Why is New Mexico poor and what should be done about it Research Paper

Why is New Mexico poor and what should be done about it - Research Paper Example A very small part of Oklahoma also touches New Mexico in the east. Colorado is in the north of the state and Arizona is in its west. Republic of Mexico borders some parts of New Mexico in its south (Simmons 1-2). Historical Outlook The history of New Mexico is just like an adventure story. Thousands years ago, Indians were the first who settled there and developed their traditional way of living in the area. Next to Indians, Spaniards arrived and started living there with their own way of life. They had different set of ideas and customs as compared to Indians. In a short, it can be well said that Spaniards created a style of living and government on the footing of Europeans. Later on, Americans invaded the area and conquered the territory of New Mexico. Americans introduced their own way of living. So, through history it can be judged that several nations came over the territory of New Mexico leaving behind the life style of the people blended and more complex (Simmons 1-2). Economi cal Conditions of the Region Before enclosing the reasons of poverty in New Mexico, it is significant to have a look on the economic conditions of the region in general. New Mexico is most often described a very poor state among all other states of America. This description is correct if studied in the light of the average capital assets/ possessions of the total population. However, the natural as well as human resources of the state are far better as compared to average property count of the population. Over past few decades, the per capita personal earnings have remained constant. In the year of 1978, among 50 states of America, New Mexico ranked 43rd as far as comparative analysis of state per capita earnings were concerned. However, this figure lowers down from late 1970s onward. In 1990s, the per capita personal income allows the state to rank at 48th among 50 states of America. Later on, in 2000, this figure further goes down and New Mexico ranked 49th as far as per capita pe rsonal income is concerned. At that time, New Mexico was just above the state of Mississippi. In 2003, local estimates and statistics revealed that the ranking of New Mexico had raised to some extent, however, the Census Bureau still ranked the state of New Mexico at 49th. In 2004, Census Bureau also concluded that the wages paid to the workers were also the lowest with a great number of economically poor and depressed citizens as compared to any other state of America. The countries of Guadalupe, Mora and McKinley are at the lowest end of poverty and at the bottom of socio-economic scale in the region of New Mexico. These countries are mostly dominated with Indian and Hispanic populations. Being the poorer state in America, New Mexico always receives more shares from federal government as compared to what it contributes in the national income. In 1988, this state ranked second in terms of federal aid it received. However, in 2002, the conditions were bit changed and got some improv ements and New Mexico ranked fifth among the top aid receiving states. In addition, the people of New Mexico are taxed at a very high rate. Tax rate per capita is very high in the region when compared to their personal incomes. In 1987, the state of New Mexico ranked fifth among all other nations in percentage of the personal income of people paid for government fees and other taxes. In 2004, the state ranked eighteenth as far as the tax payment is concerned. However, tax collection does not produce fruitful results on the economy as the wages of the residents are very low. Revenue generated from taxes is not enough to cope with the economic pressures of the area- in order to minimize the federal assistance which is proved to be an imperative