24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 40,179
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 40,179
Frank McQueary
March 20, 2015

In 2006 Alaskans “took a stand” against the political establishment and elected the largely untested and inexperienced Sarah Palin as governor.

To the delight of Alaska Democrats, Palin’s agenda began with targeting Republicans, winning her the adoration of the Alaska press who assisted her in soaring to a 70 percent approval rating and beyond. That caught the attention of D.C. power brokers and in the blink of an eye, Palin was a 2008 vice presidential candidate.

Suddenly, the very same Democrats who had fawned over Sarah became her mortal enemies. Palin spent the rest of her governorship under vicious attack and was out of office by July 2009.

In 2008, American voters elected President Barack “change you can believe in” Obama, many of them sincerely believing that he would heal our political polarization and unify the country. It's safe to say he hasn't.

In 2014, Palin endorsed an undefined but new-feeling gubernatorial “unity” ticket. Alaskans followed her lead and the press dutifully fed the carefully crafted narrative that this was something special and, like Obama, somehow historic and transformational.

Voters are naturally attracted to personable candidates who promise to rise above politics. But history shows that it's far easier to promise than to deliver.

Most Alaskans probably agree that Palin and Obama fell short of expectations and haven’t turned out quite as advertised. I would submit that like Palin and Obama, Gov, Bill Walker is shaping up to be another disappointment. Also like Palin and Obama, he displays a temperament very unsuited and unbecoming to political office (especially the chief executive office), and a petulant refusal to play the hand he was dealt instead of the one he believes he deserves.

Walker's feckless, conflicted actions against oil companies and his efforts to undo his predecessor's progress on Alaska LNG, in favor of his personal fantasy to get a gas line to his hometown of Valdez, is more likely to bankrupt the state he says he is putting first than to get us a better deal.

But Walker can’t seem to accept a project without a sufficient number of his own fingerprints on it.

Cold hard fact: 100 percent of zero is still zero. Scrapping a gas line deal that isn't 100 percent good enough for Walker’s idea of "owner state" does not mean we will wind up with anything better. It looks more likely that we'll wind up with nothing. There are many more cliches available to describe this classic error. It’s letting “perfect” become the enemy of “good.” It’s a case of forgetting that a bird in the hand is as good as two in the bush.

A true "unity" administration would begin and stick with genuinely unifying efforts, which substantial percentages of both parties support. In Alaska this would probably be access to federal lands and getting a gas pipeline. The vote in the 60-member Alaska Legislature on SB 138 to move forward with the Alaska LNG project was 51-8. Would not that have been a great place for a “unity” governor to start?

Instead, what did Walker do, just like Palin and Obama? He came in picking fights with huge, important constituencies. He’s made controversial firings and appointments. He dismisses and/or demeans critics, calling them "un-Alaskan," rather than listening to them. How is this different than the most partisan of partisans?

It’s not different. This is a partisan administration. Bill Walker picked a political side the day his deal was coined. His administration came in on the false premise that they were something else; that they'd rise above all those ugly political trappings. But their special interests turn out to be no more or less special than anyone else's. And their agendas are no less extreme or offensive or unsustainable. The bait was all the same, the only variance was the switch.

The liberal Democrats manipulating Walker cannot believe their good fortune. All they have ever wanted -- an income tax, an end to the dividend and access to the Alaska Permanent Fund to pay for all the government they can possibly get -- is at hand. Will anyone be left to pay the bill in the next generation? At this rate, I doubt it.

That would leave Alaska with nobody but a few park rangers and other government-subsidized office dwellers to keep the lights on. Again, this version of our state is something that environmentalists and liberals have long dreamed of. But it probably is not what Walker understands he’s careening toward, and it’s certainly not what he advertised.

Frank McQueary is vice chair of the Alaska Republican Party.


Son of a liberal: " What did you do in the War On Terror, Daddy?"

Liberal father: " I fought the Americans, along with all the other liberals."

MOLON LABE





BP-B2

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,660
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,660
Quote
Walker's feckless, conflicted actions against oil companies and his efforts to undo his predecessor's progress on Alaska LNG, in favor of his personal fantasy to get a gas line to his hometown of Valdez, is more likely to bankrupt the state he says he is putting first than to get us a better deal.




Translation: We should have stuck with the devil we knew.


[Linked Image from i.pinimg.com]

Z
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
At the present time, we've been getting by on a monthly pension check….getting by. However, with February's check, I should have been credited with another year's worth of time since I was sitting on a year's worth of sick leave when I retired. However, instead of a small bump in COLA, the state instead decided to drop COLA altogether, so I effectively took a cut in income. How is that possible with intelligent accountants running the ship? I'm thinking the Russian lady who sent the notification was from Walker's janitorial staff…his version of replacement accountants.


Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 31,969
L
las Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
L
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 31,969
I miss Wally, Jay, and even Sheffield


The only true cost of having a dog is its death.

Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,259
C
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
C
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,259
From what I see, we are going to have a bit of a revenue problem here in Alaska.

