All Alaskans should give a big sigh of relief that Donna Arduin (now Kauranen) has been invited back to the Legislature, to help craft a new budget-cutting fiscal plan for the state. Her last involvement, in 2019, was memorable for her insightful analysis and testimony about the relative costs of state highways and the Alaska state ferry system.
To justify cutting the ferry system funding by 75% in Governor Dunleavy’s proposed 2019 budget, Arduin compared the relative costs of surface transportation via the ferry system and the state’s paved highways: “‘For example, the cost to transport a vehicle on a state highway is about 2 cents per mile, whereas it’s about $4.58 on a ferry,’ she said.”
Ms. Arduin’s insightful economic analysis conveniently ignored the astronomical cost of constructing newly paved highways to reach each of the communities presently served only by the state ferry system. Or were these communities, having lost their ferry service, simply to be left to wither and die?
All Alaskans, especially those who depend on the state ferry system, should feel very thankful that Arduin is back once again, whispering sweet nothings into the ears of our legislators and our governor.
— T. E. Meacham
Anchorage
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