Who is paying
for YES vote
Table Of Contents
|
The following letters to the editor has appeared in Alaskan Papers
Please feel free to submit others here for posting
| PFD vote muddles question |
|
| On Sept. 14 there will be a special election to determine if Alaskans |
| support using Permanent Fund earnings to pay for state services. |
| Although the ballot will ask only one question, it actually poses two - |
| and invites even more options. The first question regards use of |
| Permanent Fund earnings and the second question regards |
| endorsement of the Balanced Budget Plan. Consequently, there are at |
| least four positions a voter may have. |
| 1. Yes to spending Permanent Fund earnings and the Balanced Budget |
| Plan. |
| 2. Yes to spending Permanent Fund earnings but no to the Balanced |
| Budget Plan. |
| 3. No to spending Permanent Fund earnings but yes to the Balanced |
| Budget Plan. |
| 4. No to spending Permanent Fund earnings and no to the Balanced |
| Budget Plan. |
| Voters who favor position No. 2 or No. 3 will either cast a vote they |
| partially disagree with or reject the whole thing by voting "no." A "no" |
| vote amounts to telling the legislators to go back to the drawing |
| boards; another position for voters to consider. The "yes" votes will be |
| muddled. A "yes" voter may be giving primary importance to spending |
| Permanent Fund earnings, but may not support the Balanced Budget |
| Plan. Ironically, the Legislature will probably interpret this vote as |
| support for the Balanced Budget Plan. |
| This whole thing is a mess. Any accurate interpretation of the results |
| will be presumptuous. It befuddles me how the Legislature could come |
| up with a yes/no question that has several answers. |
| - George Matz |
| Anchorage |
TOP
| Leave dividend alone |
|
| The tree has borne so much fruit it has weakened and threatened its |
| own survival. "Shortfall" really means government overspending. What |
| government needs is to live within the funds it already has, not spend |
| more! We should concentrate on government efficiency. How to |
| maintain the services needed at a reduced cost. Contracting to private |
| businesses. What savings could be realized by the citizens who pay the |
| bill by contracting to one who is already trained and does the work as |
| a specialist? Bonding ensures the taxpayer gets his money's worth. |
| Government employees do not give us that efficiency. |
| We have a very serious problem when we as Alaskans are paying in |
| excess of $10,000 per man, woman and child for government and its |
| services while other states spend around $3,000 per person. With that |
| in mind, how can government justify any increases in funding? What is |
| needed is better management in government spending! |
| How can lowering the standard of living of all Alaskans by taking away |
| the Permanent Fund dividend improve the betterment of its people? It |
| cannot! What it will do is hurt the least able among us, the children, the |
| elderly, disabled and the person who's trying to raise a family. Why not |
| let the people have this dividend to spend as they choose? This will |
| help the economy of Alaska instead of requiring the less fortunate to |
| look for more public assistance, which would in turn cost more. |
| Administrating, maintaining enforcement of a greater public assistance |
| program should not be our goal. |
| The time has come to say enough! It is time to change attitudes and |
| manage our government to benefit all Alaskans, the people who pay |
| the bill! |
| - Ed Martin Sr. |
| Clam Gulch |
TOP
| 'Feed the Permanent Fund' |
| |
| It would seem that with all the money the state has in its many pockets |
| that they would offer to put some in to the Permanent Fund, and I am |
| sure that I wouldn't have any problem voting yes. |
| As it stands, the people are to be stuck holding the stick while people |
| who are supposed to have everyone's health, welfare, prosperity and |
| happiness at heart are making sure theirs are being fulfilled. What |
| happens to the about $4 billion spent out of state coffers now every |
| year that we're not privy to? |
| There are several pots of money that we, the public, don't hear about |
| and a true state of the state is not being given. What is truly being done |
