OPINION: Entrenched political interests dissuade AK lawmakers from living within our means
Over the past decade, Alaska’s Legislature has exhibited a pattern of fiscal behavior marked by spending growth, political expedience, and an unwillingness to impose measurable performance accountability on state
OPINON: If Alaska doesn’t fix these 4 essentials we’re headed for a titanic crisis
The warning lights have been flashing for years, yet leadership keeps straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic rather than turning the wheel away from the iceberg. It is time to look squarely at the dangers ahead and take immediate, structural
OPINION: To pay a full PFD we must name the cuts & untangle Alaska budgetary knots
If you want a larger PFD without risking the Fund, you must either (a) name the cuts (and the lost federal matches), (b) name the new revenues, or (c) change the rules (and defend the long-term consequences). If you want stable services without shrinking the
A response to Sen. Yundt: ‘Endorsing’ the PFD is easy. Now what’s the plan?
I read State Sen. Rob Yundt’s PFD post with both appreciation and concern. I appreciate his support for a full, statutory dividend; Alaskans are better stewards of those dollars than 60 legislators. That’s consistent with our constitutional design:
Taking Back Alaska: A full budget scenario & long-term fiscal balance at $40/barrel oil
The following section outlines Alaska’s full post-reform budget scenario under the assumption of $40 per barrel oil
Taking Back Alaska Series: Reform without state funds even at $40/barrel oil
Alaska must develop a detailed, preemptive regulatory strategy to dismantle its own bureaucratic roadblocks - without increasing state spending—by using existing federal funding programs to unlock private-sector growth through natural resource
Understanding Alaska’s budget: What drives our revenue?
To help you understand the state budget, I will split this report into two parts. Part one will focus on revenue coming to the state, and part two will focus on what we spend it
OPINION: Why Alaska should never pass a budget exceeding $7.7 billion in state funds
By Vance Ginn and Quinn Townsend – Alaska Policy Forum Introduction While revenue estimates for the state of Alaska hit a record high last fiscal year, this upcoming fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 – June 2024) is another story. The Fall 2022 revenue
More taxes can’t solve Alaska’s unsustainable spending
By Quinn Townsend – (Alaska Policy Forum) In the spring of 2019, Alaska Policy Forum published a report with economists from The Buckeye Institute examining the need for state spending reductions and the economic effects of 2019 tax
Alaska can solve budget crisis by ending unconstitutional appropriations
“Defunding power cost equalization would gut a lifeline for rural Alaska” was published by ADN on Nov. 10. Meera Kohler expertly laid out the history and purpose of the Power Cost Equalization Program. The op-ed piece was beautifully written and very
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