Category: Finance - Page 8 - Alaska Watchman

Alaska’s federally funded media, KTOO, joins NPR in quitting Twitter

CultureApril 13, 2023

The Juneau-based public media outlet, KTOO, which accepted more than $2.5 million in federal grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2021, has joined National Public Radio in quitting Twitter. On April 12, NPR tweeted a thread telling its

Op-Ed: For better, more affordable healthcare, Alaska should adopt ‘direct primary care’

FeaturedApril 12, 2023

“So, doctor, why did you decide to go into health care?” “Oh, I don’t care for the health part. I just love all the paperwork.” That’s a conversation that has likely never happened in the history of medicine — because for doctors, providers,

Like most Americans, Alaskans aren’t sold on electric vehicles

FeaturedApril 12, 2023

Despite mounting political pressure on the part of left-leaning politicians, only a tiny percentage of Americans are interested in buying an electric vehicle (EV) to fight “climate change.” According to a March 1-23 Gallup poll, just 4% of

Dunleavy wants to explore how to get more Alaska kids into childcare facilities

FamilyApril 7, 2023

Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants it to be easier and more affordable for mothers and fathers to put their kids in childcare facilities while they work. To this end he has established a special task force charged with developing a strategy to improve the availability

Alaska school districts are sitting on $242 million in unspent Covid funds

COVIDMarch 28, 2023

By Sarah Montalbano – Alaska Policy Forum The state of Alaska published the Alaska K–12 Education COVID-19 Federal Relief Funding Dashboard to make transparent how much federal COVID-19 relief funding school districts received and how the

OPINION: Don’t impose new taxes when Alaska is illegally sitting on $12 billion

Alaska Permanent Fund DividendMarch 27, 2023

The Alaska constitution states the following: “§ 7. Dedicated Funds – The proceeds of any state tax or license shall not be dedicated to any special purpose, except as provided in section 15 of this article or when required by the federal government

OPINION: Plan to give Alaska lawmakers a 67% raise is both flawed policy and process

Alaska Permanent Fund DividendMarch 27, 2023

In response to the 67% pay raise proposal for legislators, I introduced Senate Bill (SB) 111 “Rejecting Legislators’ Salary Increase” last week. Not only is this legislation a responsible step considering the fiscal shortfall the Legislature faces,

OPINION: Cash-poor Anchorage can’t afford more bonding debt

FeaturedMarch 24, 2023

By Rob Yundt & Jodi Taylor Recently, regional banks in the U.S. and one major international bank have either collapsed, are in crisis, or have been rescued by larger banks due to liquidity issues. Given these financial headwinds, this is a great time to

Breaking down exactly how Alaska funds K-12 education

EducationMarch 19, 2023

By Sarah Montalbano – Alaska Policy Forum Understanding K-12 education financing is important for taxpayers to know where their money is going and how it is being used to provide a quality education for Alaska’s children. The “Citizen’s Guide to K-12

Bills aim to protect Alaska PFDs from state spending, while mandating statutory payouts

Alaska Permanent Fund DividendMarch 9, 2023

Rep. Ben Carpenter (R- Nikiski) has introduced two constitutional amendment bills to guarantee that Alaskans are paid a Permanent Fund Dividend in accord with state statute rather than leaving the amount to lawmakers to debate each year. HJR 7 would return

Finance