Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets

The ability to spend unlimited amounts of money in the political process on both the left and right has broken the link between voters and their representatives, and replaced it instead with links between representatives and their unlimited financial supporters, including the national parties. NOW thru Tuesday: The Alaska screening of Unrepresented, the award-winning documentary exposing the corrupting influence of money in politics. Join us in watching, then join us again for a panel discussion on Tuesday at 5p. Deets here: https://lnkd.in/d-yh3CD

ICYMI. This Wk's Top 3 P'cast| The actual data surrounding oil revenues paints a far different picture than some claim, Jake Metcalfe has it backward & this cycle is proving why we need the coming debate on campaign finance reform. #akleg https://lnkd.in/gV7fGhtU

This Wk's Top 3 P'cast| The actual data surrounding oil revenues paints a far different picture than some claim, Jake Metcalfe has it backward & this cycle is proving why we need the coming debate on campaign finance reform. #akleg https://lnkd.in/gV7fGhtU

Jake badly misleads. By continuing to rely on #PFDcuts, his "common-sense" #akleg would be the worst for middle & lower - working - #AKfams. It is the dream outcome for the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos, though. #WhoPays reveals #WhosSideAreYouOn https://lnkd.in/g3dVJ4e4

ICYMI. This Wk's Alaska Landmine column| If legislators are truly concerned about the impact of the skyrocketing cost of living on Alaska families, why are they using fiscal tools that make it worse? #akleg https://lnkd.in/ggUnQuFi

In a small way, this bill would have taken some of the burden of funding govt off PFD cuts and, through that, middle & lower-income - working - #AKfams. The #AKGov's veto just keeps it piled on. https://lnkd.in/g4_pD74T

The 8:30a Chart| To provide context to current $$oil, we publish daily (ex-Su) a running avg of FY25-31 $$ANS, Brent & WTI actual+futures. Projected ANS v. SPRING24 F'cast: > FY25 ⬇️ $4 (-$200mil UGF) > FY26 ⬇️ $1 (-$50mil) > FY27-31 even (avg annual $0mil) #akleg

Shadow Boxing| Concerned they couldn't beat #akleg Sen. Kawasaki with $$ only, some decided to stretch the facts beyond the breaking point and put them in a statewide op-ed the weekend before the election. To their credit, the News-Miner, at least, printed our correction before election day. https://lnkd.in/gXm3kcBy

For an organization at the forefront of calling a fiscal spade a spade at the federal level (Tax Foundation consistently has treated tariffs as taxes) it is near the back of the pack at the state level. #akleg As ISER Professor Matthew Berman has said, "Let's be honest ... a cut in the PFD is a tax." But it's not even mentioned in the Tax Foundation's most recent State Competitiveness Index. https://lnkd.in/gpd5fZ_i

This Wk's Top 3| Did the SB21 co-chairs even look at the data before they wrote the op-ed, so much for actually caring about #WorkingAKfams & how will campaign cash this cycle play into the next #akleg. T'row, 6:05a on the Michael Dukes Show at https://lnkd.in/gWTyUhnY