We shouldn’t waste the time before the budget wars begin again
Our decisions should be based on reality, not dreams.
It’s time for a new PFD formula
It’s irresponsible to overspend earnings. It would diminish the fund’s value over time. And it would jeopardize funding for schools, the university, public safety and everything else Alaska communities need.
Can we afford a $3,000 PFD?
Taking out extra money to pay a fat dividend would be like retirees taking too much from savings each year, only to discover they outlived their nest egg. Then what?
The boy who cried ‘socialism’
For decades, we’ve been throwing around the word like it’s some sort of Silly Putty that means whatever we want — yet always means something bad.
Alaska LNG project could have significant environmental impacts, says draft assessment
The project would result in substantial impacts on permafrost, wetlands, forest, and caribou -- but effects could be reduced or eliminated if care taken.
Can Alaska avoid a tragedy?
The me-first approach results in overconsumption, underinvestment and, ultimately, exhaustion of the resource.
A better way to think about the dividend
Overdrawing the Permanent Fund to pay a big fat dividend, rather than an affordable-but-still-sizable check, places the individual benefit ahead of the common good.
Railroad expansion hopefuls have oversize dreams
It’s that something-for-nothing affliction again. It’s not a disease unique to Alaska, but one we have perfected.
Let’s be honest about what the PFD costs
While considering the governor’s stand that an advisory vote is the best path forward, let’s look back at a similar path that led nowhere.
Lawmakers should adapt the laws to reality, not the other way around
Despite what the new governor promised voters last fall, communities do not live by dividends alone.
Letter: Inflated tax rhetoric
Sadly, I fear the ballot proposition to impose a 5 percent sales tax on alcoholic beverages in Anchorage is getting mixed, shaken and stirred in the cocktail of anti-tax politics.
Let’s fix the budget with a long-term solution, not a stopgap repair
The dividend as now calculated has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with financial reality in the state. We should change its formula.