FAIRBANKS — A couple of dozen young and old protesters gathered outside the Carlson Center at noon Wednesday, carrying signs saying such things as "GOV. WALKER YOUR FIRED" and "TRAITOR KELLY COGHILL."
Inside, Fairbanks business groups heard from two of the protest targets, Republican Sens. Pete Kelly and John Coghill.
It is ridiculous to call them traitors, but that sign reflects one of our great challenges in the months ahead — whether we can have a serious discussion about state money matters in Alaska or if uninformed anger about the Permanent Fund dividend will overcome all reason.
I think Coghill and Kelly deserve credit for voting to use Permanent Fund earnings to help pay for state and local government services under a plan that would have also provided a $1,000 dividend.
Gov. Bill Walker's veto of half of the funds for the dividend would have the same impact for this year, but the Senate plan was a formula change, not just a budget reduction.
A revised version of the Senate plan, calling for a $1,500 dividend, died in the House because too many legislators of both parties were afraid voters would send them packing.
Neither the Senate nor the House plan would solve the enormous financial problems facing Alaska. But either would have been a step toward a necessary compromise.
The action by the House Finance Committee, rejecting a bipartisan effort to at least hold a full House vote, was particularly egregious.
The Legislature meets again in a special session next week, an opportunity to reverse its dismal 2016 record on stabilizing state finances.
Perhaps during the special session, the six finance committee members who blocked a full vote — Reps. Dan Saddler, Lance Pruitt, Tammie Wilson, Scott Kawasaki, David Guttenberg and Lynn Gattis — will muster the courage to ignore their personal political futures and deal with the multibillion-dollar threat that hangs over the Alaska economy.
Their conflicting views on spending and oil taxes — offered as excuses to avoid making a change to the Permanent Fund — are side issues.
Republicans who say "cut government first" refuse to say what they want to cut. That's because they don't know how to cut $1 billion without triggering a public backlash that would be more focused than the PFD resistance. And $1 billion is only one-quarter of the budget hole.
Democrats who say "raise oil taxes and cut tax credits first" refuse to admit the single biggest element in any fiscal plan has to be earnings from the Permanent Fund. There is no other source or potential source that comes close.
The crowd of more than 150 people inside for lunch was polite, but subdued, while the protesters outside were a hint of the campaign dynamics ahead.
People have strong emotions about the dividend, but financial facts and trade-offs are even more important in defining options and can't be ignored, regardless of feelings.
The fortune-tellers who claim we can use Permanent Fund earnings to help pay for government and can keep the existing dividend formula with no new taxes say oil revenues will skyrocket in a few years, and a gas pipeline will be a bonanza.
In personal finance, that thinking leads to bankruptcy court. In state finance, that thinking stems from the knowledge it will be someone else's problem in a few years. The truth is we have no idea what oil prices will be when the Permanent Fund earnings reserve runs out in a few years.
The total collapse of state oil tax revenue has created a situation in which the only logical course is for state leaders to do things that are unpopular. Telling people they will get less money from the government meets that definition.
This is not called for in the typical politician's playbook, but what's even worse is running for office without admitting the need to take steps people will not like, trying to hide the unpleasant facts until after the election.
Columnist Dermot Cole lives in Fairbanks. The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.