Gov. Walker- Doesn’t he have decades of experience with the gas line? Wasn’t he proven correct when he told us a decade ago that the project that would work would be a LNG, export project? What if we had listened to him then?

Yes, some of the people he let go had institutional knowledge. But what did they get done over the last year? Exxon certainly has lots of institutional knowledge, but they’ve used that knowledge to keep a project from being built. Exxon has to appease Emir Sheikh Hamad of Qatar. Qatar and others Exxon does business with want Alaska gas kept in the ground.

Alaskans are better off if they have people working FOR them, not against them- even if those people have institutional knowledge.

And as for Garand Fellow’s silly remark about what Gov. Walker knows about SB-21, I find it strange. SB-21 was Parnell’s disaster. Why did we not learn how SB-21 was costing us money from Gov. Parnell and his pals in the legislature? Why did they not tell us this? Gov. Walker figured it out in his first six weeks on the job- and TOLD us how we are being screwed.

Meyer, Micciche, Hawker, Bishop, Chenauilt, Giesel, did not tell us how bad Sb-21 is. In fact, they told us it was good for us. Shouldn’t they all resign now? Isn’t that what people found to be grossly incompetent do?

Sen. Stedman should be the Sen. President now. He told us this would happen. He was the one who got it right. I say promote the competent people.

Garand,
Stolze is a bit of a chameleon and an astute reader of the “tea leaves”. He is no fiscal conservative yet will act the part when advantageous. Remember who the co-chairs of House Finance were when the unsustainable spending started and continued.
That report regarding Mr. Pierre is troubling if it means sponsors can hire staff for the legislature. I would have to see if any “office allowance” funds were used for these these trips , yet I really don’t care as long as the trip is not purchased by a lobbyist or other entity seeking influence..

Yes, I think I pretty much agree with you on all points. However, it’s positive that the state wants to avoid new debt (if in fact it does – haven’t gleaned that from the new administration).

I agree that the likelihood is that the reserves will be spent before difficult decisions can be made, and of course that will make the decisions all the more difficult. There is slightly positive news or anecdotes. I read here somewhere that Rep. (soon to be Sen.) Stoltze said he will have only 2 staffers, and if true that will show a recognition of the magnitude of the crisis. Also, some claim that legislators attending the Senator Sullivan ceremonies the other day will use personal – not state – funds to pay for the trips. And finally, the legislature’s press corps is reported to have said that McHugh Pierre will not be paid with state funds – not sure what that means or how it can be but it’s positive.

These are small from a dollar standpoint but my observation is that often the larger the crisis the more that symbolism matters to finding solutions. And this is a large crisis. The old Frank Murkowski percent of market value would not yield enough today to fill this budget hole. That is, 5% of the PF corpus for state operations, leaving 3% for inflation-proofing of the corpus would not be enough to balance the FY2015 budget.

Garand,
I got substantially the same message from D. Cole and B. Walker
I think we both agree that the “great leveler” now will be revenue. Doesn’t make any difference what these politicians want; because, if they are not willing to liquidate assets, they don’t have the necessary revenue, they are not willing to tax Alaskans or Alaskan business more, and they are concerned about incurring bonded indebtedness, they are stuck. The only political and expedient option (which they favor over courageous and wise) is to forestall the crisis by consuming our $14 Billion reserves – and that is exactly what they are going to do.
The fact is this state has applied, for the last decade, the methodology of “trickle-down economics”. That was best illustrated in the comment of the current Speaker of the House lamenting (now) that a lot of money was spent to avoid the “economic doldrums” that befell the lower 48 after the housing bubble burst. So, how did pouring billions of capital spending into the top of economy on plans and various public work endeavours work to create a sustained benefit?
Some politicians might now want to reflect on that method of sustaining Alaska’s economy. That said, I already am tired of the equivocators and apologists for the last decade already blaming Governor Walker for their angst. .

Garand, Thanks for your circumnavigation & circumspection of INSTITUTIONS & the “knowledge” they store in their silos of paperwork.

I’m an engineer/scientist type, and typically eschew lawyers,
despite being offered full sponsorship to “flaw skool” on more than one occasion.

I’m old enough to remember what Alaska’s oil taxes were like before the first oil-well was drilled on the Kenai…
Engineers found the oil, that part was beautifully simple,
then the oily-lawyers swooped in like bats from a cave in Texas,
that’s when the obfuscation & confusion began.
Our tax codes on everything nationwide (oil included) are unnecessarily overcomplicated because of institutionalized incompetence & corruption.
Overwritten & unabandoned tax-codes are like leaky abandoned oil-wells.

In the middle of TAPS construction I quit working on that project in disgust, knowing it should have been a gasline instead.
I often refer to TAPS as a “box of bandaids on stilts”.
The petroleum industry is still blindly crawling on it’s hands & knees out of the Age Of Coal & Steam & Steel…
tax-incentives don’t make you more intelligent & more efficient,
good science does that…
…the fundamental chemistry lessons of Balance In Nature are still not widely known;
Simplicity is the shortest path to Abundance.
THINK HYDROGEN

In 1836 the hydrogen fuel-cell was invented, this was the same year the first internal combustion engine was built…

In 2015 we see the introduction of the Toyota Mirai FCV,
and soon with the developments of miniaturized Graphene/BoronNitride/TiO2 photolytic hydrogen process, we will be able to own a car that extracts all the fuel it needs from the air of our atmosphere…
…while it purifies the smog.

