The order demands the ‘voluntary’ cooperation from any current or former Ravn employees or contractors setting up freight and mail services using seized assets.  Gonna be real interesting to see how he enforces that order on the employees and contractors. 

The order is primarily aimed at Ravn Air assets in Barrow and Deadhorse and applies to any other equipment at any other North Slope Borough location not specifically named.   The order can be found here.

The order was covered in Suzanne Downing’s Must Read Alaska with appropriate comments.  Comments on the ADN article describing this action were disabled when I wrote this morning.  A description of the Ravn bankruptcy announcement can be found also at the ADN.

So, what do we have here? 

On the one hand, we have a business built on serving Bush Alaska, you know, the same Bush Alaska that is putting the occasional truck across a few runways to keep aircraft, passenger service and Wuhan out of the villages.  I get the concern.  It is a very tribal reaction, which is why tribes are no longer the preferred governing structure here in the US.  Problem with doing this is that this also shuts down cargo and mail service into those very communities.

On the other hand, we have a borough mayor channeling his inner Hugo Chavez, seizing private property on state facilities built with federal dollars.  As FAA and state rules don’t allow any private or commercial entity (other than security) to carry firearms on airports, a seizure order like this can be enforced pretty much without opposition – property theft via stroke of the pen. 

While it appears that the Mayor intends to use the facilities and equipment to support mail and cargo service when it resumes, it is not out of the realm of possibility that he also intends to operate his own personal airline / air freight service in the North Slope Borough with whatever airframes are still there.  Is he going to order the pilots to fly for him at the point of a gun? 

Mayor Brower’s excuse (via the ADN) was that Ravn facilities are needed for “… food, medical supplies and medical transport.”  Add to that mail and “… health and safety of its residents”, and he clearly thinks he has an excuse.  Note that in all of these property rights of the business was the first thing to disappear.

The State of Alaska MUST respond to this.  Forcefully.  For if the North Slope Mayor can get away with this sort of high-handed, lawless action, it won’t be that long before another self-selected martinet who really enjoys using emergency orders takes the next step.  What if this happens, say perhaps at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport?

There is a formal, legal process for corporate bankruptcies.  It involves judges, lawyers, banks and accountants.  It does not involve Borough officers with guns. 

The other thing that the State needs to consider is allowing every single operator on state facilities to arm themselves, their employees and contractors.  Mayor Brower wouldn’t have dared to this unless he knew that his people were armed and nobody else was. 

There was a reason that those of us on the political right bought guns and ammunition during the O’Bama years.  Given the ongoing run on guns and ammunition during the current festivities, it would appear that those on the political left are figuring that out.  When the very governments become lawless, the citizenry will not put up with it for long.  It is up to the State of Alaska to reinstate the rule of law in the North Slope Borough.  Sooner would be better than later. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Hugo Chavez on the North Slope appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

NEA-Alaska supporters were quite good at ferreting out complaints aimed at the Florida virtual education company.  They were great at blasting away at Dunleavy, Donna Arduin, and everyone else within the frag envelope for the action.  They swarmed instantly on any commenter who dared to post something in support of the contract.  I posted a couple of those triggering predictable response strings.  The response reminded me a lot of the reaction of a fire ant nest in Louisiana after tripping over it. 

From a persuasion standpoint, this was a brilliant move, regardless of how good it works.  From a political standpoint, it was even smarter. 

Here’s why:

The Dunleavy administration gave newly selected home-schooling parents (every parent with kids in the public, charter and private schools) another option for continuing education of their kids.  It gave their kids another option for continuing their education.  What did the unions do during these trying times? They collected signatures to recall Dunleavy.

How about the school districts?  Although some commenters praised their online efforts, I’ve seen little to none of these efforts reported.  And the school districts are in a difficult spot here, for should they educate their students online / distance with any level of success, they by definition undermine the rationale for brick and mortar locations to send kids to learn, and in turn continuing funding to support the current infrastructure.  That movement has been underway for at least a couple decades, fought every inch of the way by the education establishment and unions.  Why?  Loss of control.  Loss of funding.  Ultimately, loss of the need to do what they have been doing, the product and service they have been delivering, in the way they have been doing it. 