| with the money they use now? What do we the people see for the |
| money they spend now? Why do they insist on playing us? When will |
| the politics end and true accomplishments be made? |
| Feed the Permanent Fund if it is to be used by the state and be sure it |
| is guaranteed a percent of the profits from the businesses that the state |
| owns. |
| - Clarence McConkey |
| Copper Center |
TOP
| Politicians will get their way |
| |
| Brian Porter may have been a good cop (though I know a few who |
| would debate that) but he does not even come close to being an |
| acceptable politician. His comment in the Sunday, Aug. 8, Daily News |
| that if we don't vote yes on the Permanent Fund initiative there won't |
| be any PFD for the children is pure, unadulterated, cow pasture |
| blarney. Scare tactics at its best. Bullying works good for cops - guess |
| he figures it will work good for politics. |
| No matter how we vote, it is only advisory and the politicians are |
| going to do what they want anyway. That's what the people of Alaska |
| fail to realize. Look what the politicians did with the medical marijuana |
| vote - changed it because we are ignorant souls wandering in the |
| wilderness. They are going to do exactly the same on the PFD vote. |
| We will vote overwhelmingly "no, don't use it" and the politicians will |
| come back and say, "Oh, you poor ignorant serfs, you really don't |
| understand the problem and we the robber barons are going to do it |
| this way anyway." |
| Voter, beware! |
| -Phil Weber |
| Cooper Landing |
TOP
| Income tax the fairest way |
| |
| It would be better for us Alaskans to pay for state government by |
| having a state income tax rather than using our Alaska Permanent Fund |
| dividend or a sales tax. The reasons are simple and clear. Only a state |
| income tax could get the corporations (both local but especially |
| international) to help with the cost of state government. Corporations |
| don't get the PFD so they would not be touched by the loss of our |
| PFD. In fact, they would probably be happy that we are paying for the |
| cost of state government and not them. Corporations use state |
| services, make a profit in our state and should be expected to pay right |
| along with the rest of us. Beware that it is the corporations that have |
| the money to hire expensive lobbyists to influence our state |
| representatives. |
| I have been wondering how it is that the oil refinery Williams Co. |
| (formally Mapco) has gotten by with charging people in the Interior |
| about 15 cents more a gallon than those in Anchorage when the oil is |
| refined right here in North Pole. It seems to me that this overgrown |
| monopoly needs some serious regulation. I hope there are some |
| politicians out there who aren't bought off and will do what is right. |
| A sales tax would also leave the corporations virtually untouched. |
| Using a state income tax would be the fairest way to pay for the state's |
| bills. It could be set up so everyone would pay according to his or her |
| income, while leaving those making under $20,000 or so exempt. |
| Also, consider using more of a fee per usage for things like state parks |
| and such. This way, those who use the services would pay for them |
| and those who do not use them would not. |
| Please vote no to using the PFD in September. |
| - Charles Underwood |
| Salcha |
TOP
| Yes' is vote for incompetence |
| |
| Alaska voters, wake up! A vote for using the Permanent Fund |
| dividend to fund the Alaska state government is a vote for bigger |
| government and a vote for the incompetent, incumbent legislators |
| whom we thought we elected to serve us, the public! Do not be |
| surprised if the vote "no" exceeds the vote "yes" by a large percentage |
| margin (the Associated Press poll says 62 percent of Alaskans are |
| opposed) but the Legislature decides to use the PFD anyway. If that |
| happens, it should send a clear message to the voters that the |
| government of Alaska is not of, by and for the people (as the U.S. |
| Constitution provides) but of, by and for the fat cats! |
| These are also the same people who support the British |
| Petroleum-Atlantic Richfield oil merger and who cannot see (or hear) |
