An open letter to Alaska State Legislators

My name is Samantha Berg, and my husband, Kevin Meddleton and I are residents of Palmer, District 9 - we have lived in Alaska since 1994. We are also small business owners in the Mat-Su Valley.

Our representatives are Representative Rausher and Senator Shower but we are copying the entire legislature here because we want to be clear about our views on the budget negotiations.

We have already sent emails several times this past week to the legislature as well as the Senate and House Finance Committees but we feel that this can’t be said enough.

We understand that the needs of the people across the State of Alaska are vastly different depending on geography. Some people depend on the ferry system year round, low income seniors are greatly helped by the Senior benefit, people with seasonal jobs or off-road system locations depend on the Permanent Fund and assistance with paying for their energy needs, low income Alaskans need dental and medical assistance, homeless Alaskans need food and shelter. Students need a fairly-priced high quality University system that they can count on as well as the merit based scholarship funds they were already promised. Women across the state need access to reproductive services And the entire state benefits from the WWAMI program because it brings back talented medical professionals to a state that is underserved by doctors. And Art is not optional. There is no excuse for defunding the Arts Council because it it vital to preserve the culture and heritage of all Alaskans.

We don’t doubt that everyone in the legislature knows what is at stake if these vital services and promised benefits are suddenly taken away. The seniors, the students, the poor and the rural populations will be devastated and a Permanent Fund check of ANY size will not fix the problems that will arise if the Governor’s Vetoes are allowed to stand.

We recently learned that the legislature had submitted a balanced budget with a $600M surplus - so the Governor’s Vetoes must have some other purpose than saving the State money. And, “surprise!” cuts have come from the services that help out some of the most vulnerable citizens of our state - while the richest among us reap benefits as $1.2 Billion in oil subsides remain untouched.

At the same time, we also learned about the “no-bid” contract awarded for $100K to “study” the Knik River bridge project that has ALREADY been studied and deemed unviable multiple times. And there is the matter of $17M proposed spending to relocate prisoners to the lower 48 under the auspices of Donna Arduin and her $195K salary - not to mention that this $17M will benefit an industry that Arduin is financially tied to...hmmm

So, you can see why these vetoes appear to be fiscally irresponsible despite claims to the contrary.

We are asking all of you to put aside partisan considerations and corporate interests and for one brief moment PLEASE consider yourselves Alaskans first. Not Republicans, not Democrats, not Independents, but just Alaskans with friends, neighbors, families and communities that will be subject to untold suffering, heart-break, job losses, poverty, and perhaps even death when they are unable to access vital services in this State.

With this in mind, we ask that you please consider doing the following:

-End or significantly lower the oil subsidies so Alaskans benefit from the State’s resources not just the Corporations who do business here

-Implement a Statewide Income Tax

-Implement a Statewide sales tax - either seasonal or year-round

-Implement a gas tax and/or liquor tax

-Implement a Cannabis tax (the State of Colorado is reaping huge benefits from such a tax)

-Lower the Permanent Fund to a reasonable amount - not the $3K that was (ridiculously!) promised

We personally would rather see a fully funded State Budget rather than a few more Permanent Fund pay outs at the expense of our friends’ and neighbors’ quality of life. And most of the people we know feel the same way.

Thank you for your service and your time and we ask that you please use your positions as elected officials to advocate for your constituents who are counting on you to do what’s best for the State of Alaska and all of its citizens.

Sincerely,

Samantha Berg and Kevin Meddleton

Owners of Alaska Center for Acupuncture, Palmer, AK