Letters to the Editor

Letter: How government works

About the Tuckerman Babcock column blasting Sen. Cathy Giessel and the Senate Republican majority for not approving Rep. Laddie Shaw to fill departed Sen. Chris Birch’s seat:

This was the epitome of hypocrisy! Someone using the political system to enhance their goals? Wasn’t Babcock the front man for the governor’s demand that state employees either sign a pledge to support his efforts or submit their resignation?

This in no way reflects on Rep. Shaw’s accomplishments or abilities. He simply was on the wrong side of the Permanent Fund dividend issue, of which I also disagree with the move to guarantee a payment of $3,000 or more. Sen. Birch was opposed, and Rep. Shaw supports it. The dividend is not an entitlement but is a benefit for all of us, depending on our state’s financial situation.

This was simply a result of how our government works. As the saying goes, “The American system of democratic government is the very worst one in the world, except for all the rest.”

— Orin Seybert

Anchorage

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