Once Alaska was home to the toughest, most adaptable people on the planet. And then the white folk showed up.

Since then it’s been pretty much all downhill, starting with the barely audible flow of a meandering river that braids into gurgling riffles that become roaring rapids until finally all that water turns into a massive waterfall of whine.
Some residents of the north now think Alaska is going to “die” because Gov. Mike Dunleavy cut about $400 million of the approximately $4.4 billion of state spending the Legislature approved for fiscal year 2020.

That’s a cut of about 10 percent. It’s a big cut, a painful cut, and a particularly difficult cut for the University of Alaska which took a $135 million hit – by far the biggest loss suffered by any state entity.

Along with Alaska dying, the university is going to be “destroyed,” and “the state may never recover,” if an an op-ed in The Guardian is to be believed.
Of course, it’s never going to recover. How could it when it’s dead?

D-E-A-D

Now here’s some free advice if you believe this nonsense: Leave.
Leave now. Abandon the rotting carcass of Alaska while you can. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass. The state has grown a surplus of whiners and wimps.
Go. You won’t be missed in the least.

Meanwhile, if you decide you’re going to stay, shut up and get to work.
This is what Alaskans used to do. This is what was called “the Alaska spirit.”

If you think the cuts are going to hamstring state government, as some do, go find yourself a good candidate to run against Dunleavy in the next election and start organizing a base of support to get her or him elected.

Some free advice on that, though.

Broad-based support is what wins elections, and you don’t build it by calling everyone who disagrees with you in the least dirty names.
There are likely to be a fair-sized number of Alaskans living in the zone between “Dunleavy went too far” and the “Legislature didn’t go far enough.”
The state led the nation in per capita state and local government spending last year at $20,688 per person, according to USA Today. That’s a pretty amazing figure considering the state per capita income is only $35,065, according to the U.S. Census.

Let’s all give thanks that a significant amount of state spending comes in the form of shared federal revenues.
Then let’s consider why we spend so much – about twice what the liberal state of Minnesota spends – and no, it’s not those “shipping costs” because of the state’s remoteness.

The reason is that we have the second most public-sector jobs in the nation. Only Wyoming – another state that got wealthy off hydrocarbon resource wealth and grew government without much thought to costs – has more, and it’s not far ahead.

Almost a quarter of the workers in Wyoming – 24.9 percent – hold government jobs. Alaska is at 24.6 percent. California, for comparison sake, is at 15.2.
As the fifth largest economy in the world, California is lucky to boast a lot of private sector jobs. Alaska has a high percentage of public-sector jobs in part because there hasn’t been much business growth despite relatively low taxes on businesses and workers.

https://craigmedred.news/2019/07/12/whineland/

Yeah,. Well so? It's Alaska. It's why all compasses point north.. Alaska sucks.

I see your call out thread on stick fizzeled out on you.. but here you are posting on Alaska sub forum.. You ever been to Alaska?

Funny, the biggest whiner going posts a thread about whining. Even though Medred wrote that does not mean you do not have whining down to a serious science...

You really think he is worth the effort?

Probably not.. I been through Montana and it’s not all that. Hell shrapnel came up here by all accounts had a decent time.,

Good For You pinhead. Keep telling that to as many as you can.😀 See, you CAN be helpful and thoughtful...

^^^This! PLEASE make sure and tell all your friends (and enemies for that sake), just how bad Alaska sucks! As a token of my appreciation, I'll make sure and tell all my friends in California, and Seattle just how wonderful Montana is.

I have been watching Alaskan Bush People there’s no whining there!!! 😩

Funny, Alaska is one of some very few places in this world that I would like to take a look at.

Damn pop up adds keep popping up, that's my big whine..
As for cuts, when the state has been spending big bucks building ferries they can not use, then basically turning around and sell them for pennies on the dollar..
Yeah, make some damn cuts.
Pissing money up a roap has been standard operating procedure for most governments for way too long.
Will admit, the current Canadian government under Trudeau, that dumbfounded dipshit, has raised the bar extremely high.

Keep cutting. Overdue. The crying over the grossly top heavy UAA appears loudest. Guess I'll have to get my Masters in Basket Weaving somewhere else.

Have ANY heads rolled over the education program's loss of accreditation?

Don’t know Medred, but do smell a troll. Last time I was in AK aircraft, boats, and a road, all leading out, were working just fine.

Oh boy, we are scared. I lived in MT for three years, the best thing about it was the hunting. I liked the western part of the state, but everything else sucked. I'll take AK any day of the week over MT.

Mike,

Over the last week this has been brought up. But no one on the other side will acknowledge it. They lost 6 accreditation's for the teaching program. When this came to light many months ago. All UAA said was we will look into it, but in meantime they wanted there money. UAA has a four year of 8% graduation rate, Let that sink in real good again 8%. Nationwide its 33%

https://www.collegefactual.com/coll.../academic-life/graduation-and-retention/

Before I got too heavy on that statistic I would point out the push to get a certain element into "college" is huge... and keeping them there is extremely difficult. And imagine what it would be if there were not a bunch of programs geared directly to getting them to stay.

A bunch of those may have met the chopping block here very recently...

Oh their is no doubt they are targeting certain folks. I realize college is not for everyone. Unfortunately folks at UAA and UAF don't realize that. None of these educators were crying the blues when folks on the slope were losing there jobs. Now they expect the same people who had to tighten up there belts feel bad for them due to them possibly losing there jobs.

The other thing is how those Inspections work. They may well, have had "courtesy" inspections (non-punitive) to give a heads up.

Then a real inspection listing shortcomings to be fixt , and then a follow up to verify corrections. Perhaps more than one visit at each stage. It was a long time coming and no surprise. Heads should have rolled. Not heard a thing about it since that news broke.

In other words, they're doing an incredibly awesome job of recruiting and keeping that demographic enrolled.
One migbtbtbink that's the 41% of budget that was cut.

The 41% of the State's portion of the budget. Certainly not 41% of the whole budget.

But yup, we can hope!

Maybe they were among the pink-slipped...

I don't know about the rest of you but i'm pretty pleased with Dunleavy for the most part, sticking by his guns with these budget cuts, most politicians would have caved by now.

I’m aware. It was a bit TIC, but they spend gobs of money on a pct of applicants that are not ready for higher education and are unable to transition.

They make it sound worse than it is. They will find a way through these tough times and come out stronger.

And continuing to throw money at them would be a ridiculous waste because they would have zero impetus to fix anything.

I agree completely.

Correct on all counts, Art.
BTW, can anyone remember the last time the U of A utilized some of the parcels of land they were given to help fund their endeavor? I certainly cannot, but would like to find out about this. Lack of motivation because of abundant funding?

If I pizzed on your boot and it WAS raining out do you think I'd tell you? Ok, not a good example...😉

That would be something good to check...

That was just mean. Hurt my feeling ya did.

What, are you hungry?
I was under the impression you only had one feeling left, and that was hunger.

Hence the use of the singular!

I know your hide is a lot thicker than mine my friend. #pointed,joke,funny,example,rhetorical,😮😀😉

...besides, you know how to shoot and this cowboy does not like to dance😉

Whew, you had me worried there for a minute.

Was afraid you were going snowflake er sumpthin.

Not to worry. Mr beerhuntr always has both tap and pointe shoes in his pack.