| the incredible potential downsides to the Alaska people of that merger. |
| Once merged, if BP-ARCO decide the development schedule of |
| Alaska oil and natural gas resources is not advantageous to their profit |
| margin, who in Alaska government has the horsepower to demand |
| otherwise? That development schedule is absolutely vital to Alaska |
| and Alaskans and the PFD. |
| It seems by their actions (or lack thereof) that most of our state |
| politicians are "owned" by the various natural resources industries in |
| the state, and they are not about to make any waves as long as they |
| get their fair share. Only we, the voters, can elect people who will |
| represent the will of the public, so if you do not vote or if you vote for |
| an incumbent, do not complain about your situation; you have earned |
| it! |
| - Richard Hahn |
| Soldotna |
TOP
| Dividend unique to Alaska |
| |
| I am discouraged by the caliber of the debate between the save/raid |
| the Permanent Fund dividend campaigns. The raiders, who are clearly |
| better financed and more polished, have successfully twisted the |
| question to a perceived choice between educated, responsible |
| citizenship and ignorant selfishness. I do not believe this is an accurate |
| representation of the facts. |
| I believe that all good citizens should vote to preserve the dividend. |
| Our dividend program is unique throughout the world. It is a |
| home-grown Alaska experiment, deeply rooted in our individualist and |
| populist traditions. The Permanent Fund dividend has symbolized fair |
| benefit distribution in our huge and diverse state. It has simultaneously |
| helped subsistence villagers preserve their way of life, made your |
| down payment on your first house possible and enabled me to go |
| away to college. The Permanent Fund's distribution scheme has |
| brought Alaskans from all walks of life and all backgrounds to a unique |
| Alaska consensus on good government. |
| Furthermore, the dividend program is part of our state's original |
| economic policies that have proved themselves friendlier to the middle |
| class than any other state. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that |
| Alaska is one of only two states whose middle class grew |
| proportionately throughout the past 20 years, furthermore our average |
| salaries are higher than anywhere else in the country. |
| In reference to the dividend program Jay Hammond once said, "The |
| only way to fight public greed is with private greed." I think the |
| legislators and lobbyists of our state will find themselves sorely |
| mistaken if they think the Alaska people will sell out their own great |
| legislative success story - no matter how twisted the ballot question is |
| phrased. |
| - David E. York |
| Anchorage resident and George Washington University student |
TOP
| Don't buy this stupid ploy |
| |
| I hope Alaskans are really different! If our illustrious President Clinton |
| came to me and said, "Look, Terry, we've made lots and lots of really |
| stupid mistakes in managing your taxes and we need a lot more money |
| from you, will you give it to us? We're going to do better next time," |
| would I give it to them (him)? Yeah, right! Not on your life! |
| Across our nation people are being sold a horrible bill of goods by a |
| smartly packaged pitch from the various governments, and they buy it |
| like a bunch of single-digit-IQ sheep! And their families are less |
| well-off for their stupidity. |
| I hope here in Alaska this infectious stupidity won't fly. Our state |
| Legislature keeps voting increased perks, per diem and other |
| self-serving benefits at our expense and then says, "We need more |
| money and we don't dare ask for more from the wonderfully profitable |
| oil companies, so we've gotta get some of your family's Permanent |
| Fund, how about it?" |
| Are you really slow enough to buy this line? A bunch of legislators in |
| Juneau are betting you are that slow. This proposal is an insult to our |
| intelligence! |
| My 10-year-old gifted son's PFD college account is now pushing |
| $17,000 and growing rapidly. Would our Legislature spend his money |
| more wisely than my wife and I have? Hardly! |
| We've got breathing time to address this deficit problem. Almost four |
