Wrangell -- Over the last three and a half months 80% of the folks I’ve talked to said thanks for trying to 1) stop and 2) voting against the legislation to provide for an Advisory Vote on the Permanent Fund. A few asked why I opposed the vote ... well there are several reasons. Probably first and foremost is the fact that no voter in District A has ever asked me to take $500 out of their Permanent Fund dividend check and give it to the state’s general fund. Second, it is a thinly disquisesd tax that as my friend Senator Rick Halford says "its just a baby tax it taxes every Alaskan Baby!" over one third of those paying this tax are 0 to 20 years of age. I have consistently voted against every tax increase for several years. Third, I believe that we need to reduce our total dependence on oil, diversify our economy and reduce the size of state government. We need to sell some state land (we own over 103 + million acres), sell some state timber (we have over 14 billion bd. ft. of dead and dying state timber killed by beetles), and we need to assist and encourage the mineral industry and the fishing industry. And finally I think Alaskans need their Permanent Fund Dividends more than BP and the Queen of England need a tax break.

My recovery plan involves Cuts and Consolidation, Privatization and Resource Development (C.P.R) our resource based economy is declining and stagnant. We need to breath new life into Alaska. I believe we need to continue making a smaller smarter more efficient government by continuing to cut waste and consolidate departments for efficiency. We need to privatize some functions. All 49 other states have found significant savings through this approach. Often state employees form their own company, as they know best where efficiencies can be found. Unfortunately, by order from Governor Knowles, our state employees are prevented from even talking to the legislature about ways to save money. Finally, our forefathers selected 103 + million acres of resource rich land and they told the Federal Government that if Alaskans received this land we would build an economy and a state that would not be dependent on Federal largess to operate. We discovered oil and immediately forgot about all of our other resources. A consistent program of land sales alone will generate over 150 million dollars per year and even at that rate of accelerated disposal at the end of 400 years we would still own more state land than 50% of the other states do today. By building the economy and reducing the size of government we can balance this budget.

The big scare behind the push to take your dividend is that an income tax will occur. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! The Senate just this last session unanimously voted to defeat Governor Knowles’s bill to impose an income tax. There was not one Senator, Republican or Democrat, who supported an income tax! The same people will return to Juneau this January. They won’t support an income tax next year either. There is little to no support for additional taxes in either house of the legislature and as mentioned above there are many alternatives other than taxes to gain new revenue for the state. But the big government spenders will never look at any of those alternatives when it’s easier to open the golden door to the Permanent Fund and take whatever they want. Alaska has a spending problem ... NOT an income problem.

Under their worst case scenario the state won’t run out of savings (reserve) monies until the year 2007, that’s 8 years from now! These scaremongers assert that there will be, NO reduction in the size of government or its cost (NO-C=Cuts), NO privatization or consolidation of government functions for efficiency, (NO-P=Privatization) and NO oil from ANWAR, NO timber sales, NO increased land sales, No lottery, they tell us that they will not diversify our economy or develop any of the lands or resources we own (NO-R=Resource Development). This billion dollar horror story is based on oil selling at last year's historically low prices, today its selling at over $20 per barrel. Over 30% of this billion dollar scare crow deficit has disappeared in just the last four months.

I will be voting NO. I hope my fellow Alaskans will join me in that vote. Lets send a clear message to the legislative leaders and to Governor Knowles that taxes of any kind should be the last choice. Lets ask them to remember their campaign promises. They pledged to prioritize spending, take care of our roads and marine highway, our schools and our public safety. They promised to trim the administrative overhead. Take the action necessary to diversify this economy and use our land and resources for the purposes for which they were selected. Your NO vote will tell them to enact a program of C.P.R.. When, they have honestly done all they can, then if they still need more money from the Alaskan voters, give Alaskans a BINDING VOTE on a DEDICATED FUND. That way Alaskans will know that this money is being spent on (i.e. schools, roads, marine highway, capitol projects, troopers, etc.) and finally give Alaskans a constitutionally binding spending limit that works. Like the old western song we need "a little less talk and a lot more action".

Until this Governor and our legislature can honestly say they have done all that, we should, say NO to taking the Permanent Fund earnings and send them back to the drawing board to seriously consider more palatable alternatives.

Unfortunately, big money is trying to buy this election, according to the Alaska Public Offices Commission "the oil industry paid about $166,000 over one half the total" of the $265,000 the Yes campaign has already raised. In the next few weeks I believe that number will double as the Governor twists arms to get more money to make you vote yes. Had the legislature passed the last five budgets and supplementals submitted by Governor Knowles, the state would be spending over $750 million more per year above the current budget. When you see those slick TV ads, remember who paid for them. I don’t believe that Alaskans are willing to give them the key to the vault at the Permanent Fund. Like those drug ads on TV on September 14th just say NO.

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