In all the years I have lived in Alaska, I never thought I would read in your newspaper the admission of House and Senate leaders that arguments over the dividend fund took the majority of their time.
Further, they admitted to leaving many important issues unresolved. The problem: no priorities other than one freemoney- to-all bill. I hope time management will never appear on their resumes as a strength, because this session was a profound failure.
What will it take for our legislators to comprehend that giving away money is not their only job?
Especially in a year when the giveaway was truly not affordable. It came at the expense of other much more important projects.
If our representatives believe that to stay in office they must forever send money to every man, woman, and child, we are doomed.
Alaska is desperate for a leader to educate the public about the future of our state. A future that involves helping to pay for the government they demand. The inevitable end of the dividend program is not because of its affordability — instead, it’s because it is blocking the need to address real problems Alaska faces now and in the future.
The worst part about our current situation is the governor, who believes giving away large sums of money will make him popular. And those who oppose his efforts are the enemy.
If anyone in this state thinks they are owed this dividend, please tell me and the world why. That would be a response I assure everyone to confuse and alarm all of Alaska.
— Gregory Carr
Anchorage
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