Legislature needs to be honest about budget plans

To the editor,

As the state legislature winds to a close, we are still unsure what will be the action to resolve the budget deficit. Governor Walker vows to call a Special Session unless they pass an Income Tax. He pushed spending $150+ million to forward his pet project — a gas line from the North Slope to somewhere in Southcentral, while the Legislature is debating spending $32 million on an LIO in Anchorage that is appraised by the Municipality for $19 million, all while the State of Alaska is in a budget deficit that exceeds $400 million. One other item being considered is removing tax credits that had been given to the oil producers. I guess after we have stomped the goose that lays golden eggs for the state, when it lifts its head — a reversal in the production decline for the first time in many years — we have to whack it with a hammer to make sure it stays down.

Now I don’t pretend to be an expert on petroleum production or the state economy, but I do know that investors do not want to spend money in an uncertain environment. Many of the legislators are business people, so they should realize that if the rules that govern the taxes on their businesses or homes change every year, it would not be an environment that encouraged them to invest in expansion of the business. It takes at least 5 to 10 years for the producers to implement a capital strategy, and with the rules under which they operate changing every year or with every governor or legislature, how can we expect them to expand their investment in resource development?

A group of folks who feed at the government trough have commercials running that encourage Alaskans to “call their legislators and encourage action now” to preserve the Permanent Fund Dividend. The plan they want action on actually does away with the dividend and substitutes a payment based on royalties. They want to “preserve the Permanent Fund” so the State of Alaska can use the earnings of the fund to finance state government, especially the part from which they profit. The Permanent Fund was founded to finance state government when the “oil money ran out”, so that may be okay as long as they are honest with the citizens of Alaska about what is being done.

Don Hepler

Wasilla