Saw in the Eagle River Star that Sens. Anna Fairclough and Fred Dyson are optimistic that the Senate will pass a “version of the governor’s oil and gas tax reform bill.” I suppose “version” can mean many things; the governor basically wants to cut taxes and eliminate progressivity. I believe both of them feel cutting taxes on the oil companies will “make” them put more oil in the pipeline. More oil at less tax means more money for Alaska, or I hope that’s what they are thinking.

Without guarantees, that is a very naïve and poor business model. As any employer knows, you never pay the workers up front, only after they have produced.

So the question is: How are they going to guarantee Alaska gets more revenue from decreased taxes than we get now? Please don’t give the fundamentalist answer that cutting taxes on the job creators spurs them to create more jobs (more oil). Without guarantees, I don’t buy it and neither should they.

— Ron Silva

Eagle River