Balanced fiscal plan key to bright future

Oct. 31, 2006

By Andrew Halcro

For the last 30 years, the state of Alaska has based its annual investments in education, public safety and community health on the fluctuating price of a barrel of oil. Alaska can no longer afford this type of leadership.

With an aging population, a $6.9 billion retirement debt, a graying of the workforce, and an in-migration that is putting pressure on local schools, public safety and health-care costs, Alaska needs stability. With oil contributing almost 90 cents out of every dollar the state invests in services, the future holds challenges.

In 2002 we were pumping 1 million barrels a day. In 2006 we are down to around 8000,000 barrels a day. At the same time, the price of oil has dropped from $75 to $52 in just eight weeks.

The future of Alaska is incredibly bright. We have world-class resources and the ability to grow the best and the brightest as well as keep them here. For Alaska to grow we need two things. We need fiscal stability, and we need to compete more aggressively in the global marketplace.

So how do we do it?

First, Alaska needs a long-range fiscal plan to make sure we can continue to pay our bills during times of low oil prices. A safety net that provides continued support for education funding, public safety and allows to state to meet its moral and legal obligation with regards to the PERS/TRS unfunded accrued liability.

The danger that voters consistently ignore at their own peril is this continued infatuation with candidates who aren't honest about the state's fiscal situation. Four years ago, 57 percent of Alaska's voters embraced Frank Murkowski because of his free-lunch promises. And where did that get him after he cut the longevity bonus and other critical programs?

For the last three weeks at gubernatorial debates I've asked Republican candidate Sarah Palin how she plans to pay for all the new programs she is supporting. The answers have been little more than sweet smiles and little substance. A recent editorial in the Anchorage Daily News summed up what I've been warning Alaskans about for weeks: &#8220Palin's answers shows she doesn't understand the state budget.”

Second, Alaska needs to compete on a higher level against global competition. Getting the natural gas pipeline built will provide Alaska's communities access to natural gas to provide an affordable means of energy and allow small business to grow. It will also provide much needed revenue to take the place of declining oil revenues.

We must create a 21st century education system that includes every facet from pre-kindergarten to growing Alaska's university system to meet the dramatic challenges of work force demands. In Alaska today we face a critical labor shortage of every occupation from physicians, nurses and all related health-care workers to construction workers. We need to grow our own, and that all starts with education.

For the last 15 years, we have failed to compete aggressively in growing our commercial fishing and tourism industries. We've stepped back and allowed short-sighted management programs and the lack of state marketing assistance to allow market share growth to land in the hands of Outside interests instead of creating sustainable local economies.

In 1989, Alaska had more than 90 percent of the salmon market. Today, our market share is less than 50 percent. During the same time period, the state's investment in tourism marketing declined from $17 million a year to $5 million a year at a time when competition for tourists has grown more intense.

With all of the resources at our fingertips, Alaska needs to stop retreating and start competing. So how do we do this? We start by electing a new generation of leadership - a governor that has a vision for Alaska to compete more aggressively.

With a balanced fiscal plan that gives us the ability to invest for the future, we can provide sustainable property tax relief by reinstating municipal revenue sharing, grow the economy by competing in world markets much more competitively, and improve education to finally bring Alaska's students into the 21st century.

Former Anchorage Republican legislator Andrew Halcro is an independent candidate for governor.