I have little sympathy for either the school districts or the unions in this, for the reasons previously stated.  The districts are defending their status quo in a world that is quickly changing.  And the unions are collecting signatures to recall the governor.  Neither of these have anything to do with their stated mission of educating Alaskan kids. 

From the standpoint of the governor, it really doesn’t matter if this will work or how well it works.  All it matters is that he tried to give Alaskan parents and their children yet another option to continue their education during the time of Wuhan.  My guess is that there will be some positive, and more importantly many, many lessons learned during and after the effort, lessons how to set up and operate distance education on a large level here in Alaska. 

The unions?  They were (are?) more interested in collecting signatures.  They could have been out in front of this, suggesting similar options and putting those options in place.  They weren’t and didn’t.  As their actions reflect the views of their membership, this should tell you everything you want to know about the priorities of those public employees.  Hint:  they aren’t either parents or kids. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Dunleavy Chooses Online Education appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

The Alaska Permanent Fund is not the Legislature’s money nor the Governor’s money.  It’s the people’s Fund, a financial stabilizer, managed for you, the beneficiaries.  The Fund was mandated to invest 25% of the royalties when established by Constitutional Amendment as a dedicated Fund.  The other 75% of royalties plus all the taxes and tariffs and other numerous ways to grab money from the oil patch were retained for Legislative purposes.  Now Legislators and others want your 25% of royalties plus the entire earnings of the Fund.  Legislators tell us that we’re lucky to get whatever is left, after their spending.

The Permanent Fund long term yields have been good and can lead to prosperous Alaskans.  With dividends, we have a direct individual benefit for developing our natural resources, just as Governor Hammond intended.  The PFD diversifies Alaskans’ income stream adding investment income from the Fund for education, retirement and making affordable the higher cost of living in Alaska. 

A waitress with a husband and two kids earns $12,000 in dividends this year under existing law.  That $12,000 can pay rents or mortgages due during the layoffs.  Just change the payout date from October to April.  Fishermen and tour operators, indeed all Alaskans who will be hurt by the Coronavirus Pandemic can get by if their full Permanent Fund Dividends are paid.  That’s good planning by our forefathers. 

Governor Hammond would be well pleased that when the Fund is left alone, it provides substantial direct benefits to Alaskans.  Greater security, more affordable education and cash reserves for emergencies like the virus are all benefits of abiding by the original calculation of the dividend.  Make no mistake, we already have the earnings – in cash.  Anyone who tells you we don’t, can’t read the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the State of Alaska.

Our problem is our Legislators passed two conflicting statutes, both on the books for calculation of the dividend.  The first one is our historic 50/50 split.  Earnings are evenly divided between the People’s Dividend and General Fund appropriated by the Legislature.  But, the Legislature enacted a per cent of market value approach, POMV that reduces the amount that can be drawn and shockingly, removed the calculation for earnings.  The Legislature, for three years, has divided the earnings with bloated government as the winner and the people getting the short end of the stick. 

The solution to our fisherman’s cash flow is not to further cut the family’s cash. The same is true of tourism employees, retailers, restauranteurs, and other Alaskans who are experiencing financial turmoil as a result of the virus.  Our cash cow has had great earnings.  The Legislature simply wants to butcher it – and use all the money to grow more government.  Alaskans have had enough and don’t want their PFD reduced or ended.   

An alternative way back to fiscal sanity is to stop the Legislature from dedicating funds.  The Alaska Constitution bans dedicated funds except for federally provided revenue and those Funds in existence when we became a state.  Or, as the Permanent Fund was established, with passage of a Constitutional Amendment by the people. 

One unconstitutional dedicated fund is the Power Cost Equalization Fund at $1.2 billion, housed in the Alaska Energy Authority.  AEA financial statements describe the PCE assets as restricted and not available for government spending.  That’s a dedicated fund.  There are many in state government.

The Supreme Court ruled that PF dividends must compete with all other appropriations.  But, the Legislature unconstitutionally protects the PCE.  PCE doesn’t compete for appropriations but your PFD does.  Special interests are pleased.

