Federal overreach? Alaska ranks 3rd highest in federal spending per capita among states http://t.co/EiCdrnbCah
— Bill Wielechowski (@wielechowski) December 10, 2014
Tweet of the day
Amanda Coyne
Federal overreach? Alaska ranks 3rd highest in federal spending per capita among states http://t.co/EiCdrnbCah
— Bill Wielechowski (@wielechowski) December 10, 2014
Senator Bill,
The feds spend all that money on planning, planning , planning.
Planning on how to make multiple use lands into conservation areas, without calling it one, so they can end run ANILCA “No More.”
Planning on tightening down EPA regulations so our fishermen must stop feeding crabs and other fish with on board fish waste.
Planning on how to stop mineral and oil development by declaring a new species threatened and creating “critical habitat” rules so more planners can plan on killing any development in Alaska.
Disclaimer; my personal views based on my personal experience Scott Ogan
If you were paying attention to something besides fox news in recent years you would realize he is being sarcastic. We just had a governor who based his whole term on the theme of federal overreach. Yes it is idiotic for a state that rakes in so much from the feds but some voters apparently still go for it.
No…he’s not.
Come on Bill, the Feds own more of Alaska than any other state, we have one of the smallest populations hence the BS statistics. You are smarter than using BS stats, or at least I thought you were.
Odd, I’m almost certain I recall an economy before ANILCA. That’s when the Feds came to town isn’t it?
I’m certain I recall fighting, mining, logging Road building, pipelines being built
Seems the senator needs to read some Bastiat. The statement itself is a illogical. Federal spending is FEDERAL spending . Meaning money spent on, and in the interest of, the federal government . Compared to the deprivation of the resouces they foist upon Alaskans, it amounts to a few pennies on a dollar. The Feds bribe us with a small piece of our own money and the politicians think we should be gtateful? Maybe the US should try and defend itself without Alaska’s military bases?
The Feds clearly play an instrumental role in the state and we wouldn’t have an economy without their largesse. And there are also many dedicated public servants that work wonders.
But the senator presents a false choice – one can acknowledge and appreciate all of the great work that the Feds do while also being frustrated by Izembik, or by decisions that lock up more and more lands in conservation units, or by decisions that usurp the state’s ability to make land use decisions on state lands, or when the Feds take years to permit at CD 5, Point Thomson, or GMT, or when they prohibit leasing on most of the prospective acreage in the NPRA, or when they impose mitigation measures that make it impossible to build a dock in Point Lay. These decisions impair our economy and deprive the state of revenue. For example, the Feds imposed ridiculous conditions on the CD 5 project and the Point Thomson project, which delayed first production by years which in turn deprived the state of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
The good senator should try to permit a project in this state to get a sense of how frustrating it can be to deal with our federal government. Try to build a road, a bridge, a dock and then get back to us.
I’d be just fine with the Feds keeping more of their money except for what is required for essential constitutional obligations and letting us have full use of the land inside our boundaries and the natural resources they contain.
These large ‘cash handouts’ that the state accepts from the Feds are hardly surprising and should be no mystery to anyone who has spent more than a little time exploring the situation in Alaska. There are several factors that drive the necessity for all the federal support.
Let’s start with the fact that the Federal Government claims ownership of 58 percent of the land in the state. As a comparison if you extend the eastern border of Colorado to the south as far as Mexico and to the North as Far as Canada and use the resulting line to divide the country into eastern and western portions you will note that there are only two of the states to the east of this line where Federal ownership more than 10 percent of the land mass, Michigan and North Carolina. If your look to the West, you will note that Montana is the lowest with only 39.9 percent of its land owned by the Fed’s.
Now let’s look at actual use of and regulation of our natural resources. In many cases in Alaska even the seemingly minor task of uniting two communities with a road is rendered impossible because the Federal Government will not allow a right of way across its land. Has anyone noticed any missing roads on the east coast? Did you know that we only have 1,082.22 miles of highway in this state that are part of the Interstate highway system and as such supported by funding from the Federal Highway Trust Fund… (Most not built to interstate standards but included through serious arm twisting done by our very own enforcer types named Ted and Don) Did you know that regardless of how few miles of road we have compared to other states we pay the same 18 cent per gallon gas tax as they do? Or that even when you buy gasoline for your snow machine or boat you still have to pay the gas tax? Tried to drive the boat on the highway? How about the snow machine or the four wheeler?
Our fish and game are increasingly regulated not by the State but by Federal agencies and in some cases, international organizations where we have no effective input.
Lots of people in this State think of all that Federal money as nothing more than a rent payment from a tenant who abuses his privilege and is increasingly reluctant to pay the going rate.
Not much of a fan of Sen. W, however, the point he’s making is true that we benefir incredibly from Federal dollars. Still, we do not need to coward and be accepting of Federal overreach. We need to stand strong and demand better from our government. Government is designed to serve the people, not the other way around. I’m not certain that the senator realizes or agrees with this.
Alaskans have a remarkable ability to tell the Federal Government to get out of their life, and in the same sentence demand more Federal money.
The point is incredibly obvious. For all the bluster about the evils of the federal government, the state simply wouldn’t function without huge cash handouts from those overreaching feds.
Amanda, I mostly like your blog and seldom take exception to what you choose for publication. However, this tweet post is a waste of my time and yours. To publish, without comment or perspective is meaningless. What’s the point? The only point that I see is that you must have wanted to give the liberal do-nothings something to rant and cheer about. What is the senator’s point? Ypu must have either been busy or sick today and was simply desperate for comment.