Has Kohring lost his fiscally conservative bearings?

Frontiersman editorial board

In a stunning victory for the disciples of government waste and frivolous expenditures of tax dollars, the Alaska House of Representatives ended January by passing House Bill 288 -- by a whopping 36-0 vote.

The bill, sponsored by the Valley's own fiscally conservative stalwart, Vic Kohring, dramatically proposes to change the name of the Department of Community

and Economic Development to the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Whoa. "The new name more closely reflects the department's mission," the bill's father gushed. Kohring also pointed out that the bill also lets the world know that we're open to do business.

Maybe that's been the problem all along. Seeing that the department had opted not to emphasize its commerce position, the world assumed Alaska was closed, so it drove right by and did its business in Utah, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota -- all of which use the word commerce, and all of which are among the country's economic powerhouses. Now that the "Yes, We're Open!" shingle has lit up, the world will beat a path to our door to start doing business here.

At least we hope so, because we suspect it's not going to be cheap to change the name on the department's letterhead, business cards and Web site -- not to mention its softball jerseys.

It's not shocking that the Legislature is wasting its time dusting the furniture while the house burns down around it, we're used to that. It's not that we're opposed to change, heck a change in representation might be refreshing. What's so stunning about this particular attempt to spend tax dollars on snake oil is that it was sponsored by the man who'd rather eat a bug than fund a government program.

The bill moves on to the Senate now. Here's our recommendation to our senators. Leave the name alone, folks. The world knows we're open for business, it's just waiting for our natural resources to go on blue-light special again. Instead of changing department names and shuffling people into different desks, figure out a way to keep our teachers employed and our kids playing sports and starting school at a reasonable time. Instead of saving your necks for your own sakes, why don't you stick your necks out for your constituents' sake? Then you can call yourselves whatever you want.