Anti up them taxes if you want the frills. Wanna compare contributions?
FWIW we had a rather decent economy relative to other parts of the state before we "got railroaded" and were no longer important or viable. Seward also lost on the deal but they managed to hang on. Winners in the deal included Fairbanks and other places up and down the rail line. Ship Creek (Anchorage) became the sweepstakes winner in the deal and of course Wasilla also grew to become something more than a Native village. Saint Michael- the only useable deep-water transfer point between open sea and river near the Yukon delta went from being a prosperous non-native town of several thousand alongside the Native village of Taciq to a small mostly Native village of a few hundred. While it's true that many of the small rural places don't pay their way....and can't- the downside of having so much government influence which doesn't support infrastructure is that it's difficult to gain any equity in a lot of places as well. You might own your own place in one of the hugely supported places - paying mightily to own it. Yet it has no value anywhere close to what you've invested due to the fact that no one who might want it could afford it and/or they can get a gov sponsored dwelling for less than they price of interest on the principal.
There's an upside and a downside to gov't intervention (interference). Some win by it/ others lose. Those who keep getting (needing) because they can't sustain are not the winners. While there are more than lots of negatives to being in the taker category- I have no problem with those who have -because of some largess not of their own doing- sharing their bounty with those who have been shorted of the same opportunities.
