I have been following HB 115, the House’s solution to our budget crisis, and I support it fully. I also support reducing oil tax credits and fully funding education.
For 37 years, I have not had to pay taxes while people in the lower 49 states have. For those same 37 years, I received PFD checks ($37,027.41 total), as did my wife and our two kids. All those checks added up to $148,109.64 for my family. The free ride is over; it is time to reinstitute our state income tax.
The argument that taxes will hurt the private sector ignores the fact that laying off state employees and cutting services to the public hurts the private sector as well. It is better for the private sector to pay taxes and keep their jobs than to lay off public employees and cut services to the private sector. When the public employees no longer have jobs, they won’t be buying from the private sector and that sends us toward a recession.
Cutting money to education hurts our kids. They are the future of Alaska. Why would any of you want to pass the budget problem on to our kids? That makes no sense to me.
Everyone in Alaska needs to be part of the solution to the budget crisis; that means me paying taxes. Seasonal workers who take their wages south and then pay taxes on them to other states, should be paying those taxes to Alaska. And YES, the oil companies too, must be part of the solution by having lower tax credits. They are part of Alaska and need to do their part along with the rest of us.
Last year the can was kicked down the road. The budget crisis should have been addressed last year. Now I hear talk of kicking the can down the road again. You were elected to make tough decisions, so make them.
Gary Miller,
Juneau