The Permanent Fund must return to averaging our five year earnings to calculate the dividend.  The market turmoil of today then becomes a blip on the screen of our long term investment program.  Yes, stocks and oil go up and down.  That’s why we insisted on the five year earnings average.  A down year is not the end of life.

Most Alaskans are off work awaiting clearance to return.  We have time to communicate directions to our Legislators.  My message to my Senator, Natasha Von Imhof and my Representative Chuck Kopp is simple.  Rescue our economy from the damage of Coronavirus by voting to pay a full dividend.  Please change the date to April 30, 2020. 

If you fail in this effort, I will vote against you. I will not vote for Legislators who damage the people who elected them.   Alaskans, if you agree, please share the instruction with your Legislators.  After all, they work for you.

Doctors will solve this Coronavirus and in time, we will be stronger as a result.  Doctors take a Hippocratic Oath, paraphrased as “First, do no harm”.  Legislators should take that oath for our Permanent Fund dividend.     

Jim Crawford is a third generation Alaskan entrepreneur who resides in Anchorage with his bride of 36 years, Terri.  Jim is President of The Alaska Institute for Growth, a local think tank which studies and reports on and may sponsor projects of sustained economic growth for the Alaskan economy.   Mr. Crawford was a member of the Investment Advisory Committee, appointed by Governor Hammond to plan and implement the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.

The post Help Alaskans! Pay the Full Dividend! appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

The Anchorage Fire Department got into the act late last weekend closing its fire stations to the general public after three staff members were self-isolating with symptoms of Wuhan.  This is all good stuff, all based in concern for public safety, all intended to halt the spread of the disease here in Alaska. 

But are we doing all we can to control the spread of the disease? 

I would suggest not quite everything, as we still have the ban on single use plastic bags in place.  And this is where the Anchorage Firefighters Union comes in.

Single use plastic bags were banned here in Anchorage last year.  Over half the Assembly that passed the ban is up for reelection, including one Suzanne LaFrance, from South Anchorage / Hillside.  The Anchorage Firefighters Union has been running radio ads in support of her since at least the first of the month.

One of the arguments against the ban was concern for sanitation.  This concern was thoroughly described and discussed by City Journal last week.  Basically, reusable shopping bags become a vector for disease transmittal from home to shop to home to other people.  Now that the world has changed and sanitation is at the forefront of all lifestyle decisions, perhaps it is time to reconsider the ban here in Anchorage. 

I e-mailed my Assembly members, John Weddleton and Suzanne LaFrance with that question.  Weddleton responded that while there might be some merit for reconsideration, he thought the ban was working well.  He never once discussed the newfound concern for sanitation.  And from Suzanne, I got crickets, no response at all.

Not only do they reject the suggestion, but they both by action and inaction refuse to even have the public discussion.

Suzanne LaFrance was elected in 2017 and has done her best Chancey Gardiner (Being There) routine while on the Assembly.  She does little preparation.  Adds little to the discussion.  And is simply a reliable vote for the current majority, a majority the Police and Fire unions worked very hard to put into office.  She was even helped by a last-minute whispering campaign aimed at her 2017 opponent Al Fogle accusing him of being a gay guy.  Nice.

So, we have the Anchorage Firefighters Union supporting a woman who is little more than a placeholder, a reliable pro-union vote, whose actions and inaction have made us here in Anchorage just a little less safe.  These are the same guys who just shut down all public access to their fire stations on public safety and sanitation (Wuhan) grounds.  Anyone else see the logical disconnect there?

Anchorage Firefighters and Police are individually fine people who do dangerous work and are well compensated for that work.  But their collective political choices as demonstrated by their unions backing every single democrat on the ballot for the last decade have made our lives just a little bit less safe each and every day here in Anchorage.  And the Anchorage Firefighters Union is back at it again doing that with their support for Suzanne LaFrance. 

Someone ought to ask them why.

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Public Safety and the Anchorage Firefighters Union appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

Shall there be a Constitutional Convention?

