Comments on: Inside/Outside morning news roundup for 12.11 http://amandacoyne.com/politics/insideoutside-morning-news-roundup-for-12-11/ Fri, 12 Dec 2014 06:31:45 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: AH HA http://amandacoyne.com/politics/insideoutside-morning-news-roundup-for-12-11/#comment-53297 Fri, 12 Dec 2014 06:31:45 +0000 http://amandacoyne.com/?p=8573#comment-53297 In reply to AH HA.

I mean when you think about it, that guy panhandling on the corner is not really any different from the guy selling hotdogs from his cart…

Both are offering a product for sale… One Guys sells hotdogs and the other sells a tale of woe…

BTW: Bets are that the guy selling the tale of woe has a higher net profit…

]]> By: AH HA http://amandacoyne.com/politics/insideoutside-morning-news-roundup-for-12-11/#comment-53296 Fri, 12 Dec 2014 06:28:16 +0000 http://amandacoyne.com/?p=8573#comment-53296 Ok, now that the Supreme court has weighed in an found that the act of panhandling is a legal enterprise perhaps we can start requiring business licenses and sales tax remittances from panhandlers? Hell, for an extra fee offer a ‘sitting’ permit….

]]> By: POW Pete http://amandacoyne.com/politics/insideoutside-morning-news-roundup-for-12-11/#comment-53275 Thu, 11 Dec 2014 22:13:18 +0000 http://amandacoyne.com/?p=8573#comment-53275 Please allow me the following comments as a first-time blogger. (1) Generous and timely for AK Supreme Court to allow panhandling given the revenue forecast. (2) Yes, I did know that AK takes in more from tobacco taxes than mining or fishing (not mining and fishing combined). Did you know that much or most of the tobacco taxes have been spent since debt was issued against the tax during the Knowles and Murkowski days? Debt service and the anti-tobacco ads consume the income. It’s an arm of AHFC called the Northern Tobacco Trust. (3) Hartig has been an exemplary commissioner and has been great for DEC. (4) I am not always a fan of the Dispatch but Forgey and Cole got it right today on PERS/TRS and the fiscal deficit. Governor Parnell did well to make a $2 billion deposit from savings plus the annual $1 billion toward the deficit but the legislature extracted an extension of the debt paydown from Parnell in return, and an intended or unintended (it might be both) consequence is that other employers (municipalities and the like – well over 100 of them I think) will end up paying more of their own share of the debt. However there is no reason to be certain the deficit will stop growing so maybe today the unfunded (past-due actually) liability is 9.5 billion and maybe tomorrow it will be $10 billion. I hope that Governor Walker is equally responsible, and given the union backing he received I have little doubt he will be. By the way, the AK Retirement Management Board has earned a rate of about 18.5% on its investments each of the past 2 years so anyone can calculate what Parnell’s transfer from CBR to ARMB is likely to earn net (likely in the billions of $). (5) What I gleaned from legislative hearings on an LNG line is that for a gas line to save us we need about $24. If Australia can do it for $14 we need to declare war against them (or else see #1 above – panhandling). (6) Every six months or so the press predicts the end of the GOP. Not long ago it was the Hispanic demographic, and before that it was that GOP voters are all aging and dying. But just last month there was an election that was far different than the liberal media wanted or predicted. By the way, at least half of the life-long R’s I know voted for Ballot Measure 3. (7) Talk with teachers one on one and they will tell you of lots of wasteful situations, so the $2500 per day should shock no one. I would bet that 90% of Alaskans know that the Alaska Education Association is the main obstacle to improving education. (8) In a bar last night I overheard a story about a former state official (of the 1980’s) now visiting Alaska with a scheme to borrow against the Permanent Fund (so in theory voters need not be asked for permission) to derive magic income from investing the borrowed amount without impacting normal Permanent Fund earnings. The Alaskans talking were slurring their words and had heavy Spenard accents (an accent that may include alcohol-induced slurring) but I got the gist of it. So it seems that the Permanent Fund can be invested twice (who knew?). I am sure fees would be charged but for someone to bring such sophisticated financial ideas to Alaskans (who are unsophisticated and far from Wall St.) a fee would only be fair – and honorable perhaps. Shame on those people who say the budget must be reduced when former Alaskans are so smart and so willing to help in our time of need.

]]> By: Mark Springer http://amandacoyne.com/politics/insideoutside-morning-news-roundup-for-12-11/#comment-53271 Thu, 11 Dec 2014 20:40:36 +0000 http://amandacoyne.com/?p=8573#comment-53271 You missed Lori Townsend’s interview with Val Davidson on Alaska News Nightly yesterday.
MS

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