Jobs & the local economy
What if Southern New Mexico built a pantry brand rooted in chile and pecans — value that stays here instead of leaving on a truck? Listen in the player above, then read the four summaries below — one for each part of the series.
How about great Jobs with Chili and Pecans?
Southern New Mexico grows the raw materials to make the best chili crisp in the world. In Mexico it is called Salsa Macha. I bought it on a road trip from Durango to Mazatlan. It changed my life!
The Chili Crisp Empire
We could create more (and way better) jobs doing Salsa Macha vs. doing a huge data center.
These are just some of the jobs:
- Farmers
- Food processing
- Packaging
- Manufacturers
- Truck drivers
- Retailers
- Community colleges training the next cohort
- Local entrepreneurs
A Better Future
In WhutNext’s analysis of 14,000+ public comments, more than half weren’t unique stories — they were the same template copied thousands of times, centered on jobs, construction, and investment. Those jobs are real, but they peak while something is being built, then taper when crews leave and the permanent workforce shrinks.
Macha reframes the question: not whether Jupiter creates jobs, but what kind of jobs?
Summaries paraphrase the four-part audio series in the breadcrumbs player. Graphics for each section are coming soon.