The most recent time Alaska voted on this was in 2012, which lost roughly 2:1 against with nearly 270,000 voting.  The question was on the ballot five previous times and failed four of them generally close to the 2:1 split against.  It narrowly passed the first time on the ballot in 1970, but opponents to the convention took the matter to the state courts and found a judge who decided the language on the ballot was misleading and threw out the results.  The measure failed two years later in 1972 at close to what became the historic 2:1 average against with around 85,000 voting.

The next time the measure will be on a statewide ballot will be in 2022.  What sort of Alaska will be voting on it then? 

Will we have a former governor who was recalled for doing his constitutional duty to control state spending?  Will we have a completely rewritten state election law via creative judicial review of a ballot initiative that now allows initiatives to contain multiple topics (in this case between 3 – 7 different items)?  Will we have legislative majorities busily spending the PFD, all Permanent Fund earnings, drilling down into the Fund itself?  Will we have chased the last of the major oil producers out of state with new taxes?  Will commercial fishermen be sitting on millions of pounds of salmon that are no longer competitive in the worldwide salmon marketplace?  Will we continue to fiscally support communities who actively fight roads and bridges?  What about the Bush?

Precisely what sort of state will we have in two years?  Better yet:  What sort of state do we want?

There are some people out there that believe it is time to deal the cards once again, shake the game board and start anew.  Indeed, one of the political gifts President Trump has is the ability to shake the box with intractable political problems and start over.  Do we need to do that up here?

Granted this is high stakes poker.  We may very well lose everything.  While the most prudent path may continue fighting this incrementally for the next several decades, we still face the possibility that the political left, public employee unions, greens and other rent seekers may win it all if a convention is called.  Remember, the enemy always gets a vote. 

What are the large, intractable problems here in Alaska?  A short list for your consideration:

• An intentionally constructed liberal state judiciary.  Worse, nominations come out of an intentionally constructed liberal organization – the Judicial Council.  For the most part, conservatives need not apply.
• A legislative majority in both houses that seems intent on spending every single dime available rather than controlling spending, especially when forming bipartisan coalitions.
• Public employee unions (police and fire) here in Anchorage that have the largest campaign spending clout in local elections and have had so for at least a decade. 
• Coastal towns that have actively fought roads and bridges now shocked, simply shocked that the barely operable state ferry system is no longer affordable.
• The ever-present economic support for Bush Alaska.  How much is enough?
• Failure to control education spending at all levels.  Parallel failure to even consider alternative methods of delivering education in this state.  Once again, public employee unions are involved.
• Continuing assault on resource development efforts including oil, natural gas, mining and logging.
• Refusal to compete or to even consider competing in the worldwide aquaculture marketplace.

How do we solve these?  Addressing them individually is a long, hard political slog, and a convention may very well be an acceptable alternative path.  But the risk of a failure to do it right may be far too high to even consider much less to embrace.

Our next opportunity to make that choice will be November 2022.  And that discussion, wherever it leads needs to be joined. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Is It Time for Another Alaskan Constitutional Convention? appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

First observation took place at Anchorage International Airport in the International Terminal.  There are two Chinese offices on the second floor of the terminal.  One of them is Cathay Pacific and the other is their cargo operation.  Both offices were locked up tighter than a drum and looked to have been so for a while.  This was before I heard about President Trump’s shutdown of traffic between China and the US, which was probably the reason.  Given the amount of Chinese air traffic through Anchorage and widespread local travel of their crewmembers and passengers while in Anchorage, I would suggest that this decision is the single best one made to limit the outbreak in Alaska so far.

Second observation is what might be a bit of panic among Anchorage shoppers.  I regularly visit Costco.  Crowds over the last 10 days or so have been phenomenal, which may or may not have been connected to Fur Rondy.  What are they buying?  Everything, though cleaning supplies, rice, beans, and other foodstuffs that lend themselves to long-term storage and use seem to be really common.  If this was what was going on, Anchorage residents are doing what they can to limit their risk from the disease by prepping for an extended quarantine.  Like the halting of air traffic to and from China, this is also a healthy lifestyle choice.

