Birth rates for poor high in N.M.

Again, New Mexico is near the top of a list we probably wish we were not even on.

According to the Associated Press, New Mexico is one of eight states with statistically higher rates of births from women on public assistance.

In other words, our poor are having children at a high rate. So much for the state and schools educating us.

Of course, this goes hand in hand with our high drop out rate and our low educational levels.

Let’s just give more money to our failing schools!

Anyway, new census data released last week said New Mexico joins Alaska, Nebraska, Utah, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Tennessee in having higher than average rates of mothers age 15 to 50 on public assistance.

The figures are based on data from 2006, a decade after the passage of welfare reform in 1996.

Census officials say the measure gave states greater flexibility to put in place initiatives to reduce welfare dependency for members of low-income families with children.

The national average rate of births from women on public assistance is nearly 155 births per 1,000.

Contrast that with the release of another report that states that more American women in their early 40s are childless, and those who are having children are having fewer than ever before, the Census Bureau reports.

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