February 24, 2020
Monday PM

Dear Legislative Brothers and Sisters, 

If we in the owner-state are determined to be giving away the just and fair profits of resource extraction, then the declining revenues we ourselves have crafted dictate that we identify alternative revenue streams. If one is going to live here and enjoy the benefits of established, necessarily maintained, and improved in the future infrastructure, the money has got to come from somewhere. 

It is evilly disingenuous to point the finger at ‘big government’ in the Great Land when whole generations of Alaskans haven’t invested a nickel into the common weal of the State. Ignored are the realities of life and economy in Alaska, the immensity of our size relative to the rest of the United States, the extremes of topography, climate, distance, logistics, that demand enormous capitalization to be able to compete on national and world markets, if compete we choose. The costs, nevertheless, intransigently remain. Ignored are the facts that profit-driven markets demand increased costs to consumers as producers’ supply chains increase in expense. Why do Alaskans think they can escape the ever-rising costs of maintaining the infrastructure we have, when the cost of all we consume or otherwise use increases? Frankly, in terms of infrastructure, Alaskans have been ‘getting it for free’ for quite some time now… living in a banana oil republic.

Like all sectors of the economy, the costs increase across the board. Private sector, public sector, it is all the same. Nonetheless, the Constitution of Alaska emphasizes that all of us are to be equally treated under the law; regardless of our physical location in the State. Rural citizens, coastal citizens are to have the infrastructure, the transportation corridors, access to health care, education, and opportunity the same as citizens on the Railbelt enjoy. The Constitution forbids pandering only to the largest blocks of voter clusters at the expense of the scattered rest of the State. Flat funding unjustly penalizes the few to the benefit of the many. 

Until more farsighted, citizen-oriented rather than corporate shill-oriented leadership can hold sway, and the problems solved to the equal benefit and cost of all Alaskans, it is incumbent upon current leadership to provide equally for the totality of citizens. Ferries, public water and sewer, airports, healthcare access, power generation, heating fuel supplies, elder care and other resources require protection and enhancement, and need to be maintained adequately, equally for all.

Born in the Territory of Alaska, I have been a small business owner and operator in the private sector, as well as having served the citizens in the public sector as a career Firefighter/EMT in Anchorage, and as an unlicensed crew member for the past fifteen years or so with the Alaska Marine Highway. In the small village on Prince of Wales Island of Kasaan, to which I retired after my emergency services career, there is little to no opportunity for employment and I and my family depend upon the ferry system employment to make ends meet here. It is a citizen’s right to live where he or she chooses and the State Constitution guarantees those of us who live for whatever reason away from the centralized population cluster of the Railbelt, be afforded the same benefits of infrastructure and government as anyone else. I and my neighbors aren’t looking for handouts, we are looking for equal treatment under the law. We need ferries, we need clean water and sewer, we need roads and air strips, other infrastructure the same as the citizen who already enjoys paved roads, snow removal, international airports, running water and flush toilets, schools, and the like. I paid state income taxes for years. It wasn’t a crushing burden! Perhaps a state income tax will separate the wheat from the chaff here… separate those who are here only to ‘make a killing,’ from those who are here to make a living.

If the Permanent Fund is going to remain, and we are going to abide by the State Constitution, then the money for infrastructure and investment in our children’s future opportunity has to come from somewhere. It doesn’t grow on oil trees. If you want to live here and do business here, you have an obligation to contribute your fair share to the present, as well as to those who succeed, our generations. We can amend Constitutions, we can re-think and reorganize, we can adapt to changes in economies of scale, we can choose to move in a different direction that sustains and encourages society in the long term.  State government cannot continue to serve as the whipping boy for the cost of life in Alaska. It costs what it costs, and is intended to serve each and every citizen of the State, whether they afford themselves of some benefit of the common weal or not. For instance, the schools that educated us, and then our children, and will educate ours and our neighbor’s grandchildren and great grandchildren require continual funding, whether or not our own kids are currently enrolled. The obligation to society and the future citizens of the State does not end with our personal self-interest in some portion or another of the infrastructure. 

State government is like a patient on the operating table, a patient whose functional existence contributes to the whole of Alaskan society and succeeding generations. Whilst certain cuts have been and can be made to ensure long term health; wholesale and arbitrary amputations based on percentages of the patient’s body will only kill the patient… one citizen, one community, one region, one culture at a time. Are Alaskans really prepared for that? Can they not foresee the consequences?

But until then, since we are going to continue to appease multinational corporate resource extractors, tolls and user fees for roads like ferry system patrons pay, taxes upon those who otherwise benefit from exploiting our infrastructure, game, tourist attractions, and the users of our State and its resources are going to have to ante up. The money has to come from somewhere. You, as our leaders, have been entrusted, by our votes, to serve the common weal. I, for one, am here to help; ready to pay my dues equally with my neighbor. How can we move forward from here?

Blessings,

Michael S. Queen
Kasaan, Alaska

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The text of this letter was NOT edited by the SitNews Editor.

Received February 22, 2020 - Published February 24, 2020

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