CSI: Alaska (house, lease, work)

[User 2]

Attention, forensic experts: The seemingly unstoppable bleeding coming from the US Treasury can be traced in large part to Alaska's resource extraction industries.........

The Interior Department and the State of Alaska is being shorted on full value for the mineral rights it sells private industry,

.....a renewal and revision of the state and federal royalty system needs to be enacted.

In a 166-page report, scheduled to be released today, the panel says better training, better audits, improved management and more resources are needed for the department's Minerals Management Service to improve the way it administers development of oil, natural gas and other minerals produced on federal lands.

Revenue-losing problems surfaced when four auditors from the service filed lawsuits against the government,

.......suits bringing evidence that oil and gas companies hadn't complied with reporting requirements.

The auditors reported that the service had retaliated against them for filing the suits.

This is what happens when you let a sneering unelected oil service CEO (and his hand-picked brand-name blueblood marionette) into the White House....

Free Preview - WSJ.com

Of course, this has been a yearly problem, ever since the Bush years began, and the details paint a very clear picture....

Here's more details from a year ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/wa...=1&oref=slogin

Read more:

Groups urge US Congress to raise number of royalty auditors
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As extractive industries report truly astounding record breaking profits in Alaska, the government take on taxes and royalties has suffered overall losses in the ten's of billions of dollars.....

Alaska needs to revisit it's royalty enforcement policies and it's royalty tax structure to meet the changing times...

The Legislature is in session now, ....no better time than the present, eh?


Sponsor Statement: HB 156 - Mining Prod. & License Taxes/Royalties -- 25th Ak Legislature House Majority
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[Dusty Rhodes]

Unfortunately, only after the citizens of the state of Alaska band together in sufficient numbers will the government make some token gesture of atonement, way too little, way too late, or, at least that's the way it works down here. To get real change will require an ongoing and concerted effort. Good heads up User2! The real villian is apathy, not the government. As long as the voters don't show real concern, the politicians will take as much as they can.