Before I proceed, one of the things we are being told regarding this virus is to pay attention to cleanliness, basic sanitation.  This means wipe down surfaces, use of a LOT of Purell, and pay particular attention to hand washing.  Hugs and even handshakes are now being questioned in some locales.  The next couple items point out how the Anchorage Assembly made decisions the last couple years that completely ignore basic sanitation concerns.

Unfortunately, not all lifestyle choices are healthy ones.  The Anchorage Assembly, Mayor and School Board (think unions) have made policy choices that end up being not all that healthy at all and will in turn contribute to the spread of the disease once it shows up in town.

The first of these bad choices is the ban on plastic shopping bags.  When you bring your reusable shopping bag into any store or business, you bring everything that is riding on that bag.  If it is Corona, you bring Corona into that business, spread it around the wares on its shelves, and among the other shoppers in those stores.   If your bag was clean and sanitary and gets exposed to Corona at the store, you take it home with you.  Neither is a positive outcome.  The feel-good, green virtue signaling done by the Anchorage Assembly passing this ban has the potential to spread Corona farther and much wider than it would otherwise have spread, simply by removing the option of clean, sanitary plastic bags by Anchorage shoppers.  This should be a topic for Assembly races in April.

The second bad choice is tolerance and support for a homeless population spread far and wide in the public spaces here in Anchorage.  These people are not in the best of health.  They are regular drug users and leave an unknown quantity of their bodily fluids where they live and relive themselves.  That stuff will eventually get in the sewage treatment system and in local creeks and streams, and in turn into local waters, many of which are fished and recreated in during the summer.  Once the disease shows up in town, I can’t think of any better way to encourage its spread than to tolerate and support a homeless population living and leaving their bodily fluids in public areas.  By tolerating this, Ethan and the Anchorage Assembly set the stage for a rapid spread of disease citywide once it shows up.

Final bad choice comes courtesy of the Anchorage School District, School Board, and the Teacher’s unions.  Amid reports of public schools being shut down in Hong Kong and Seattle, I start wondering how we here in Anchorage will deal with a possible extended shutdown of ASD.  Hong Kong is facing the prospect of a 13-week school closure.  Their response has been a combination of online education and home schooling, also massively supplemented by online ed.  The school system in Seattle has closed at least a dozen public schools for cleaning in response to the Corona outbreak.  No date for reopening the schools has yet been determined.  If Hong Kong is the model, these closures will not only continue for a while, but spread.

How will Anchorage deal with an extended public-school closure should one show up?  Remember that the Teachers’ Union has all but demanded herding all students into schoolrooms and have over the years fought tooth and nail any and every alternative attempt to educate kids with online / distance methods, protecting their budget at all costs.  And the people they put into office for the most part refuse to even consider the online option, yet another poor and imminently predictable self-serving policy choice having absolutely nothing to do with the education or healthy well-being of their charges (students).

Note that not only are the unions adamant about refusing online / distance education, so are most parents, particularly parents of younger children, as early education is widely viewed (and used) as childcare as well as education.  This will be a tough nut to crack.

So, when this outbreak hits town (my assumption is that it will, so we must be ready for it), we will have done a couple Very Good things to get ready (shutdown of air travel between China, supplies purchase by individuals and attention to sanitation).  Unfortunately, the currently elected government here in Anchorage – Assembly, Mayor and School Board – have put policies into place over the last 5 years that are positively awful, and will make it all that more difficult to contain or control an outbreak – plastic bag ban, tolerance of homeless encampments, both of which are sanitation issues, and a kneejerk rejection of online / distance education.  These decisions and policies have collectively made us less safe, removed yet another chunk of safety margin.  For what? 

Perhaps it is time to get another batch of politicians, someone (anyone?) who is at least a little bit interested in public safety and health.  This isn’t the first pandemic.  I most certainly won’t be the last.  It won’t be all that difficult to do better.  OTOH, we’ll have to try pretty hard to do worse. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Preparing for Corona in Anchorage appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

The initial attempt to impose a 5.5% alcohol tax floated by Ernie Hall in 2015 failed to get out of the Assembly with a 6-5 vote.