| years' worth. Don't vote for a chunk of your fund dollars to go to |
| Juneau! If the fund is left alone, we'll see it $4,000 per citizen by year |
| 2002. Don't buy this insultingly stupid ploy! |
| - Terry Luther |
| Anchorage |
TOP
| Your vote is your voice |
| |
| Boycott the September Permanent Fund election to send a message to |
| BP? (Burgoyne letter, Aug.5) No way! |
| The message of a yes victory will be "We Alaskans want to give you |
| tax relief while we pay your share of the deficit from our Permanent |
| Fund checks, leave big bills unpaid, our kids' teeth crooked and scrap |
| plans to save for college." BP will laugh all the way to the bank. |
| The million-dollar special election is raw power politics, pure and |
| simple, corporate war declared on your family. The Vote Yes |
| Committee avoids serious debate over higher oil taxes or income tax |
| on nonresidents with a yes vote on a ballot proposition so incoherent |
| that it has designed an $800,000 campaign to "explain" it. |
| Who is paying for this power play? What is Big Oil's contribution, |
| direct or indirect, to the "Vote Yes Committee"? Campaign |
| contributions will not be disclosed until Aug. 16, one day after the |
| deadline for voter registration (Aug. 15). |
| Why did the Legislature explicitly exclude its mishmash of loopholes |
| and double-talk from the mandated process for making a ballot |
| proposition readable? Ex-governors who as private citizens used |
| government subsidies to get rich and the nonresident governor who |
| redlined consumer protection dishonored themselves by endorsing this |
| corporate raid on Alaska wallets before alternative sources are |
| targeted and tapped. |
| Register and vote. |
| - Stephen Conn, executive director |
| Alaska Public Interest Research Group |
| Anchorage |
TOP
| Tax more fair than tapping fund |
| After listening to what Rep. Gail Phillips said recently at the Homer |
| Senior Citizens Center about the Permanent Fund, I urge a "no" vote |
| on Sept. 14. Leave it alone. When ex-Gov. Jay Hammond and others |
| started this program it was one of the best things any state government |
| could do. If this Legislature, or any other one, starts dipping into the |
| fund for salary increases, etc., it will be a constant source of temptation |
| for them. It is not fair to deprive lower income families of their share of |
| oil income while some of Alaska's fat cats give up very little. |
| If the state needs more revenue, then it should do as most other states |
| do and pass an income tax. That way all will pay based on their ability |
| to pay, including out-of-state workers. |
| Leave the Permanent Fund alone. Vote no. |
| - Joe Lawlor |
| Homer |
TOP
| Don't give politicians a blank check |
| |
| A recent letter writer urged a yes vote on the proposal for the |
| government to spend Permanent Fund earnings that are currently being |
| used to pay dividends and protect the value of the fund from inflation. |
| Using some of the same poll-tested appeals to the public's worst fears |
| that are being employed by the special interests advocating a yes vote |
| on Sept. 14, she predicted dire consequences if Alaskans reject this |
| plan to tap your Permanent Fund dividend. The writer predicted a no |
| vote would result in income and sales taxes, loss of your dividend, |
| drastic school cuts and suffering for children. It would be no less |
| deceitful to also include plague and pestilence as consequences of a no |
| vote. Despite these scare tactics, the only guaranteed result of rejecting |
| this flawed and poorly conceived proposal is that those who want to |
| use your dividend will be forced to come forward with a better plan, |
| perhaps the next time with meaningful involvement by the public. |
| The politicians favoring a yes vote want you to give them a vaguely |
| worded blanket permission slip, as well as a blank check drawn on the |
| account that pays your family's annual dividends. In return they offer |
| you promises that they don't have the constitutional authority to keep. |
| At the very least, any plan that proposes to use your dividend should |
| be clearly defined, and the terms enforced by a voter-approved |
| constitutional amendment. |
| There is considerable difference of opinion as to how we should pay |
