Alaska’s resources must be used for the maximum benefit of Alaskans. That is a constitutional requirement that the majority of our legislators seem to have forgotten. Under the current oil tax scheme we are giving away hundreds of millions of dollars this year in tax credits to some of the most profitable corporations in the world. While the efficacy of these credits remains highly controversial, the sacrifices we are making to fund them are clear. We are cutting vital services, infrastructure and education. We are cutting Alaskan jobs. We are cutting the PFD.
Alaskans are paying for the ruinous choices of our Legislature. We are underwriting their incompetence. Voters hope that the Legislature will, in its FIFTH special session, begin to make meaningful progress in addressing our fiscal crisis. But I ask you: Do you trust the legislative majority that got us into this mess to get us out again?
Alaskans cannot afford to continue with our current leadership. We need pragmatic solutions, not the inflexible partisanship and wasteful posturing that we have come to expect from this Legislature. We need legislators who will do everything in their power to assure that Alaska’s resources are used for the maximum benefit of all Alaskans. Vital services, infrastructure, education, jobs and the PFD should not be sacrificed to finance controversial oil tax credits.
Justin Parish is a challenger for District 34 House Seat.