What's good for the goose …
Under the Senate's "Trumpcare/Tax Reduction" bill, being over 50 is considered a pre-existing condition subject to charges 10 times the current premium rates. Naturally, the senators promptly exempted themselves from having to participate in the new plan.
Should it not follow that they also exempt themselves from the tax cuts included in said bill?
— Sheila Burke
Eagle River
It's time for us to contribute
I own an industrial supply company here in Anchorage. I sometimes ask other business owners and professionals, "Would you have been as successful if you had started in Seattle, Portland or San Francisco, where markets are more saturated and competition is tougher?" I know I wouldn't have and doubt they would have either. All of us who have done well owe a certain amount of our success to Alaska and should be willing to pay a state income tax. It's time after a 40-year free ride to put some of our skin in the game.
We successful business people should speak up. A simple graduated income tax is the fairest way for all Alaskans to pitch in and do our part. I encourage you to tell our senators to implement an income tax to pay for a portion of the services we receive. The last 40 years have been good to all of us, probably better than if we had lived elsewhere, and we have a responsibility to help keep Alaska's economy sound if we want to continue to live and do business here.
— Eric McCallum
Anchorage
We have to reach out
In a speech by Bobby Kennedy way back in June of 1963, he said:
"We must recognize the full human equality of all of our people before God, before the law and in the councils of government. We must do this, not because it is economically advantageous, although it is; not because the laws of God command it, although they do; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do."
We must so reach out. Can we?
— Steven Williams
Anchorage
Consider what 'Obamacare' will do to us in the future
The media has been full of negative response to the proposed health care bill. We are told about the increased costs, and the decrease in the number of people who will be able to obtain coverage under the proposed plan. My question: What are the predictions if the current health care law, also known as "Obamacare," remains in place?
For Alaska, there is only one insurer in the marketplace. Unless you are able to obtain premium tax credits due to low income — that is, income under approximately $48,000 — your monthly insurance premium for a family could exceed $6,000. For a single individual, with an annual income of $60,000, the monthly premium is over $2,000 — more than an average monthly mortgage payment.
Employers providing health care coverage are currently looking at monthly rates of between $3,000 and $4,000 per employee for family coverage, and $1,000 to $2,000 for employee-only coverage. This is an additional annual salary cost of $36,000 to $48,000 per year per employee for those employers that are generous enough to provide coverage for entire families. Are these same employees able to cover the cost difference between themselves and their family members if the employers choose to only cover employees?
Given these high costs, I believe that we will begin to see more and more residents of our state electing to not have health insurance coverage. It is simply not affordable. Not for the individuals, and not for the employers. I urge our two senators and our sole member in the House of Representatives to encourage the powers that be to compare the projections of what will occur under the system in place with those of the proposed health care bill. Only then will we know where our best option lies.
— Deborah Holmes
Anchorage
Pay out the whole fund, then create a sustainable structure
$67,583.27, give or take a couple of hundred dollars. To heck with that piddly yearly dividend of a $1,000. How about a dividend to beat all dividends? How would you like a share of the whole darn $50 billion Permanent Fund pie? How does $67,538.27 sound ($50 billion/739,828 estimated population of Alaska) kerchinging in your bank account?
Legislators, you can put a constitutional amendment on a ballot giving citizens a chance to vote on cashing out the Permanent Fund. Yep, the Permanent Fund, from which our yearly dividend flows. It is time. This pile of dough is a swollen carbuncle on the backside of our fiscal/economic donkey. The Permanent Fund has become an obstacle that precludes practical, reasonable discussion on creating a sustainable budget.
Drain the account and start over. Give every resident a check for $67,583.27 or so. While residents are busy boosting the state's economy buying cars, boats, houses, paying off loans and, yes, blowing it on … ahem, other things, the Legislature could get to work creating a sustainable revenue and spending structure.
Start over with nothing except what comes in from the oil taxes. Earmark that money to pay for a portion of state government. Institute an income tax that makes up the difference. And since we're taking such a bold step, abolish those pesky cash oil tax credits and restructure the oil tax regime to make it more beneficial to Alaska. No more handouts to the oil companies. Oil companies should march to the tune the state of Alaska calls.
Stop thinking outside the box, legislators. Instead, burn the darn box to a crisp.
Our state economy is in the toilet. The oil companies, with the help of various legislators, happily bend the state of Alaska over a barrel. Instead of chipping in and paying a modest income tax, people want something for nothing. People want their dividend at all costs. People don't care about the collective society in which they live. It is what's mine is mine and the heck with everybody else. Now, all legislators do is squabble over how much of a dividend people are going to get, holding it hostage, and argue endlessly about how to spend the earnings from this overflowing piggy bank of money.
This business of saving for future generations is hokum and has become a platitudinous, self-righteous argument legislators use to further their own agendas. Who decides when a generation is "future" and in need of this money? What about the baby born today, the baby born yesterday, or born five years or 10 years ago? Open your eyes, legislators; our "future generation" is staring us in the face.
It is time to slaughter this sacred cow and create a path toward a sustainable fiscal and economic future.
— Theresa Philbrick
Anchorage
Hidden consequences
Today, the average person changes jobs 10 to 15 times (with an average of
12 job changes) during his or her career. It's not like 30 or 40 years ago when many, if not most, settled in to work for one company for most or all of one's career.
One of the subtle changes to the ACA in both the House and Senate versions is the loss of guaranteed access to health care when one changes jobs. Every change of jobs decreases the likelihood of continued coverage. This will have a yuge impact in increasing the number of uninsured, even beyond the simple, more immediate effects from Medicaid and other cuts. But hey, Republicans need those tax cuts for their donors.
— Martin Becker
Fairbanks
Racer had already finished
Recent letters regarding the tragic loss of a runner on Bird Ridge show a lack of knowledge about the race. It is an uphill-only event; the juniors finish line is halfway up and seniors at the top. Patrick had already finished his race and was on his way down. Was he running? Maybe; some people do while others walk, and either way his race was over. On race day there were probably 250 people on the mountain, runners, race officials and spectators, more than enough to have scared most bears away from the trail. In my 20-plus years climbing Bird Ridge multiple times each year, I have encountered bears twice and both times they saw me and ran away, including the grizzly sow with two cubs. The facts reported in this case sound like it was the result of a predatory bear. This race, like other mountain and trail races in Alaska, is well run and the participants are well aware of the dangers involved. The entire state is bear country and we must be careful while we share it with them.
— Mark Tuovinen
past and/or current participant
Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb
Crow Pass Crossing
Mount Marathon
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.