Trying to fix Alaska’s Oil Taxes is like trying to Fix Stupid…
…and many of us with gray hair have learned in the Skool of Hard-Knocks,
that you can’t Fix Stupid…
…you need to start fresh with a blank sheet of paper.

BigOil has yet to learn that PlasmaGasifiers are just as important as DrillingRigs…
…for the past 50years we have had the technology to “blow down” all associated-gas and repressurize oil-fields by using tailormade SYNgas, which is much more efficient for EOR.
[maybe BigOil already knows this, but is playing STUPID to avoid further tax-exposure ??]

Alaska needs to learn about the cycle of addiction & codependence & enabling,
then get divorced from BigOil.

Time, you’re right but losing institutional and other types of knowledge when administrations and legislatures change is the nature of our system. It’s not unique this time, and I don’t know that the Walker administration has done more of it. The oddity this time is having a former Juneau mayor and outsider to the administration do so much of the hiring, and there are Democrats from long ago who have now showed up on the state payroll for the first time in decades. But each new incoming administration is odd; at least Governor Walker isn’t pregnant, and I think all of his children are married so there is no chance any of his children are hatching a – well, you know the rest.

The radio news this morning has Grace Jang saying that Governor Walker is just learning about the oil taxes we have, and that is a surprising admission for this governor – perhaps any Alaska governor. I am happy to report that if you read what Governor Walker wrote in the newspapers yesterday and put it beside what D. Cole wrote about oil taxes in the ADN yesterday you will see in the latter a darn good explanation of where we are with oil taxes; what Governor Walker wrote not so much. I don’t often recommend D. Cole by the way.

I am not an oil tax expert whatsoever but something that I think is key to a misunderstanding Governor Walker may have is that the oil tax credits of which he complains are substantially a subsidy aimed at generating Cook Inlet natural gas. Everyone probably recalls that not that long ago there appeared to be an energy crisis in Anchorage, and these subsidies were part of the response. I think they were a reasonable response as no one could foresee that by the end of 2014 the world would be awash in oil and gas (at the very least, state revenue forecasters didn’t see it so maybe that part of the institutional knowledge is best lost?). But Governor Walker looks more than a little uninformed castigating the oil industry for this, and perhaps that circles back to the loss of institutional knowledge about which Time has lamented.

@Birchstick, Are you saying that Alaska’s economy is largely the result of State Government Spending?

Possibly as an oversight, the op-ed talks like the production or profits tax is the only petroleum revenue we receive when in fact it’s (especially now) of little importance to current revenues. The state also receives royalties, property tax, etc. By the way, it’s useful to emphasize here that Walker’s op-ed isn’t directed at SB21; his message would have been even more the case under ACES.

However, this is perhaps the first signal move by the new administration indicating they don’t believe in a gas line. The producers have said all along they need oil and gas tax stability for them to stay in the gas line game. But if the gas line is 20 or more years out then who cares what the producers want (some in the administration may say)? I understand that rhetorical question has been asked at DNR this year. And someone at DNR said that DNR has the Revenue Commissioner to do it; however I don’t know what that means.

I have heard that someone in the Walker administration has indicated there will be oil tax legislation coming soon. No one will tell me (but they won’t say no) whether to expect a budget that balances provided a new oil tax is adopted; that is, a balanced budget based upon revenues derived from enacting soon to be proposed Walker oil tax changes. That would be a way for Governor Walker to not reduce spending but still be able to say he balanced the budget. Remember you read if first on amandacoyne.com.

Senator S wants the sessions moved to Anchorage. Maybe he sees special sessions (entirely possible) and wants to be close to whatever. There isn’t room in that big, expensive building for legislative hearing rooms, 30 to 50 more offices, etc. but it might make the costs incurred thus far easier to swallow (or more difficult to forget – you choose). This could be the most exciting year in Alaska state government.

Lynn,

As usual, your assertions are quite appropriate. The waggling of tongues by
legislative folks are simply a ruse to cover up their frustration of the
new Guv cutting some of their buddies from Sean’s herd. To say that a
pipeline can’t be built without Drue Pierce is moronic.

The prescientific view, rather than the political view, indicates that this big round thingie will not be economical. Rather than dealing with reality, lets have a hissy fit about keeping a bunch of studies and feckless Boards alive to further drain the coffers. After all, the main reason for government to exist is to hire buddies, in-laws and sycophants (see Mr. Pierre hiring).

I don’t care what the party moniker behind your name is, touting an economic
loser just because someone else did is simply dumb. To espouse such dastardly consternation involving changing some members of a losing proposition is political ego. The legislators need to sit down, shut up and get the budget under control.
Stop worrying about something that will never happen, focus on doing the job you
were elected to, and curtail the whiny carping about fantasy projects and their
irreplaceable staff who mostly political hacks (read the bios).

If hiding your buddies and political supporters in these massive money pit groups
is your priority, I hope with every bone in my body that you get unelected
ASAP. Yea I said it, but don’t forget, you can be appointed to a six figure job with the ASAP pipeline group if you need a job.