Commentary: A very telling question to ask any legislator is “What is the cause of the increasingly large wealth gap between the average citizen and the millionaire/billionaire class?”
Regardless of their answer, I believe it is structured into our economy in too many ways. It’s not that “we don’t work hard enough”. There are numerous structured things that our legislators have allowed (or actually advocated for) such as the predatory “Payday” loans which the poorest of us falling on hard times have to use periodically.
Not like a normal loan, these predatory loans charge up to a whopping 175% interest rate. I’ve had two businesses in my life and I understand what needs to be done to treat customers fairly and still make a profit. Our legislature failed to pass the bill which would have capped the rate from the outrageous 175% to a more reasonable high of 36%.
When Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham requests legislators return for a special session soon, this needs to be remedied. It would be a great way to show legislators care about structured wealth inequality.