The current Assembly was back at it last year putting a 5% sales tax on retail sale of Alcohol on the ballot.  The proposition failed with 53% of the general public voting no.  I had an article on the tax in APEOnline Nov 2018.  The rationale for defeating the tax has not changed over the last 15 months. 

The Assembly is back, apparently believing that the third time’s the charm.  You can find actual language for the initiative here.  This time around, they’ve tweaked the presentation a bit, dedicating whatever is raised after paying admin, collection and audit costs to the following uses:

Funding for police, related criminal justice personnel, and first responders;

Funding to combat and address child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence; and

Funding for substance misuse treatment, prevention programs, detoxification or long-term addiction recovery facilities, mental and behavioral health programs, and resources to prevent and address Anchorage’s homelessness crisis.

All Motherhood and Apple Pie stuff; all on the backs of responsible drinkers of adult beverages in this town.  Roar right on out and vote for that sucker, right?   

Not so fast.

What this Assembly and Mayor are playing is the bright shiny object game, proposing a new tax on alcohol sales that they promise (in not so many words) to solve all the Muni problems that have grown on their watch, during their time in office, presiding over this mess.

What they are not telling you is that money is fungible.  This means that every penny they raise to put in these buckets, is a penny they can quickly swing from those buckets to spend on other things, like turning over public parks, greenbelts, to the homeless, or deploying port-a-cans for their sanitary needs.  Here’s the actual language:

(e)       The net receipts described in subsection (b) shall not be used to supplant funding for existing service levels contained in the actual operating budget for fiscal year 2020 and the funding to provide for and maintain that level of service in subsequent years. The dedicated net receipts shall only be used to provide additional service levels above the 2020 baseline. 

Although the ordinance has language that promises the new money will be additive to current expenditures in these areas for the length of the 2020 operating budget, the Assembly can (have and will) change that budget baseline by a simple majority vote. 

In short, they are very conveniently and cutely executing a bait and switch in front of Anchorage voters, all tied in a shiny “trust me” magical bow.  There is a famous scene out of Animal House on the dangers of “trusting us.”  As the scene is NSFW, I won’t provide the obvious and hilarious link to the video.  As usual, your mileage may vary.

And if we’re dumb enough to trust a group of people who exude incompetence from every pore of their political bodies, we embrace democracy as described in the words of HL Menken:

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. 

The final piece of this ordinance exempts sales taxes on alcohol in the Muni Charter from the three-fifths majority requirement for a new tax, moving that down to 50%+one of qualified voters voting on the question.  Further, like the change in the Muni Charter that allowed Mark Begich to avoid a runoff when he was first elected mayor, both the new tax and the exemption to the three-fifths majority to bust the tax cap immediately go into effect upon passage.  Here’s the actual language:

(b)       Unless otherwise provided in this Charter, no sales tax ordinance is valid until ratified by three-fifths (3/5) of those voting on the question at a regular or special election, except the taxes imposed by Charter § 14.05 and § 14.07 shall be effective if approved by a majority (50%+ one) of the qualified voters voting on the question.

            If approved by a majority of the voters voting on the question at the April 7, 2020 Regular Election, the amendments to the Charter above shall be effective upon certification of the election.

This means they can be back again and again and again whenever there is not quite enough money for this or that or something else.  The proposition should be defeated out of hand for this alone.

Nothing has changed over the last year on this alcohol tax other than promises from a group of people who have demonstrated quite clearly that they no longer deserve our trust.  Put this tax out of our misery.  Also remember the people who are floating this and do your level best to run as many of them out of office as possible in April’s election.  I know I will. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Another Try at an Alcohol Tax in Anchorage appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

Bloomberg announced the City of Anchorage was a winner of the 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge.  The money is to fund a public art project addressing climate change and economic development.  The Muni will partner with the Anchorage Museum to create what they call “seed lab.” 

Free money, right?  Truly a wonderful thing.  Right?  Or is it?

