Pebble Mine - on PBS Frontline last night (Anchorage, Metlakatla: buy, inspection)

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by tigerfan3

NOT!!! We'll never see a dime. In fact Parnell will find some sort of a way to give them a tax CUT, lol. Hey, I'm sure they need it. So NO to the Pebble Mine.

Why in the world would we as individual see a dime of any private company's business is beyond me, the state would see millions in tax and maybe royalities but that would go to Capitol projects and the like. As far as those making money, it should be those that work for the company and the owners that do the investing, and in the case for Pebble, that should be a lot of employed people at better than average wages all year round!

I'm not fond of Socialism/Communism in any form, I do expect to be paid for what I do though. Which is apparently a foreign concept to those that live for public assistance in any form.

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by tigerfan3

They say the minerals in that mine could be worth 200billion to 400 billion. Fine. Half of that goes to the PFD fund. Now, there are about 650,000 of us. How much do we each get? And I'm not talking about just a few hundred people with jobs at the mine...I mean how much do we ALL get?? $5000 a year? $10,000 a year? Minimum, right?

If the state demands a large percentage of the value of the minerals, the company will mine somewhere else, and another country will get the jobs and a small percentage of the mineral value. What the state tries to collect from this needs to be based on what makes sense overall, or it (and its residents) won't get anything.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by tigerfan3

Right, so lets get our PFDs from Pebble instead. Seriously, make em give up like 50% of the profit right into PFDs.

Why? I'm not really a fan of Pebble, though I think that none of us really have the information yet to form much of an opinion, but how do you think what you suggest would benefit the state?

The potential profits for this thing are huge. Gigantic PFD payouts would attract a bad element to Alaska, and that would benefit no one.

[stiffnecked]

Just like they put federal fish monitors on ships in the Bering Sea, I'd bet the feds will be crawlin' up Pebble's bung rung if they get this thing off the ground. Red Dog by Kotzebue hasn't turned into a disaster. Fort Knox by Fairbanks hasn't either. They make mistakes and they get spanked. They fix the problem and work continues. The anti-Pebble people keep wanting to point to mistakes the mining industry made 100 years ago.

We aren't livin' in the wild west Wyatt Earp days anymore. Just like fishermen can't overfish and decimate the wild fish stocks LIKE THEY DID in the past. Big mining can't and won't be allowed to do the same.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

Just like they put federal fish monitors on ships in the Bering Sea, I'd bet the feds will be crawlin' up Pebble's bung rung if they get this thing off the ground. Red Dog by Kotzebue hasn't turned into a disaster. Fort Knox by Fairbanks hasn't either. They make mistakes and they get spanked. They fix the problem and work continues. The anti-Pebble people keep wanting to point to mistakes the mining industry made 100 years ago.

We aren't livin' in the wild west Wyatt Earp days anymore. Just like fishermen can't overfish and decimate the wild fish stocks LIKE THEY DID in the past. Big mining can't and won't be allowed to do the same.

Somehow I'd feel better if things were regulated by the state rather than the feds. Looks the mess the feds have made out of Alaska's halibut runs. Seems like there are more halibut cops than actual halibut anymore.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Somehow I'd feel better if things were regulated by the state rather than the feds. Looks the mess the feds have made out of Alaska's halibut runs. Seems like there are more halibut cops than actual halibut anymore.

They are regulated by the State. Specifically by DEC and DNR. State regulated facilities include the oil, mining, and fishing (vessels over 400 gross tons) industries. This includes spill drills, inspections of the facilities and operations, contingency plans, and financial responsibility. I too have more confidence in the State's ability to manage its resources than I do the feds.

What I would like to see is the State create a "Permanent Fund" for itself. Meaning that the Legislature would form its budget based upon the dividends it receives from its investments of its own Permanent Fund. It can only spend the dividends, not the principle. It could potentially make the State financially self-sufficient, not requiring any taxes, fees, or duties from its citizens. When the oil eventually runs out, the Legislature would still have the principle to invest and could potentially continue to fund the State using the dividends indefinitely.

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by Glitch

What I would like to see is the State create a "Permanent Fund" for itself. Meaning that the Legislature would form its budget based upon the dividends it receives from its investments of its own Permanent Fund. It can only spend the dividends, not the principle. It could potentially make the State financially self-sufficient, not requiring any taxes, fees, or duties from its citizens. When the oil eventually runs out, the Legislature would still have the principle to invest and could potentially continue to fund the State using the dividends indefinitely.

I suspect the government would use the extra money to fund more spending, rather than to lower taxes.

[tigerfan3]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Why in the world would we as individual see a dime of any private company's business is beyond me, the state would see millions in tax and maybe royalities but that would go to Capitol projects and the like. As far as those making money, it should be those that work for the company and the owners that do the investing, and in the case for Pebble, that should be a lot of employed people at better than average wages all year round!

I'm not fond of Socialism/Communism in any form, I do expect to be paid for what I do though. Which is apparently a foreign concept to those that live for public assistance in any form.

The natural resources of this state should belong to the people, not private business. We should have the option to lease out the land for use, but at a significant cost.

[tigerfan3]

Originally Posted by jdhpa

If the state demands a large percentage of the value of the minerals, the company will mine somewhere else, and another country will get the jobs and a small percentage of the mineral value. What the state tries to collect from this needs to be based on what makes sense overall, or it (and its residents) won't get anything.

Which would be fine with a majority of Alaskans. We are doing just fine without Pebble. If they want the billions in profits they'd end up getting, the state should tax the profits at a 50% rate. 50% of billions is a lot of money. They'll take the deal.

[tigerfan3]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Why? I'm not really a fan of Pebble, though I think that none of us really have the information yet to form much of an opinion, but how do you think what you suggest would benefit the state?

The potential profits for this thing are huge. Gigantic PFD payouts would attract a bad element to Alaska, and that would benefit no one.

If they're going to risk our land and our salmon (and there is at least SOME risk) then the reward for our side needs to be worth it.