As a mediator and lawyer, I help my clients take charge of their lives and plan their futures. When asked, I offer advice based on a realistic assessment of my client's situation. My clients want and need realistic options, and they are truthful and open with me. In turn, my clients want and need me to be truthful and open with them in order to make good decisions and make good plans for themselves, their families, and their businesses.
Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes folks are weighing difficult choices. But my clients aren't paying me to pretend with them -- they want realistic advice so they can make the best decisions they can.
We elect our legislators and send them to Juneau to do our state business. Just like in our personal and business lives, our state needs to plan for the future. Part of this involves, just like in our personal lives, making budget decisions. Not all of these decisions are easy. In fact, right now our legislators are being called upon to make some difficult choices.
These decisions, just like our personal, family, and business decisions, need to be based on a realistic assessment of our options. And yes, at the state level too, sometimes the truth hurts.
Here are two unpleasant truths: first, the state budget cannot be balanced simply by making cuts. Yes, spending cuts have to be part of the mix, but cuts alone won't get the job done, and severe cuts will do a lot of unnecessary damage to our economy. This isn't something I'm just saying -- it's the opinion of every credible economist in the state.
Second, we can't balance the state budget simply by sticking it to the oil companies. Can the oil companies be part of the mix in solving the budget problem? Yes, and I'm glad to read that the governor and a bipartisan group of legislators are taking another look at the oil company's tax credits -- that's a start. But it's not realistic to think that higher taxes on the oil companies alone will solve the budget problem. Again, not just me saying so, it's every respected economist in the state.
Every respected economist will tell us the same thing: the solution will need to involve a mix of actions: budget cuts, higher assessments on the oil companies, and -- are you ready? -- other taxes on Alaskans and/or use of a portion of Permanent Fund earnings. And the longer we wait, the more drastic the actions will need to be. And the longer we wait, the fewer will our options be.
I write this knowing that this isn't what folks would like to hear. But pretending that there's an easy answer isn't going to solve the problem.
Why hasn't the Legislature acted? Do they fear being voted out of office for being truthful with us? If that's so, I say we need to let our legislators and candidates know that we can handle the truth. In fact, we must do more. We must demand the truth, an honest assessment of our realistic choices, coupled with the courage to act.
We must not support legislators and candidates who tell us that only "the other guy" has to give something. We know better, and so do our legislators. We must support elected officials who tell us the truth even when we may not like all of it.
The good news is that Alaska's budget problems can be fixed. What's needed is open and truthful communication between ourselves and our elected representatives. I can think of 49 other states that would love to have our budget "crisis." All we need is the will to act.
Glenn Cravez is a mediator and lawyer in Anchorage, where he has lived and worked since 1981.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com