New Mexico poorest county (Gallup, Grants: income, living, electricity)

[lukeache]

I have absolutely nothing against Native Americans or living simply and I know for a fact that money does not bring happiness. I am sad to see this thread turning into something racial but my original point was to ask in particular, what makes the area surrounding Gallup the poorest in NM! Is that lack of jobs, lack of businesses, lack of a strong economy, history, lack of resources or what in particular? I understand what the other person said about emphasizing family and spiritual values over money and I totally respect your lifestyle but usually if a county is poor, that usually results in bad hospitals, bad schools, lack of opportunities, alienation, gangs, alcoholism, drug abuse and many other social problems. I was just curious why the Gallup area and not Farmington or Portales. Thats all!

[LLD]

Lukeache, can you provide the data from your research into how you determined McKinley County to be the poorest and what indicators/statistics that is based on?

Is it just income levels? Joblessness? What? We need a bit more to go on here I think before people might offer some insight into why those things exist.

[lukeache]

I found this on the McKinley County website, it is statement from Tom Trujillo, McKinley County Manager, I guess it answers my question.

"My biggest concern is financial stability. “We live in one of the poorest counties in the state.” “Therefore, it is critical that we maintain an affordable government and that we are accountable to the people for where and how we spend money. As a border county to Navajo Nation, almost 80% of the 5,450 square miles of the county land is Indian Land, allotment land, tribal, trust, and other types of non-taxable property, and we are very limited in property we can tax, so we must find other means to sustain the economy."

[LLD]

So that says that the county has trouble getting income from taxation due to lack of taxable land. Where did you get your initial research on McKinley County being the poorest? And what measures were given as indicators?

[mortimer]

According to here:
New Mexico locations by per capita income - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
lukeache is right about McKinley County.

I didn't actually believe it before I checked, but there it is.

NM ..... USA
Rank ... Rank

3 ...... 470 Bernalillo County $20,790 $38,788 $46,613
33 .....3123 McKinley County $9,872 $25,005 $26,806 < -- last

[AndyJ]

Originally Posted by lukeache

I have absolutely nothing against Native Americans or living simply and I know for a fact that money does not bring happiness. I am sad to see this thread turning into something racial but my original point was to ask in particular, what makes the area surrounding Gallup the poorest in NM! Is that lack of jobs, lack of businesses, lack of a strong economy, history, lack of resources or what in particular? I understand what the other person said about emphasizing family and spiritual values over money and I totally respect your lifestyle but usually if a county is poor, that usually results in bad hospitals, bad schools, lack of opportunities, alienation, gangs, alcoholism, drug abuse and many other social problems. I was just curious why the Gallup area and not Farmington or Portales. Thats all!

What is it exactly about McKinley Co. that concerns you? Are you planning to move there? Just asking, because the forum is largely meant as a place to collect opinions and data about prospective places of residence as offered by locals, though obviously numerous threads exist not falling under this category. If you're not planning to either move to or visit McKinley County, I fail to see why you have any interest in it at all.

On another note, there's not really a Gallup "area". It's not a bustling metropolis, although it seems that way sometimes on weekends (the influx of people from the reservation coming into to shop, eat, and so forth). The county itself is larger than some of the smaller states in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. And I'm not sure if you're implying that Farmington or Portales don't have any of the same problems as Gallup, because that certainly isn't the case. I will say that Portales is harder to compare because it's in a completely different part of the state, where folks live a different lifestyle.

Actually, on a positive note(s), Gallup is opening a new high school next fall, and its boys cross country team is well reputed and may be about to bring home its 17th 1st place trophy since 1983. Zuni High School also has a strong tradition of runners, and may possibly sweep 1st place for boys and girls 3A at the state meet in about a week and a half. So while McKinley Co. has its negatives (like the rest of the state, like everywhere else), there's a lot of great things about it too.

[6 FOOT 3]

I hope the new multi-million Casino just approved by the Navajo Nation that is going to be built in Gallup will help out in jobs for the area.


KOB.com - Navajo Council approves casino funding

[newmex]

Work=$$$
$$$ earned - Taxes = infrastucture funding
net $$$ left over+common sense+investment=roof over your head, food, clothes, good times.
Back to work, rinse, repeat.

How much are the Reservations federally funded? What incentive does that give anyone to work?

Casinos are being suggested in depressed non-Native American areas in the country (in Ohio, the Spitzer family of New York have been drooling for years over it, some residual Native Americans tried to lay claim to lands there, filed suit to get land to build casinos there but lost, pretty much got laughed out of court) and ones that were implemented (West Va., Nebraska) really have not panned out as what they might think economically (manpower to keep the sleazy peripherals to a minimum...hey! more jobs! ).

Treating depressed areas with casinos as an approach to solving economic woes is akin to treating dandruff by cutting off the head.

[GregW]

If agriculture is considered the base of any rural economy and distance to markets a major factor for industrial endeavors then the relative poverty of McKinley County is easily explained. Most of the place is high altitude with a short growing season even if there was water available and most everywhere is a long way from everywhere else. Yes, I-40 and the railroad are part of the transport net but they are busy hauling California produce and Chinese manufactured goods to Texas and points east. Also the county does not have the critical population density associated with a major service economy.

All that being said, I am look at a couple of places as a future home. I will be retired and living principally off my pension but I also expect to use my experience to open a “fix it shop” or something similar. The very isolation that creates the lack of a prosperous economy is a major attraction to me. I just drove from Logan airport in Boston to southern New Hampshire and had a real tour of city “prosperity”. Been there, done that, want out.

[mtncat]

What is rather interesting I suppose is that while McKinley county has the highest percent of people below the poverty level, their median houshold income is higher then other counties in the state????
New Mexico QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Having spent about 15 years in the Grants/Gallup and surrounding areas I can state for a fact the the people there may not have alot of material things but they make up for it with WHO and WHAT they are!!!!!!