| for state government, even among the diverse collection of Alaskans |
| who oppose the plan to take a portion of your dividend. One common |
| agreement, though, is that spending your dividend and eroding the |
| value of the Permanent Fund should not be the first and only option |
| presented to Alaskans. |
| - Bill Stoltze |
| Chugiak |
TOP
| Bring back 'pioneering spirit' |
|
|
|
| |
| I watch as the state pioneers its way into a great monster, wiping out |
| private enterprise to do it. Now they want more money to keep |
| growing. |
| I say, give the government back to the people by putting private |
| enterprise back to work and cutting the size of state government |
| dramatically. |
| To mention a few: Eliminate all state surveyors and their new trucks |
| and contract out needed work. Eliminate all specialty equipment and |
| contract it out. Eliminate all printing press equipment and contract it |
| out. It would create hundreds of new jobs for ex-state employees. |
| How this list could go on! |
| Alaska people would have pioneering spirit again by watching small, |
| private enterprise growing again. |
| - Alex Kime |
| Cooper Landing |
TOP
| Vote to empty the deep pockets |
| |
| I remember when I first came to Alaska in the late 1960s. We had lots |
| of narrow roads, many not even paved. But they went through and to |
| such great country that few people seemed to mind. In addition, lots of |
| Alaska drivers back then had old, beat-up vehicles that often wouldn't |
| do more than 50 or 60 mph, even when the accelerator was pushed |
| down all the way. Somehow we all got around even if it took a little |
| longer. Maybe we prevented a few coronaries by being less stressed |
| for speed. |
| The legislative majority and their sugar daddies in big Outside industry |
| want us to believe that we have only two choices: cut our dividends or |
| do nothing. In reality, the only people talking about a "do-nothing" |
| approach are the Vote Yes campaigners. In fact, the people of Alaska |
| have suggested hundreds of creative solutions to our budget problem. |
| If your bills exceed your income, what makes more sense: dipping into |
| your savings account or increasing your income? If we charged the oil |
| industry the same tax rate they pay everywhere else in the world we |
| would have a $2 billion budget surplus and our dividends would be |
| almost $6,000 each. They know this and they don't want us to know |
| it. |
| Don't believe the lie that they will abandon us and our valuable |
| resources if asked to pay their fair share. Recent studies published in |
| the Daily News show that they will keep drilling even if they only break |
| even. Currently they pay less than 3 percent while working people pay |
| 25 percent to 30 percent of their paychecks. |
| Let's use basic common sense economics: go for the deep pockets! |
| Vote no in September. |
| - Andrew Thomson |
| Anchorage |
TOP
| Porter failing his constituents |
| I just read in the paper that the cuts made by our astute Legislature |
| gutted food safety programs, putting consumers' health at risk for the |
| sake of a dollar. The speaker of the House, Brian Porter, conveniently |
| couldn't remember how this happened. In fact, Mr. Porter said he |
| could not recall "specifics." If he did not know the specifics of what he |
| was voting on, then it is time District 20 replaced this man, as a tree |
| stump would have more knowledge. |
| This is the same representative who introduced the bill protecting |
| insurance companies by limiting the amount of recovery the consumer |
| could receive in liability suits. This representative didn't give any |
| consideration to the well-being of the consumer in that the limitations |
| may not compensate for the consumer's actual loss. Mr. Porter didn't |
| limit insurance companies on the charges to the consumer. As an |
| article stated, this limitation for recovery costs did not lower the costs |
| of the insurance premiums that the consumer pays. In fact, insurance |
| companies raised the cost to the consumer, with less coverage. |
| This representative is all for big business with no thought to his |
| constituents. Vote this man out and bring in a person who is for the |
| consumer. Mr. Porter obviously is not. |
| - C.J. Gray |