In response, Mayor Berkowitz endorsed Bloomberg for President.  Alaska Public Media quotes Berkowitz saying:

“Michael Bloomberg, of all the candidates in the race, Democrat or Republican, has the greatest ability to unite this country. And I think that the divide that is splitting America apart poses the greatest threat to our country that we’ve seen in generations.”

Quite the endorsement, that.  And it only cost Bloomberg a million dollars to get the endorsement of the highest-ranking elected democrat currently in office in the State.  For a guy expected to spend over $2 billion in his attempt to defeat President Trump in November, this is money well spent.

A week or so later, I ran across an article in the American Thinker entitled Bribery is at the heart of Bloomberg’s political career.  The article recounts Bloomberg’s practice of buying off opposition, usually in the form of charitable (tax deductible) or political contributions to people who would otherwise oppose him.  This practice is totally legal.  Unfortunately, it is also totally corrupt, as it buys off words and actions of people who would otherwise oppose him or at least be a bit skeptical of his intentions.

As NYC Mayor, Bloomberg spent extensively, giving massive sums to nonprofits and arts groups (sound familiar?).  He funded nonprofits that supported his political agenda.  When church groups or community organizations threatened to oppose him, he wrote checks and they quieted right down.  During his first nine years in office, the Carnegie Corporation funneled over $200 million of Bloomberg money to NY civic and arts groups.

In 2018, Bloomberg spent $24 million to boost 24 democrat candidates now in congress.  It turns out that a $2 million donation to a congressional campaign is indeed the start of a beautiful friendship.  His Bloomberg Philanthropies is busily, proudly and loudly doing the same thing with mayors.  And Ethan is simply one of at least 34.  Bloomberg also purchased a democrat majority in the Virginia legislature that is busily passing legislation turning Virginia into California.

Total spending in NYC during Bloomberg’s nine years in office aimed at shutting down opposition or currying favor is estimated at around $300 million.  That spending purchased him a third term as Mayor.  NYC has a population of 8 million.  Scale that up and it will take Bloomberg a mere $10 – 12 billion to buy the presidency and a congress that will support him and stay out of the way of his goals.

With this, I am reminded of the old (1937-ish) story about a famous man who asks a woman if she will sleep with him for a million dollars.  She says yes.  He asks how about $5?  Whereby she slaps him, asking what sort of woman he thinks she is.  He responds that we’ve already established that.  Now we’re just haggling over the price.

And it only took $1 million to purchase Ethan, his democrat and union backed Assembly, and the support of Alaska Public Media.  Imagine what another similar donation will buy. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Bloomie Buys Himself a Mayor appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

Mayor Berkowitz reprised this call in his speech to the AEDC luncheon on 1/29/20.  It was that speech that got my attention.

To put this in perspective, a review of recent budgets for APD is instructive.  Ethan was elected in 2015.  It took him about a year to get his first budget in place, 2016.  You can find his budgets here.  In 2016, his approved operating budget for APD was $100,753,451 for 543 total people.  By 2020, this rose to $121,138,346 for 611 people.  Do the math, and the Muni spends around $300,000 for each additional body over the period. 

While it is unclear if Ethan is talking total employment in APD, or beat cops for his 600 – 700 goal, we can make some estimates.  If the total is 600 employees, we are already there.  Bulk that up to 700, and we instantly add another $27 million to the Muni’s budget.  If Ethan is talking about 700 sworn officers, that increase is a whopping $91 million with a total force just over 1,000 people, as there are around 2.3 officers for every support staff position at APD.  Who pays for this?  Hint:  You and I do.   

The basic question is:   Why does a city the size of Anchorage need 700 cops, nearly twice what Mayor Sullivan employed, all proud union members, at a time when the crime rate is high and little to no credible effort has been made to address that crime rate or the homeless population perpetrating it?  Precisely what are these new guys being hired to do, as there seems to be little interest in controlling the drug use and crime other than pander to the perps?

Before we begin speculating, we need to at least point out a couple numbers.  In terms of equivalent numbers, Lincoln, NE currently has 353 officers, another 84 at LSO for a total of 437 all serving a total population of 317,000 people in the county, a community similar in size to Anchorage. 

