Oil Taxes

Our legislature has some tough decisions to make.  This is the first year since the ’70′s that there has been NO new oil exploration in Alaska.  Sure, the companies are still making money — but like anyone else, they are making their financial decisions on the margin — the difference between how much they will [...]

The Truth About ANWR

(Video no longer embedded.) Speaking of drilling in desolate places…

If Politicians Were Chicken Farmers and Chicken Feed Was Scarce

The Republican chicken farmer– 1. Looks for new sources of chicken feed. 2. Builds storage silos for large quantities of chicken feed. 3. Speculates: buys more feed in bulk when prices are low. 4. Allows some of the chickens to roam the farmyard to eat slugs and worms. 5. Invests in successful chicken feed companies [...]

Alaska’s Gas Line

With recent news that Conoco Phillips and British Petroleum have teamed up to move ahead with their plan to move natural gas from the north slope to market, the prospects for Governor Palin’s AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) have changed…or have they? Who’s driving here? Click on the cartoon snippet to view the entire image.

Alaska’s Upside-Down Economy

In only two hundred twenty five years, about three lifetimes by today’s standards, the United States has progressed from a group of colonies to the single leading economy in the world. Our capitalist economy has two main factors that other economic systems (i.e., communism, socialism and fascism) lack: private land ownership and the individual profit motive.  But there are some ways that [...]

How soon we forget

Recently we’ve been hearing how much money Alaska has as a result of abnormally high oil prices. And Governor Palin likes to flaunt her increased oil tax revenues before they are realized. But remember it was only five years ago, at the end of the Tony Knowles administration, that we were headed for real budget [...]