| Anchorage |
TOP
| Vote to protect fund |
| It is being said that the Sept. 14 election will be the most important in |
| state history. Our elected officials are saying they need more money. |
| This is a familiar statement (shortfall), and we have all heard it. They |
| present their views with elaborate graphs and charts (all assumptions), |
| and they point to a "mountain" of projected money that they say is |
| necessary. This mountain ranges up to $50 billion plus in so many |
| years. Is that the goal Alaskans should have? Isn't it better not to lower |
| the standard of living of all Alaskans by taking away our Permanent |
| Fund dividend money? Alaskans could use it to better themselves and |
| their families. |
| It's wrong to take away their dividends to build this mountain of money |
| for politicians to distribute to and for themselves and their special |
| interests. To further burden the least able among us - children, the |
| elderly and families - is wrong (that's the shortfall), taking opportunity |
| away from those who need it. Vote no on Sept. 14. It's very important |
| for you and Alaska. Inflation-proof our families. Leave the Permanent |
| Fund alone! |
| - Ed Martin Sr. |
| Clam Gulch |
TOP
| Cut bloated government |
| The Legislature has not downsized nor reprioritized the size and scope |
| of our status-quo, bloated government. At best, so far we have seen |
| surface artistry and mere sophistry plus addition of a new state |
| Department of Community and Economic Development with an |
| $83,844 commissioner, eligible for pay increases with experience. |
| Experience probably translates into figuring out how to bloat the state |
| agency. Another high-priced, on-the-job trainee. All state |
| commissioners start out at $83,844 per year. |
| Hopefully, the voting public will mandate the Legislature to commence |
| radical surgery on the bloated government when they return to Juneau |
| in the fall. If not, the year 2000 general election will be the Y2K crash |
| for the ones who refuse to downsize and reprioritize the size and scope |
| of our status-quo, bloated government. |
| It appears that the glittering generality, fiscal responsibility is really fiscal |
| responsibility as we see it on the part of the legislative establishment in |
| Juneau. Most of them are not representing the majority of voting public |
| and probably have not during their tenure. |
| For now we would like to see everyone with homemade bumper |
| stickers, statewide, reading, "Vote no to save your dividend." It will be |
| important for everyone to vote no to save your dividend on Tuesday, |
| Sept. 14. |
| - Bill and Samon Arnold |
| Sterling |
TOP
| Lawmakers torture reason |
| Alaska is in a convoluted state of affairs over this current budget crisis. |
| On the one hand we have Republicans acting like Democrats by |
| proposing a greater financial burden on the people of this state by |
| refusing to cut spending on wasteful and unnecessary social programs |
| which keep the poor in the prison of poverty by teaching societal |
| reliance as opposed to self-reliance. Then we have the Democrats |
| doing their best Republican impersonation by taking (yes, it's taking |
| when someone has something guaranteed by law and you take it) |
| money out of the hands of the working poor, the disabled, the elderly |
| and, my goodness, even children. |
| It's got to be refreshing to see the way our legislative and executive |
| branches of government can put aside their petty differences to come |
| to a common ideal of defending international oil companies like BP, |
| Outside businesses and workers, the very wealthy and those very |
| important people (like themselves) who depend on those general fund |
| dollars to keep them in their brand-new SUVs and big houses on the |
| Hillside. Yes, our Legislature defends these poor defenseless victims |
| against the tyranny of the people who entrusted the state to their care. |
| Campaign promises? Their political futures? Native Alaskans who |
| depend on the dividend to help them through the winter? You and me? |
| They have higher ideals to answer to (campaign contributors, state |
| employee unions, etc.) instead of voters and decency. |
| -Josh Shaver |
| Anchorage |
TOP
How Long will the PFD Last?
