The income tax question … some murky logic

Frontiersman Editorial Board

Governor Frank H. Murkowski has issued two "editorial" pieces recently with the intent of explaining the logic behind his stance on taxes. The first, the governor's lament over income taxes, appears below this editorial. Gov. Murkowski's consistency in his opposition to certain taxes is probably a good sign that he at least maintains the strength of his convictions. But the logic he applies in support of his stance might raise a few eyebrows.

In the governor's piece below, he defines the role of state government by saying it should, " … provide for public safety, education and transportation." Even if those were the only viable roles for state governments, and we believe a few important functions of government have been missed here, Alaska would be facing some governmental dilemmas. You don't have to look outside the Mat-Su Borough to find schools in crisis. Some pink slips have already been mailed out to teachers here, and more are likely to come. Class sizes will increase and programs and services will likely have to be reduced or discontinued. Whether you accept the governor's school transportation plan or Rep. Carl Gatto's, school transportation in the Valley will suffer -- immediately with the governor's plan or a couple of years from now with Gatto's.

The governor also does some math in his column. He says that, by calculating for inflation, a state income tax would have robbed working Alaskans of $9.9 billion over the past 22 years. He then says the state hasn't missed those funds a bit. In fact, he says, the state has been "flush," allowing greedy legislators to bulk up the permanent fund.

If the government has been so flush without tax revenue, however, how is it that we must cut important programs and services now? Why are school districts in such dire straits? How many of Alaska's current economic woes could be solved with $9.9 billion?

The governor goes on to say that states that have relied on income taxes made a killing during the years of the stock market bubble. They used that money, Gov. Murkowski says, to commit such sins as creating new programs and services.

And there lies the basic theme in the argument against income taxes. The governor is clear in his distaste for what he sees as the redistribution of private wealth to public programs. Some examples of this Robin Hood principle the governor gives are welfare payments, the longevity bonus and subsidies for businesses. He makes a point of his staunch defense of "working Alaskans." It's fair to point out, however, that many working Alaskans have relied -- at one time or another -- on those very programs. If the governor wants to grow the economy, he shouldn't focus all the government's efforts on Outside companies that will ultimately benefit more than the average Alaskan from the resources taken from our state. We should develop our resources, but our small business owners, and Alaskan businesses are among the most important, and longest lasting resources we have.

Many of the people who benefit from individual government assistance in one form or another are, indeed, working Alaskans. They are working Alaskan single mothers who are trying to provide for their children the very things the governor lists as part of the government's commitment … education and safety. They are retired Alaskans who gave much to the growth of this state, and now they count on a little help to pay for necessities like medicine, rent and food.

Nobody is going to run to Juneau with a checkbook in hand and write a blank check for the government. Nobody relishes the idea of paying taxes. Still, a society functions well only through cooperation. The governor seems to be telling us that we're all better off as individuals. He seems to be saying that if working Alaskans keep every cent they earn, they'll be better able to solve their own problems. That's only moderately true. In fact, we are clearly more effective when we pool our resources and focus them on the most critical challenges facing our state. It's a concept some people call community.