Goodbye Alaska, I am going to miss you. (Anchorage, Metlakatla: how much, house)

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I'm aware. My comments weren't about Walker. This thing predates your time here.

I know they weren't.
I am just sharing something that was shared by the Governor.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

To me the notion that 90% of your state economy can be built on extraction and have the citizenry pay no state income or state sales tax (and the majority paying no local sales tax in Anchorage) for decades is so so foolish. This entire situation could have been avoided through modest financial planning. Kudos to Walker for inheriting a long-time mess and doing some politically unfortunate things. I believe in 30-50 years he will be regarded as an excellent governor for this state.

It's a mess, and it goes beyond the PFD. What surprises me, is how unrealistic, some are about that pfd and the taxes.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

This entire situation could have been avoided through modest financial planning. Kudos to Walker for inheriting a long-time mess and doing some politically unfortunate things. I believe in 30-50 years he will be regarded as an excellent governor for this state.

Before the PFD, Alaska had an income tax. Long before Walker, politicians who issued warnings that the system wasn't sustainable and proposed changes were promptly voted out of office by those who thought they were trying to steal their PFD. I put the blame squarely on the heads of the voters.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

It's a mess, and it goes beyond the PFD. What surprises me, is how unrealistic, some are about that pfd and the taxes.

Reinstating the personal income tax in Alaska would be a drop in the bucket, is the usual argument against it. It certainly wouldn't save the state, but it would be a start. Alaska's citizens can't expect others to support them forever.

Funny how they all seem fine with raising fishery taxes.

So what do you think is going to happen with the schools? I've heard rumors that the smaller ones could be closed.

[Haolejohn]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Reinstating the personal income tax in Alaska would be a drop in the bucket, is the usual argument against it. It certainly wouldn't save the state, but it would be a start. Alaska's citizens can't expect others to support them forever.

Funny how they all seem fine with raising fishery taxes.

I noticed that too. I seriously think they hope to tax the outsiders out of the regions and then take over those permits. I don't think they realize they would then be stuck paying those taxes.

It's a mess.

[jabogitlu]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Before the PFD, Alaska had an income tax. Long before Walker, politicians who issued warnings that the system wasn't sustainable and proposed changes were promptly voted out of office by those who thought they were trying to steal their PFD. I put the blame squarely on the heads of the voters.

I do, too. To be honest, as a relative outsider (having lived here three years), I have never seen a bunch of thicker dunderheads than the average Alaskan voters. And I come from the South!

[pittsflyer]

I will be sitting in a lawn chair on the side of the Glenn with a cooler full of drinks one of the weekends shortly after peoples kids get out of school to see how prolific the exodus will really be. Most people wont be leaving until the semester ends if they have kids which I imagine a lot of people do.


As far as an educated population, Alaska has always struggled because of a lack of a diversified economy. Just go on to Alaska jobs at any given time and you will see VERY few jobs for highly educated people. A lot of people come up for a job but once displaced from said job there is usually no where to jump except out of state unless you have the means/personal safety net to hang out here comfortably for YEARS before you can land another highly educated position.


I actually did (still doing) an experiment where I pretended I was laid off late 2015 and still have not got an offer for comparable jobs in my area and its now almost mid 2017 ... that's kind of an issue for Alaska. As much as people on here might have an opinion about me, my resume is solid but I think that a lot of these job postings are resume collections for future use because I would like to think my resume is solid enough to at least get a network call/added to their contacts/informal network lunch etc from said places.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Reinstating the personal income tax in Alaska would be a drop in the bucket, is the usual argument against it. It certainly wouldn't save the state, but it would be a start. Alaska's citizens can't expect others to support them forever.

Funny how they all seem fine with raising fishery taxes.

So what do you think is going to happen with the schools? I've heard rumors that the smaller ones could be closed.

If its a drop in the bucket but yet the most burdensome form of revenue collection why is that their go to solution? An income tax actually solves very little and thus is almost completely punitive, it says hey if you have a good job and some how survived all the cuts we the people are still going to make your life hell as if the constant worry of the "next round" is not bad enough now our save rates will be impacted leaving us with less options if the ax does fall in the years to come.


This situation is not going to get better next year unless some radical changes happen.


Taking more of peoples income forces them to leave sooner if they loose their jobs because they have less fall back money. Maybe that's the states strategy to make sure that if your laid off you make a quick exit rather than having the savings to try to stay here? I don't know.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Reinstating the personal income tax in Alaska would be a drop in the bucket, is the usual argument against it. It certainly wouldn't save the state, but it would be a start. Alaska's citizens can't expect others to support them forever.

Funny how they all seem fine with raising fishery taxes.

So what do you think is going to happen with the schools? I've heard rumors that the smaller ones could be closed.

The state is going to have to bite the bullet and stop funding rural Alaska, it will cost them votes but putting more of that burden on anchorage is going to cost them a lot more votes. Anchorage can consolidate and start expelling the dead beat kids now that trump is in. Get the kids in there that want to learn and consolidate schools and Anchorage will be ok.


The first start will have to be the mass expulsions of thugs, dead beats and gang members and then start rezoning and closing redundant schools.

[Metlakatla]

People living in states where an income tax is in play don't bail in droves when they "loose" their jobs. Alaska had a personal income tax before the oil money; by the way.

No one said it was an ultimate solution; just that it's probably inevitable at a time when every drop in the bucket is needed.