| In 1970 the state of Alaska received $900 million in oil-lease bonuses |
| from the North Slope. That amount of money if invested at the most |
| nominal rate of 6 percent would have produced $54 million the first |
| year. Our legislators had $1 million per week that they never had |
| before. |
| And did they have a field day! Not only did they spend the extra $1 |
| million a week, but they went merrily on their way and spent the whole |
| $900 million and reduced it to zero in less than five years. I defy them |
| to tell us what was achieved with this scandalous waste of the public |
| wealth, besides doubling the state payroll. |
| Now my question is this: How long do you think our Permanent Fund |
| will last, given such a poor record of mismanagement? I would far |
| sooner pay a state income tax. Vote no! no! and again no! on the |
| referendum. |
| - Alec Taylor |
| Anchorage |
TOP
| Curb the greed, keep the PFD |
| |
| In his January State of the State and Budget address, Gov. Knowles |
| proposed the long-term balanced budget plan. Think about it: If |
| Alaskans approve the balanced budget plan, it will convene on January |
| 2000. The Permanent Fund principal will not be touched and will |
| continue to be inflation-proofed to protect its value for the current and |
| future Alaskans. It means that Permanent Fund dividends will be at |
| least $1,700 this year and next, then it will go to about $1,340 and |
| continue to grow. If we snub the plan, you can say goodbye to a good |
| thing and hello to taxes! |
| Look at it this way. It is better to have a piece of the pie than none of |
| it! We should be thankful for what we have and forget about greed! |
| After all, you are an Alaskan, right? |
| For more info go to http://www.gov.state.ak.us/balancethebudget.html |
| and read about it. |
| - Ted Beard |
| Eagle River |
TOP
| Leave our rainy-day fund alone |
| As a lifelong member of the Great Alaskan Unwashed - students, |
| homeless, single parents, villagers, minimum wage workers, etc. - I feel |
| compelled to respond to all the oil-drenched politicians in Juneau and |
| their rhetoric in trying to persuade us to vote yes on the September |
| Permanent Fund dividend rip-off. I also feel compelled to offer a few |
| possible solutions to the bloated fiscal anomaly of the alleged state |
| budget shortfall as follows: |
| 1. It's the spending, stupid. Perhaps a short, 10-year sabbatical on |
| bike trails, office refurbishment, foreclosed airplane hangars, ad |
| infinitum. |
| 2. Get the oil monopoly, please refer to the last ARCO report and its |
| record profits. |
| 3. A possible Permanent Fund loan with a modest interest rate and |
| proper collateral, e.g., hangars, office buildings, etc. (similar to the feds |
| and their billions of T bonds as their solution to fiscal irresponsibility). |
| 4. A simple check-off box on the Permanent Fund application form |
| where concerned Alaskans could donate their PFDs to the shortfall. I |
| am certain that all the fat-cat legislators, past and present governors, |
| and their respective spouses and children, in all their benevolence, |
| would serve present and future shortfalls (Lord knows they can afford |
| it). |
| 5. Spend your own rainy day fund and leave ours alone. |
| 6. A possible modest Alaska state income or sales tax, as a last and |
| final case scenario. |
| My fellow Unwashed, Alaskan slaves, please ignore the forthcoming |
| media frenzy. Register and vote no on the state's latest attempt to tax |
| the people's share of the rent on the use of our land and resources by |
| the oil monopoly. Your vote matters this time. |
| A final solution: Send that budget-balancing, bullet-biting Mayor Rick |
| Mystrom of Anchorage to Juneau as governor. |
| - Gene McBride, retired single parent |
| Cordova |
TOP
| Government hides taxes well |
| Soon the registered voters of this state will be given the opportunity to |
| collectively respond to a question posed by our representatives from |
| Juneau. By asking one question, they will receive two answers. If we |
| say "no" to the taking of Permanent Fund earnings, we then, by default, |
| recommend a more direct approach to supplying money to state |
| government - a direct tax. |
| But taxes have many names. Whether our government chooses to call |
| them taxes, fees, permits, registrations or licenses, they are all taxes - |
| and we are all paying them. Whether hidden in the price of gasoline or |
| alcohol, or in doing activities that are required to comply with certain |
| laws, we are paying the price of government. |
| Alaska has the reputation as the sole state in the union that functions |
| without a direct sales tax and income tax. This reputation seems to |
| have led certain individuals to believe that we are not supplying our |
| government with sufficient funds necessary to function properly. As |
| one Seattle-based economist recently stated, by voting "no," we are |
