OPINION: Alaska Has a Responsible budget
By Quinn Townsend – Alaska Policy Forum The annual state budget has finally been delivered, reviewed, and signed as of mid-June 2023. For the first time since Alaska Policy Forum (APF) began releasing the annual Responsible Alaska Budget (RAB),
OPINION: Alaska should hasten the removal of unqualified Medicaid enrollees
By Quinn Townsend – Alaska Policy Forum In recent months, seemingly dramatic headlines like “Thousands of Alaskans on Medicaid could lose coverage in the coming months” have popped up, frightening many into thinking that vulnerable populations such as
Watchdog site reveals stark differences in how much each Alaska school spends on students
By Sarah Montalbano – Alaska Policy Forum Project Nickel is a tool designed to help families, taxpayers, and policymakers understand how much schools spend per student across the country, and it compares schools on the factors that matter to
OPINION: Alaska Legislature’s ‘irresponsible’ $8 billion budget exacerbates financial woes
By Quinn Townsend – Alaska Policy Forum With revenue forecasts as dismal as this year’s have been, the legislature’s passage of a very large budget for fiscal year 2024 (FY 2024) is unfortunate. In this coming fiscal year, legislators plan on spending
EaglExit Chair: How Federal disability law disincentivizes high student performance
Editor’s note: The following provides updates on the EaglExit project, a multi-year effort which is underway to detach the Eagle River and Chugiak areas away from the Municipality of Anchorage in order to create a separate and independent borough. This
OPINION: Rift in Alaska Legislature signals likelihood of a special session
Midnight Wednesday is quickly approaching, but things are in gridlock. The 120-day legislative session clock is about to expire, and the House and Senate have no agreement on the budget. I know it is frustrating for you to read this, and I’m guessing you
Alaska House passes bill reaffirming the right to use gold or silver as legal tender
The Alaska House has passed House Bill 3, which reaffirms the state’s recognition that gold and silver can be used as legal tender for debt payment. The bill aligns with the U.S. Constitution and supports the use of gold and silver specie as legal
Alaskans aren’t really empowered to call a constitutional convention (Part 4)
By J.H. Snider – The Fulcrum Editor’s note: The following is the final column in a four-part series on Alaska’s 2022 Constitutional Convention vote, which included massive amounts of outside spending to convince Alaskans to vote against holding a
Part 3: Alaska should be outraged that election laws failed to rein in the anti-Const. Convention ‘cartel’
By J.H. Snider – The Fulcrum Editor’s note: The following is part three of four in a series about Alaska’s 2022 Constitutional Convention vote, which included massive amounts of outside spending to convince Alaskans to vote against holding a
Part II: Shock and awe spending spree aimed to deter future Alaska’s Constitutional Convention efforts
By J.H. Snider – The Fulcrum Editor’s note: The following is part two of four in a series about Alaska’s 2022 Constitutional Convention vote, which included massive amounts of outside spending to convince Alaskans to vote against holding a