been painful, and, hopefully, it will motivate more Americans to invest time in voting for and creating a better government. The leaders of our government were willing to send people out to essentially die or get sick all to look a little bit better temporarily, from an optics standpoint, to sell a charade that the virus was over. A report from early July in- dicated that the president and his staffers hope the American public “grows numb” to the pandemic. We cannot allow that to happen, and it is essential that a huge majority of Americans demand better. On a local level, New Mexico has handled the pandemic well overall, with some bumps in the road that all states have experienced along the way. As of late July, New Mexico’s posi- tive test rate has stayed in the 2-5% range, which is encourag- ing. Certain states have positive test rates in the 15-25% range. At this point, it is helpful to look at positive test rates because it indicates how quickly the virus is spreading. In that regard, New Mexico has been successful with plenty more work to do to get our positive test rate even lower. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham deserves credit for acting decisively and coherently throughout this crisis. Her decisions throughout the pandemic have not always been popular, but it is the job of public officials to sometimes make unpopular decisions in the best interest of their citizens. The Governor has had to perform the incredibly difficult balancing act of protecting the health of the state with the economic reality that faces small businesses. Make no mis- take about it, the jobs of this country’s governors have become exponentially more difficult because of the absolute incoher- ence of the federal response to the pandemic. But, given that, Governor Lujan Grisham has done a commendable job in putting the safety of New Mexicans at the top of her priority list. She ordered the state to be placed on lockdown early in the pandemic when some other governors waited days or even weeks, possibly saving hundreds or thousands of lives, and has been acting on the side of caution, which will be viewed as being on the right side of history. It must be stressed that the federal government has put governors in remarkably difficult positions. It’s a fact that the federal government’s bungled response will be hugely damaging to thousands of small businesses and New Mexico is not exempt from that. Much of the ire that will be directed toward local officials as small On a local level, New Mexico has handled the pandemic well overall, with some bumps in the road that all states have experienced along the way. As of late July, New Mexico’s positive test rate has stayed in the 2-5% range, which is encouraging. Certain states have positive test rates in the 15-25% range. At this point, it is helpful to look at positive test rates because it indicates how quickly the virus is spreading. In that regard, New Mexico has been successful with plenty more work to do to get our positive test rate even lower.