I am a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. I am writing because I want to start a new dialogue regarding oil, the Permanent Fund dividend and taxes. We have all been largely shielded from media coverage regarding oil’s trend over the past few weeks due to the current pandemic, but I think everyone has starting worrying, myself included.
I am a cross between an optimist and a realist. I believe oil will rebound this time, but I think that nearly everyone can agree that it will only be a matter of time until we are in the same circumstances that we find ourselves in today. The volatility that has surrounded our state’s budget since 2014 is hurting growth across the board.
As I chat with colleagues about the issue surrounding our state’s fiscal woes, the best remedy seems to be to eliminate the PFD payout, focus primarily on spending that helps the most of Alaskans — think infrastructure and education — and institute either a sales tax or a payroll tax. We may weather this storm but oil will dip again and we need to start thinking about a post-oil Alaska. We may already be there.
Alaskans need to understand that a truly balanced budget means that likely everyone will lose some or all of something that they value. We simply can not continue to live in the past as we have and that will be a painful transition but we can still get ahead of the next collapse which will be worse than this one.
I understand this state doesn’t exactly have the best record on public spending and, believe me, I get it. But in these days of earnest civic engagement, I am confident that the public will be better able to keep the government’s spending in check much better than in the past.
Is fiscal security and renewed growth worth a 5.25% sales tax and losing a payout once per year? It is to me, and it is the only prudent choice Alaskans have.
— Daniel Sager
Anchorage
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