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Spectrum, by James Garhart

Attention, Gov. Murkowski, all Alaskan legislators and the people of Alaska: Would you like a long-range fiscal plan for Alaska that is forward-funded, less dependent on fluctuating oil prices, solves the alleged "deficit," increases the amount every Alaskan will receive each year and does so with no new taxes? If so, keep reading.

The main components of the "Lazy Mountain Jim" -- James Garhart -- Fiscal Flip Plan are as follows: Fund the general fund with three sources. After inflation-proofing the corpus, take a maximum amount of annual permanent fund earnings equal to 5 percent of the market value. Never use any corpus funds. If there isn't a full 5 percent, then that's too bad. Use the C.B.R. If there is more than inflation-proofing and 5 percent, the excess goes into the corpus only.

The existing other taxes, tobacco, alcohol, fish, gas, insurance premiums, etc., remain unchanged.

Next, and this is the tricky part, we pool all unrestricted resource revenues into one. We change Art. 9, Sect. 15 of the state constitution or keep it unchanged, but credit the amount toward the inflation-proofing of the permanent fund, thus freeing up that exact amount of annual earnings that then go to the general fund.

This amount would count toward the one-third share of the resource royalty revenues going into the general fund. The remaining two-thirds of the resource royalty revenues is divided up among Alaskans and replaces the "dividend" check with an annual resource revenue share.

In order to achieve forward-funding, we need to use funds equal to around 8 percent of the permanent fund market value. This could be done with part of the $3.4 billion the fund increased in value last

fiscal year.

We could have forward-funded one year's general fund budget, paid the dividend out of the earnings reserve, and, with the existing dedicated resource revenues, more than inflation-proofed the permanent fund corpus.

I have crunched the numbers using my plan versus the Alaska Department of Revenue forecast booklet that became available Dec. 9.

Under my plan, after forward- funding for one year, there would be a several-hundred-million-dollar surplus for the general fund and a resource revenue share check of more than $3,000 for every Alaskan.

The next two years, my plan has a general fund surplus and checks of more than $2,000 each, as opposed to the state's projected two-year deficit of $977.6 billion. In the year 2015, the last year in the state forecast book, the state predicts a "deficit" of $983.9 billion. My plan has a "deficit" of less than $50 million and a revenue share check of more than $1,500 each.

If you favor this plan over the status quo, then contact your legislators and request they enact this plan or give you written documentation of the alternative they will propose or be supporting this upcoming legislative session.

James Garhart is a Wasilla resident.