Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions
Oil companies bought Alaska legislature back
By Ray Metcalfe
March 29, 2017
Wednesday PM
In 2004 I speculated in an ADN op-ed that several members of both houses of our legislature were taking bribes from oil companies with Bill Allen and VECO acting as their surrogate. While I only had a smattering of hard evidence, my real confidence in risking that the most powerful people in Alaska would not sue me for saying it stemmed from my confidence that bribery was the only logical reason any legislator would pretend to believe that profits to the big three producers needed to be increased at our expense or they would leave. Over and over I had documented that oil company profits in Alaska dwarfed oil company profits in other parts of the world. Over and over I documented that other countries kept a much larger share of the profits than we were keeping. Over and over seated legislators would pretend to believe and act on oil company rhetoric that I knew that they knew had to be false.
As the FBI proved two years later, they believed it because they were paid to believe it. Six legislators went to jail, the tax structure changed and we Alaskans saw a profit share increase of about four billion a year. We spent about half and saved about half. It is the savings you hear about that we are spending down today. Savings that would have gone to the stockholders of BP, Conoco, and Exxon, had VECO not been busted.
It took six years for the oil companies to buy our legislature back. New oil tax breaks were passed and today Alaska's big three oil companies are producing oil in other countries for refund of cost plus one to two dollars per barrel. Last quarter in Alaska, they made 100% of costs plus over $17 per barrel on their Alaska production. Put this information in front of the leaders of the Alaska State Senate and they will pretend they don't understand and look at you as though you were from Mars. Then they will once again vote to give away our profits and pay oil companies to haul our oil away.
I can think of only one rational reason an otherwise apparently sane person would do that. Bribery.
Ray Metcalfe
RayinAK@aol.com
Anchorage
, Alaska
About: Ray Metcalfe is a former member of the Alaska Legislature, and was the Whistle Blower helped the FBI put six State Legislators behind bars for accepting bribes from VECO owner Bill Allen in exchange for their vote to give Alaska's oil away for a fraction of it's value, just like several legislators are doing again today. Metcalfe was Alaska's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016. He is longtime political activist
Received March 29, 2017
- Published March 29, 2017
Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:
Webmail
Your Opinion Letter to the Editor
Representations of fact and opinions in letters are solely those of the author.
The opinions of the author do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.
E-mail your letters
& opinions to editor@sitnews.us
Your full name, city and state are required for letter publication.
Published letters become the property of SitNews.
SitNews ©2016
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska
|
Articles &
photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright
and may not be reprinted without written permission from and
payment of any required fees to the proper sources.
E-mail your news &
photos to editor@sitnews.us
Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.
|
|