I never would have expected so many people would come up to me and complain about the PFD over the last year. I get it: Since the Governor is burning down our state for $600 additional dollars in a PFD, many Alaskans have turned against the PFD itself. But the reality is we can have both a healthy economy AND a large PFD...provided we generate reasonable revenue.
Thank you to thread for hosting great events for children like their
Annual Book Party in the Park!
Fortunately, legislators are looking at bipartisan reforms to our oil tax system. We've heard overwhelmingly at public hearings this year that Alaskans want us to spend less money subsidizing oil companies that make billions of dollars in profits from resources that we all own as Alaskans.
Thanks Officer Degnan for your service.
Data from Securities and Exchange Commission filings suggest Alaska continues to be one of the most profitable places on earth to produce oil, similar to the Middle East. We are a more profitable place to produce than Canada or the Lower 48, where there may be large volumes of oil but higher production costs with unconventional fields.
We should ensure Alaska is a competitive place to explore and produce, but that doesn't mean we have to give away the farm. It is pretty clear we can thoughtfully reduce subsidies to oil companies without adversely impacting production. If we there's political will to move in that direction, we can sustain essential public services and a large PFD without draining the Permanent Fund itself.
Of course, that's the last thing Mike Dunleavy wants. He's hired (with a no-bid contract) a consultant with the goal of blocking reform of oil subsidies. Dunleavy's real goal is to destroy public institutions. If he was really interested in achieving a large and sustainable PFD, he'd be supportive of reducing subsidies to oil companies.
See you around the neighborhood,
Zack
Reminder: Beginning
September 15th, the Anchorage plastic bag ban goes into effect. For more information, you can visit: http://www.muni.org/plasticbagban