IC B2

Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 23,385
7
79S Offline
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
7
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 23,385
Which will lead to a mass exodus of people. I hope no one takes it the wrong way but the State would benefit from this I think. People see my Alaska plates and the first question they all ask is it true you get oil money. I tell them we get money but considering it is Alaska it helps offset some things. But being lower 48 folks they don't get it.


Originally Posted by Bricktop
Then STFU. The rest of your statement is superflous bullshit with no real bearing on this discussion other than to massage your own ego.

Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me.
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Originally Posted by Calvin
From what I see, we are going to have a bit of a revenue problem here in Alaska.


We've been having revenue problems for as long as we've had the deed. The problem is 'we' seem to forget that every time we're in a boom…….and we seem to have an open border problem of our own.


Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 85,964
Campfire Oracle
Offline
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 85,964
Originally Posted by 79S
Which will lead to a mass exodus of people. I hope no one takes it the wrong way but the State would benefit from this I think.

No hurt feelers here!


If you take the time it takes, it takes less time.
--Pat Parelli

American by birth; Alaskan by choice.
--ironbender
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683
careful what you wish for amigo


we're a one trick pony in this state, OIL (that's big oil)

as those revenues dry up it's apt to get ugly and fast

we've got a mighty big gov't here, it's a mirror image of the Federal gov't, top heavy, bureacratic and spends money like it was flowing through a pipeline.

can you say state income tax along with a prohibitive increase in property taxes?

you're not going to kill that beast that's become state gov't, they're going to be forced to cut, and that will hurt our economy in the short term. but after they make their cuts, you can pretty well bet they'll be coming after us to pony up quite a bit more. All of us that are left here anyway.


I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 21,317
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 21,317
The people that seem to bitch the loudest about big oil seem to be the ones sucking hardest on the guvment teet. If our state government had a clue, that be working with the oil industry to see what can be done to increase oil production.

I figure the most likely scenario is they don't cut government i.e. spending by any significant measure, they blow through the budget reserve in a few years, then they go after the PFD. They can probably kick the can down the road for 6-10 years with such behavior, but it will be ugly +P+ with an even more bloated state government and no more piggy banks to crack open.


IC B3

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,660
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,660
Originally Posted by 79S
Which will lead to a mass exodus of people. I hope no one takes it the wrong way but the State would benefit from this I think. People see my Alaska plates and the first question they all ask is it true you get oil money. I tell them we get money but considering it is Alaska it helps offset some things. But being lower 48 folks they don't get it.



Well......bye.

Fahq them. I don't care how they take it.

I couldn't care less. If I could kick out the DSMFs that have no permanent stake or long-term future here, I would.

I'd probably start with the fahq n WA & OR based commercial draggers that are raping our ocean and killing off our resources.

Jay Hammond also seen it that way. That we would be best served with a small population. One of his concerns was having the permanent fund be an attraction for people to come flooding up here.


[Linked Image from i.pinimg.com]

Z
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,259
C
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
C
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,259
I wouldn't mind the permanent fund going away. Too many freeloaders showing up here.

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 40,179
Campfire 'Bwana
OP Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 40,179
Originally Posted by Calvin
I wouldn't mind the permanent fund going away. Too many freeloaders showing up here.



You'll never get rid of the freeloading natives, they snuck in here years ago.


Son of a liberal: " What did you do in the War On Terror, Daddy?"

Liberal father: " I fought the Americans, along with all the other liberals."

MOLON LABE





Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Originally Posted by Calvin
I wouldn't mind the permanent fund going away. Too many freeloaders showing up here.


Am I the only one who has ever wondered how much the Dividend affects Alaska's economy? I know that some people sock it away which affects our economy in much that same way that sending it directly out of the state does. But many dividends get turned around to 'catch up bills' or pooled for hard good purchases. I sometimes wonder how many times the dividends turn over within state's economy. Looking at the competition there is for those dividends, I suspect it is significant.


Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 85,964
Campfire Oracle
Offline
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 85,964
Most good Alaskans spend their PFD 3 to 5 times.

smile


If you take the time it takes, it takes less time.
--Pat Parelli

American by birth; Alaskan by choice.
--ironbender
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 15,319
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 15,319
here is some good reading on the pfd ,and its affects- starting on page 10 , I see they have papa pilgrim and his 15 kids in the foot notes > www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/bien_xiii_ak_pfd_lessons.pdf


I work harder than a ugly stripper....
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Originally Posted by ironbender
Most good Alaskans spend their PFD 3 to 5 times.

smile


And then there's that! smile


Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,591
Campfire Kahuna
Offline
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,591
Disgusted with so many idiots that fail to see the very obvious... election after election...


Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 85,964
Campfire Oracle
Offline
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 85,964
Alaska first!


If you take the time it takes, it takes less time.
--Pat Parelli

American by birth; Alaskan by choice.
--ironbender

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
650 members (1badf350, 09wingates, 2003and2013, 007FJ, 160user, 68 invisible), 2,649 guests, and 1,177 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,603
Posts18,398,309
Members73,817
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.167s Queries: 14 (0.007s) Memory: 0.8888 MB (Peak: 1.0275 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 13:31:32 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS