Repealing SB 21 good for accountability

Pretend for a moment that you have a daughter with two small children, and she is in the middle of a contentious divorce. She goes to court, and when her attorney stands up to represent her best interests, the judge says, “Sit down. The husband’s attorney is all we need in this case, and I’m confident that both parties will be treated fairly because I know the husband’s counsel is an impartial advocate.”

Here we have a good analogy for the enactment of Senate Bill 21, the so-called oil tax reform legislation supported by Gov. Parnell and passed last year by the Legislature.

The Parnell administration and our GOP legislators cut a one-sided deal: One party gives. The other one gets: no strings, no assurances, and no objective goals or production thresholds to ensure accountability with regard to the future of oil production.

The acceptance of a strategy for increased output based on hope instead of actual increases in production shows an egregious lack of responsibility on the part of our representatives, who were elected to look out for the interests of Alaskans.

That Alaska’s politicians have a problem with cronyism, especially when it comes to the interests of the petroleum industry, is indelibly etched in our history. One would have to be new to Alaska or civically asleep not to have noticed this malady.

Now, I worked in Alaska’s oil fields for nearly 40 years, and I do not begrudge Big Oil for making a profit. They have been good to me, and I was good to them, having spent years away from home working in their service. But a win-win in this issue is possible only if both sides have equally aggressive representation in hammering out a deal.

Tax regulations based on optimism and goodwill without accountability is a clear giveaway. The only thing necessary to judge the validity of this statement is to be cognizant of the lengths the petroleum industry is willing to go to keep SB 21 in place. Are we really so naïve as to believe that there is not much difference in ACES and SB 21, if the industry is spending millions to keep SB 21?

We wouldn’t stand by and remain silent if our daughter’s interests were not being met in a divorce case, and as citizens of Alaska, we should not stand by and let the governor and our lawmakers give our interests away and leave them to the generosity of a for-profit industry.

I believe Gov. Parnell to be a decent, hard-working man with good intentions. But his loyalty bias as a former oil company employee and his acquiescence and apparent partisan fear of ideologues have, I believe, subjectively skewed his judgment and undermined not only his sense of fairness, but also the obligation to the state that his position as governor demands. There is no doubt that the power of Big Oil has cowed many of our legislators who agree to special treatment in hopes of being looked on favorably by the industry.

Have we learned nothing from our recent history about how powerful and pervasive the petroleum industry is in influencing our elected representatives? There is, however, no need to go undercover with wiretaps when we can see the overt partisan influence in plain sight.

Vote Yes, and put ACES back in the oil. It is in Alaska’s best interest for the oil industry to be profitable, but it is also in our interest to get the best deal possible for our resources and to require accountability to that end. When and if oil production in Alaska shows a dramatic increase, then and only then we can talk about an ACES do-over.

Charles D. Hayes, a Wasilla resident for more than 40 years, is a self-taught philosopher and a prominent advocate of lifelong learning. He is an author of nine books, including September University: Summoning Passion for an Unfinished Life, numerous essays, and an array of shorter works. Contact him at autpress@alaska.net. Twitter: @CDHWasilla