More Business Columnists

• Stacy Sacco: Savor 'Cheese' book's lessons on tackling change
• Randy Burge: Locally grown foods grow in popularity
• Stacy Sacco: Want to develop a situation card?

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Maybe it's my version of keeping up with the Joneses, but I'm always interested in how our state is performing against our 49 other American siblings.

I was recently surprised to find a preliminary report published online by the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business & Economic Researchshowing that our 2006 per capita income had increased to $29,725, which improves our national ranking, so to speak. It makes us the sixth poorest state.

That's a big accomplishment since just a few years ago, when I moved back to New Mexico, we were ranked third from the bottom.

If we continue this trend, we'll soon surpass Utah, whose per capita income weighs in at $29,769, which is only $44 ahead of us. I've promised several friends that if I win the New Mexico Lottery's Powerball jackpot, I'll give every New Mexican household a check for $45 (and a Form 1099) and we'll be on our way to claiming the rank of seventh poorest state!

I know, for some of you, this higher ranking just doesn't seem to be that big of an accomplishment. One must be careful with statistics, however. Your perspective may be clouding your view.

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said, "There are lies, damned lies and statistics"?

For example, if we considered ourselves a country and broadened our comparison to the nearly 200 countries worldwide, excluding the United States, our seemingly paltry per capita income of $29,725 would place us as the 20th richest nation, according to World Economic Outlook statistics.

Imagine that? The average New Mexican is wealthier than the average Spaniard, Chinese, South Korean and our neighbors to the south, Mexicans, to name just a few.

The most interesting comparison, in my opinion, is to compare us with the richest state, Delaware. Delaware ranks No. 1 with a 2006 per capita income of $57,358.

However, I'm not sure if I can make that comparison. Delaware and New Mexico are such different places. For example, the commute from home to work in any New England state such as Delaware can be horrendous.

One friend from Dover, who now calls New Mexico home, said his round-trip commute was never less than two hours each day.

Given that figure and that my round-trip commute is only 30 minutes, I wonder if I can add back the time I've saved to our per capita income to make a better comparison.

Using our per capita income to compute an average hourly wage of approximately $14.25, the average New Mexican would save about $5,000 a year given 1 hours less time each day spent on the road (assuming one works 210 days and 2,080 hours per year). That increases our per capita income to a commute-adjusted $34,725.

Better yet, in May 2007, the American Lung Association named Albuquerque "Among the Top Ten Cleanest U.S. Cities for Long-Term Particle Pollution."

Our cleaner air has got to add up to some measure of a healthier life and less expensive medical bills. Even Men's Fitness Magazine, earlier this year, named us the "No. 1 Fittest City in America." I say we add in $10,000, so that our new clean-air, health-adjusted per capita income increases to $44,725.

In 2005, Yahoo HotJobs gave Albuquerque the designation of "A Rising Star" for providing the foundation for good work and life balance. Given the need to reduce stress in our lives, I'll add in another $12,500 to our average income, which increases our stress-adjusted per capita income to $57,225.

Of course, there are a number of other positive aspects of living in New Mexico that helps to increase its value, including the friendly attitudes of most of our citizens, the smell of roasting chile, a neighborhood lined with glowing luminarias on Christmas Eve, 1,000 hot air balloons flying overhead every October, or a ride up the Sandia Peak Tram.

But I think the one aspect of living here that takes us over the top is our beautiful, wide-eyed sunsets. So how much does a sunset cost?

Given that we have 360 days of sunshine each year, and our sunsets are better than any movie I've seen at $10 a seat, I'll add in $360 and increase our average income to a sunset-adjusted per capita income of $57,585. Eat your heart out Delaware, we've got you beat! I know it's hard to cost out the value of life in New Mexico, but I'm sure you'll agree with me that living in New Mexico makes us some of the wealthiest people in the world. A toast and a rousing salud to you and me, and all of us who call New Mexico home!