| destined to become a "nasty" place to live. |
| But all this is political maneuvering, attempting to avoid the debate of |
| what are the good and necessary functions of state government. By |
| this I mean the essential and specific activities our state government is |
| constitutionally authorized to participate in, excluding those that remain |
| in the hands of the people. If we sufficiently define and limit our |
| government to those activities, we may avoid the question of additional |
| taxes entirely. |
| - Dennis Olson |
| Anchorage |
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| Weigh facts before voting |
| Would Gail Phillips' plan to balance the budget by tampering with the |
| Permanent Fund dividend program work? Only God knows; any other |
| source would be speculation at best. Let us not speculate on that |
| which may or may not be. Let us instead deal with facts. |
| 1. The Permanent Fund has proved to be a successful and equitable |
| means of growth and disbursement. It works well. Don't tamper with |
| it. |
| 2. Though the budget shortfall was not a campaign issue, it has |
| become a very subtle method of seduction, a key that will open the |
| door to the Permanent Fund (if we permit it). |
| 3. We will have on Sept. 14 a special election regarding this issue. It's |
| going to cost us $100,000, simply because our legislators do not |
| understand the meaning of the word "no." |
| 4. At the last election, only 15 percent of the populace cared enough |
| to go out and vote. Even worse, many do not care enough to even |
| register to vote. |
| 5. Those who derive their income from state, borough and city funds |
| will be out in force voting yes in an effort to sustain their bureaucratic |
| lifestyle. (They don't need the PFD check.) |
| 6. Unless you register to vote by Aug. 13, you will not be able to vote |
| no to save your dividend check. |
| 7. There are three kinds of people in the world: those who make it |
| happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what |
| happened. Which one will you be? |
| - Jerry B. Scholes |
| Homer |
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| Trust is heart of issue |
| The governors of Alaska were unanimous against moving the capital, |
| but today the governors of Alaska appear divided on what to do on |
| the Permanent Fund raid. I trust Gov. Hammond; he had two |
| well-established terms and is against it. Gov. Miller, a nice, real |
| down-home Alaska gentleman, so far has no participation. But Gov. |
| Hickel is showing his age to team with Sheffield, who was almost |
| kicked out of the governor's chair, and Steve Cowper, who could |
| barely finish one term of office. Gov. Hickel agrees that there is lots of |
| waste, and he should know; he was there twice. Yet they insist on |
| breaking into the Permanent Fund. |
| To me as an individual, if the capital were not so sequestered in Juneau |
| and people had participation, it would be the thing to do. But while the |
| Legislature is in Juneau, it will add more to the waste problems. |
| Alaska has some big-time problems that need solutions, but first we |
| have to cut the fat. And after you trim down the waste, maybe the |
| people will regain trust and get down to real business. The word is |
| trust, very easy and simple. |
| - Manuel Norat |
| Anchorage |
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| Make oil industry pay |
| The oil industry has averaged more than $5 billion in net profits each |
| year for the past 20 years (in 1998 dollars). Our leaders in Juneau tell |
| us they need $1 billion to meet the budget. Why shouldn't we see if oil |
| companies can get by on just $4 billion a year instead of picking |
| Permanent Fund dividends from people's pockets? |
| A yes vote on the Permanent Fund raid will have the effect of |
| subsidizing BP, the second largest corporation in the world if it takes |
| over Arco. BP could gain near-complete control of our oil leases and |
| the transportation of our oil and could free itself from taxes on |
| skyrocketing profits. Costs of getting oil are half what they were a few |
| years ago, yet Alaska gets the same old royalty rate without sharing in |
| the excess profits. |
| The Permanent Fund vote and BP takeover of Arco are bound |
| together. At stake is whether Alaska controls its oil resources or BP |
| controls Alaska. If Alaska wants to maintain control of resources, the |
| state needs to file an antitrust suit immediately. |
| The PFD advisory vote is a question of who pays - corporations that |
| make billions in profit or Alaskans who struggle to make ends meet. A |
| no vote on the Permanent Fund issue is the only way to force the |
| governor and Legislature to find a fair way to raise money. It's your |
| Permanent Fund dividend now, but it won't be if the government gets |
| its hands on it. |
| - Jim Sykes |
| Palmer |
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