Rural Alaska's struggle for survival

[rotorhead]

Actually Floyd, I'm not arguing with anything you say on the issue, as you're obviously far more experienced on the matter than I am.

The location of villiages in Alaska has been influenced by multiple factors, from gold-rush era mining booms to innovations in transport from the steam ship to the airplane. Many are obviously located where they are because of logistical issues, some are there by random quirks of history, and some haven't moved at all for thousands of years. And yes, any view on subsistance living that I may have is undoubtedly off the mark, as I don't now and have never lived "off the land". I'm a wage slave like most everyone else, though it's been a few year since I've had an actual paycheck (the stay at home dad gig isn't particularly noted for that).

I do stand by my "slice of pie" analogy when it comes to the state budget, however...it's the very definition of a zero-sum game. If I gain by getting money shifted to my interests, it always means that someone else is getting less money for theirs. As one example, down here in SE we're seeing pretty obvious evidence that the state ferry system is becoming even more a a red-headed stepchild with the legislature. The Marine Highway is technically just another part of the states road network, but it's a very distant second compared to the asphalt and snowplow part of the highway dept. when it comes to spending transportation dollars. It doesn't help that the current gov. is a carpetbagger of the very first order when it comes to actually living and working in Juneau. It's only going to get worse in the immediate future since the volatility in the oil market has done a number on the states main source of income.

A couple of things are for certain. One is that Alaskas population is shifting from rural area to the urban centers at an increasingly rapid rate. A big part of it is driven by fuel costs and their effect on the price of everything else, but the pervasive lack of employment opportunities is an issue with no solution. Another is that rural Alaska is going to have less and less influence in the legislature (and therefore less money) as Anchorage and Fairbanks and the rest of the railbelt communities gain an even higher percentage of the states population. If the state capitol ever does get moved into the MatSu, we might as well just close up shop as far as the rest of the state is concerned. In fifty years there wouldn't be enough people living in interior Alaska to hold a basketball tournament. Outside of the oil patch and seasonal work in hunting and fishing lodges, nobody will be able to afford to live there.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

As one example, down here in SE we're seeing pretty obvious evidence that the state ferry system is becoming even more a a red-headed stepchild with the legislature. The Marine Highway is technically just another part of the states road network, but it's a very distant second compared to the asphalt and snowplow part of the highway dept. when it comes to spending transportation dollars. It doesn't help that the current gov. is a carpetbagger of the very first order when it comes to actually living and working in Juneau. It's only going to get worse in the immediate future since the volatility in the oil market has done a number on the states main source of income.

A couple of things are for certain. One is that Alaskas population is shifting from rural area to the urban centers at an increasingly rapid rate. A big part of it is driven by fuel costs and their effect on the price of everything else, but the pervasive lack of employment opportunities is an issue with no solution. Another is that rural Alaska is going to have less and less influence in the legislature (and therefore less money) as Anchorage and Fairbanks and the rest of the railbelt communities gain an even higher percentage of the states population. If the state capitol ever does get moved into the MatSu, we might as well just close up shop as far as the rest of the state is concerned. In fifty years there wouldn't be enough people living in interior Alaska to hold a basketball tournament. Outside of the oil patch and seasonal work in hunting and fishing lodges, nobody will be able to afford to live there.

The above quotes are a rather astute observation! I'm sure that each sentence could be expanded to book length too, so a lot of what is said there is more subtle than it might at first appear.

In particular, Alaskans should read and pay attention to the last couple of sentences. And then realize that it references the short term effects of moving the capitol to out of Juneau! The long term effect is that when the Bush is no longer viable, half the economy of the urban areas will also disappear...

[rotorhead]

quote: "I'm sure that each sentence could be expanded to book length too"

Doubtless, but not by me! I'm sure that the subject is already being covered pretty thoroughly though to be honest I haven't really checked the bookstores.

I have noted several recent newspaper articles on "capital creep", the insidious process by which the state government stealthily transfers more and more positions out of Juneau into the MatSu and Anchorage area. Give them enough time and only the legislature itself is going to be "stuck" there. It's an underhanded way to get around the fact that Anchorage hasn't managed to ram through a legal capital move...yet. I guess if Palin hasn't deigned to actually move to Juneau despite the fact that she's the gov., there's just not gonna be much incentive for others to acknowledge that fact either.

Actually, I'm all in support of moving the state capital...as long as it's NOT to anywhere on the road system. Galena would be a good spot, or maybe Yakutat. It's gotta be somewhere without jet airline service though, Juneau is far too easy to get to to truely represent what most of the state has to deal with, transportation-wise.

It's true that flights into and out of Juneau generally cost about twice as much per trip-mile than similar flights into and out of Anchorage and Fairbanks, but you can still get there by a Part 121 carrier. The same is NOT true for most of the state, including where I live. I say lets force our governor and state senators to take the same risks and pay the same costs as everyone else that has to get onto a little single-engine airplane to get home, or take the AMHS ferry like the rest of us.