Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Richest state to ever go broke

Fully understand the budgets were out of control under him but I still take him over walker anyday

A big part of our problem now is that when things are flush, everyone gladly has their hand out, when we should all be somewhat more frugal even in good times. Need a new school? Great, let's get it build, but let's plan it in such a way that we won't go broke with upkeep and maintenance over the long haul. And there are plenty of ways to cut a few corners without giving up every pleasing aspect of the design too.

We're now stuck with fixed costs on a number of investments around the state which could have been better planned for - and it was quite obvious when it was happening. Nobody should be directly involved in planning these things (capital projects) if they haven't lived to see the ebb and flow of state revenue.

Soon enough Alaska will tax people out of the state and Alaska will be changrala like it was in the 60's..

While the media barely brushed on the subject. Parnell proved himself to be a bold faced liar, when he appointed a cocaine/evidence stealing judge Pozonsky(from PA) to head the Workmans Comp division. Then, when it was made public, immediately fired him, and claimed no knowledge, and that the crooked judge was appointed by staffers. Trouble is, Pozonsky's wife, and Parnell, and Sen Fred Dysons family members were in cahoots in a church group of some sort in Kenai. Wouldn't trust Parnell(or any politician) as far as I could throw them. Even sadder, Alaska doesn't have a journalist with an investigative bone in their body. Makes life easy for our crooked legislators.

Jeff

Its all just theater , soon they (all of them) will swoop in with "solutions" to problems that they created. This is like you bringing your car to a mechanic who drains your oil out on the lift, then runs the motor until it blows up then charges you a ridiculous amount to fix it.It has become cultural , and that's a hard thing to change.

Problem is you could probably toss them quite far...

The real question is who is going to come after Walker. He's done. Parnell, we had to get rid of him. Lets get somebody good in there.

Okay, whom would you choose?

First hats tossed:

http://mustreadalaska.com/race-governor-starts-living-room/

The House Democrat-led majority tonight passed an one of the largest budgets in Alaska history — and one that would shut down government for at least 70 days starting July 1.

The only thing standing between Alaskans and a government shutdown is the Senate, which stands in adjournment until 11 am on Friday. If the Senate agrees with the House, government will shut down July 1.

There are two reasons the House’s $12.1 billion budget requires a shutdown:

1. The House Democrat-led majority failed to pass an effective date clause, which means the budget cannot go into effect until 90 days after the governor signs it.

2. The Democrat majority adjourned “sine die,” which means the House Democrats are heading for the airport, while House Republicans remained stunned at what just happened.

Republicans were dismayed at recklessness of the move. Observers in the Capitol said the process was unheard of, and was also disrespectful to the institution.

Members in the Republican minority were only allowed to speak for two minutes apiece about the hastily put together dual budget, with Speaker Bryce Edgmon abruptly shutting them off and rushing to the vote.

By 9:10 pm Thursday it was all over.

LAST SUPPER

The evening started with a surprise floor session, which was hastily called while the minority was having supper.

After days of cancelled sessions and conference committees, and with just 15 minutes notice, Speaker Edgmon called an evening floor session, and when Republicans arrived, House Majority Leader Chris Tuck quickly moved to rescind the capital budget, SB 23. The majority Democrats agreed and the capital budget was rescinded.

Then papers were quickly passed out to members, and it became apparent that the amendment that was about to be made would stuff the entire operating budget into the capital budget and the majority would pass the two budgets as one.

No one in the House minority had ever read it this new version of the operating budget.

The Democrats’ plan worked to get out of town, and the votes went quickly 22-18, with Democrats and their Muskox Republicans voting for the shutdown.

BUDGET TAKES NEARLY HALF OF EARNINGS RESERVE ACCOUNT

The Republican minority objected repeatedly to being ambushed with an 89-page bill they had not read. But it was to no avail. But here are the large pieces: The House Democrats’ budget is one of the largest in Alaska history at over $12 billion, and removes $5.2 billion from the Earnings Reserve Account — the account from which the Permanent Fund dividend is paid. It would leave just $6.5 billion in the ERA.

It seemed like a surprise move, but it had been in the works, at least for 24 hours. While today Speaker Edgmon was negotiating in what seemed to be good faith with Sen. Lyman Hoffman, the senator from his own district and from his own party, all the while, the representative from Dillingham knew he had a 89-page bombshell amendment in his back pocket. That amendment was dated Wednesday.

Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Kenai, shook his head. “I’ve been here 17 years and this is the worst I’ve seen. I’ve never seen a process that was this disrespectful to the institution and to the decorum of the body,” he said.

Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage, said that thumbing through the amendment, it was impossible to tell what was in it, as the budget is a highly technical document. He compared the process to tyranny.

But Rep. Chris Birch, R-Anchorage said it just reminded him of Nancy Pelosi standing with Barack Obama as he signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Pelosi said, Birch reminded the members, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” That was what happened tonight, he said.

None of the Democrats spoke during the floor session, except Rep. Paul Seaton and Rep. Neal Foster, who were introducing the amendment that would result in a shutdown.

The Senate is left with few choices. It can disallow the bill to be read across, or it can accept in and debate it. But without an effective date clause, the Senate is unlikely to sign on.

What’s left is the governor having to call the entire Legislature back into a second special session.

Gov. Bill Walker expressed disappointment with the House. “They did not get the job done for Alaska. A compromise is required to protect Alaskans and put the state on a stable fiscal path,” he said on Twitter.

http://mustreadalaska.com/house-democrats-pass-bill-shut-government/

What a mess...

Art,

You better run for office!

Okay, I'll run from office!

Ohhhh.... guess I misread that!

Drain Juneau!

Make Alaska Great Again!

When Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux said, “If the Senate thinks we are going to get out of here with just the POMV (Permanent Fund restructuring) they have another think coming,” no one in the press conference thought she meant passing the second largest budget in Alaska history.

Or making the largest draw ever on the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account, cutting it nearly in half.

Or passing a budget that actually shuts government down for between 70 and 90 days starting July 1.

Or passing a budget that wasn’t even fully funded.

That’s what happened last night in the Alaska House. The Permanent Fund wasn’t restructured, but the reserve account was raided to pay Alaskans a $2,000 dividend, and to put money into an “education savings account” that earns 2 percent.

Led by hard-line leftists, the House passed a budget that will, if left unchecked by the Senate today, lead to a government shutdown on July 1. That’s because the body did not pass an “effective date clause,” so the budget can’t take effect until 90 days after being signed by the governor, and that’s assuming he would even sign it. The fiscal year starts July 1.

The Alaska Senate this morning will likely gavel out “sine die.” That will allow the governor to call another special session in a last-ditch attempt to head off a shutdown. Neither the Senate nor the governor indicated that the budget bill passed by the House was anything but a recipe for chaos.

Rep. Tammie Wilson, a Republican from North Pole, was poring over the budget this morning that she and the conservative caucus had not been allowed to review before voting on it last night, when House Democrats, in a surprise move, crammed the operating budget into the capital budget, dropped it on the desks of Republicans, passed it without debate, and adjourned sine die, which means there is no ability to return this session to reconsider.

This morning, Wilson said she has already discovered numerous changes to the operating budget from previous versions that legislators had seen, including increased funding to village public safety officers but a $4 million cut to Alaska State Troopers. The state can’t even fill the village public safety officer positions it has, but another $190,000 has been added to the program.

“This budget isn’t even fully funded,” Wilson said. “It took into account some kind of income tax, but no income tax passed, so the governor would have to make cuts just to get it to balance.”

Wilson found other significant changes and increases from previous draft budgets, and she is working on a complete analysis this morning.

EARNINGS RESERVE RAID

The House budget removes more than $5 billion from the Permanent Fund Earning Reserve Account. Some $1.7 billion of that will go from the high-earning Permanent Fund into the low-earning Education Fund, where it would sit earning about 2% interest.

Between fiscal years 2014 and 2015, state government spending in Alaska increased by $2.4 billion — from $11.4 billion in fiscal year 2014 to an estimated $13.8 billion in 2015, a 17.22-percent jump. This year’s budget passed by the House last night, is at least $12.1 billion, although legislators are still trying to understand all the changes.

With the Earnings Reserve Account depleted by House Democrats, a market correction could have a chilling effect on the ability of the fund to pay Permanent Fund Dividends next year or the following years.

Finally, by aggressively depleting state reserve accounts, the House’s reckless budget puts Alaska at grave risk of a financial crisis that, among other things, would require massive cuts in state spending.


http://mustreadalaska.com/comes-special-session-2-0/

Meh.......I like Dunleavy and Leman has a little previous cred, but none stand out.