The problem is not how many cops you have.  Rather, it is how they are used.  Conservatively governed locales like Lincoln typically need fewer police, progressive locales like Minneapolis – St Paul typically need many, many more.  And that is the problem.  Happily (for the left), police here in Anchorage are unionized, and typically support democrat candidates, as they’ve done for many, many years.  No wonder the Mayor and Assembly support more cops, regardless of the costs, as this is an easy way to grow their donor base while pretending to support basic law and order. 

The Mayor may be basing his goal on an analysis done by Steven Melo in 2018 that generally supports the notion that more cops equal less crime.  Unfortunately, his cost benefit analysis and conclusions are highly dependent on entry variables and where you draw the starting line (think long-time Blue cities like Detroit, Baltimore, Newark, or new ones like LA, SF, Portland and Seattle).  While the overall analysis supports more cops equaling less crime, it is not applicable to Anchorage.  Worse, neither the Mayor nor the Chief of Police have made a credible case that more cops equal less crime in this town.

Why is this?  I would think it is how the new cops hired over Mayor Berkowitz’ tenure in office have been used.  Are there fewer homeless camps?  No.  Fail Berkowitz.  Are there fewer vehicle thefts?  Marginally.  Fail Berkowitz, though the number of stolen vehicles was radically up for a few years and then decreased for the last 18 months as the ringleaders were apprehended.  Murder rate?  Fail Berkowitz.  Burglaries?  Fail Berkowitz.  How about drug use?  Unknown, as the Mayor views the homeless problem caused by drug use, mental illness, and alcoholism as a problem to be solved by building new low-cost housing, turning over public lands to the homeless for living space, and as an excuse for additional spending funded by a brand spanking new increase in the alcohol tax.

There is nothing to support the notion that more police equal less crime here in Anchorage.  Problem is that there is a LOT to suggest that more cops will be turned into predatory law enforcement aimed at the law-abiding citizenry with the intent on writing tickets to pay for their salaries and benefits as the years go by, much like what democrat City Fathers did in Ferguson, MO. 

When you double the number of active duty cops in Anchorage and don’t have enough money to pay for them, there will be an irresistible urge to use them as tax collectors via ticket writing, something we are already seeing with the scofflaw program.  And it will be that predatory, rapacious ticket writing effort that will undermine and quickly destroy respect for Law and Order here in Anchorage for decades to come.  It is that path that Mayor Berkowitz and his Assembly are now traveling. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

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In previous years, the halls of the Capital building were busy, with lots of people in motion – constituents, lobbyists, staffers and legislators.  This year, the halls were very quiet.  Why so?  After all, they are handling more money than they did in previous years. 

I think I was seeing the impact of bench removal from the halls in 2016.   The benches were mainly on the second floor, between the entrances to the House and Senate chambers.  Over the years, they turned into front-row seating for visitors to the legislature and what the ADN described as “… a platform for influence peddling.”  Remove the benches, and apparently you do the same thing to the traffic.  These benches have disappeared a time or two over the years and usually came back.  But this time around, they are well into their fourth year of being gone.

Rationale for their removal was to decrease congestion and possible security risks, which sounds more like an excuse than a reason.  Either way, this change certainly has quieted things down in the Capital building.

The second thing that came to mind during the visit were lobbyists.  These guys (and gals) are generally pointed out as being one of the reasons that politics in this state (and other places) is awful.  I reject that worldview, as we all have the right to lobby our elected officials.  Should someone or some group of someones think they can get better access via a lobbyist, so much the better.

Given the access that is their business stock in trade, the State of Alaska requires registration and reporting from them.  And everyone who is in this business generally does so, as the penalties are quite expensive. 

But conducting business in the State of Alaska also requires a business license, and it appears that a substantial number of current high-level lobbyists (at least five of them) do not have a current business license with the State of Alaska.  Requirements for business licensing are well described by the State of Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing.  AS 43.05.290 prescribes a Criminal penalty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, a fine of not more than $2,000 or by imprisonment not more than 6 months or by both. 

Clearly, the unlicensed businesses are at some risk.  I wonder who checks the business licensing status for the lobbyists?

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

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