Thinking his odds for being reelected slipped again....
Not sure why you're so down with the State government handing out money that they don't have. Never was the PFD designed to be a "right", and there will still be a distribution. But sitting here in State government I see that the money just isn't coming in anymore like it used to. Sure, some efficiencies remain, and there's a lot of waste still, but there's also a hand held out at every turn saying "help us over here".
What you said makes absolutely no sense. If you are blind to the fact the state would love to get there greasy hands on the 59 billion In the PFD fund. I think know the since this economic downturn the state has elimnated 70 jobs
Why did the State eliminate any jobs? Oh, that would be to pay Walker's cronies ridiculous salaries for really important stuff, like looking for places to burn State money while claiming you are looking for gas buyers... or worse.
Since Sister Sarah the State budget has grown hugely and Walker only wants to expand on that...
Proposing a State budget 33% more than last year's and then cutting it back 25% of those percentage points is not a 25% budget reduction, despite Wanker's claim! It is an 8% increase in a ton of areas we do not need to spend that kind of money on.
The money is not coming in because idiots like Wanker have to dick with the oil taxes every time they get into office. They drove the money out of AK development and exploration. The State wastes more money than any other. Virtually every bush high school basketball team has a million dollar budget item for airfare! I think there are LOTS of ways of spending that money more wisely. The money that should have come out last year at PFD time gave a lot of small businesses a big kick in the nuts when things were already tight. Those small businesses keep a lot of that money moving through the local economy.
Just because Wanker took away PFD money does not mean it is available for the State to spend without the legislature growing a pair and voting in plain view with a Yea or Nay.
Personally I do not like the idea of giving with one hand and taking with the other and have no problem with giving up my PFD. I do have a problem with instituting a sale or income tax (or worse, both) just to maintain a PFD check. But the idea Hammond had was sound and the PFD keeps people aware of what the State's money is doing. Take away the vested interest and the Permanent Fund will evaporate like whiskey from a glass...
