Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions
Alaska's oil and gas profits distributed to the rich
By John Suter
June 22 2015
Monday PM
Dear Editor:
I read in the news that Mayor Sullivan is reminding us how wonderful it is for Alaska and Anchorage that the state gave all of these millions of dollars to the oil companies in tax credits to drill in Cook Inlet. However, what he did not remind us of was that the state could have drilled in the Cook Inlet using the Norwegian oil field model which is very successful for the Norwegians and Norwegian oil field management to run the Alaskan oil field company that the state could have developed for us. The state could have used the profits made from the oil and gas that the State would have developed to pay for the state budget. As it is now, the oil field companies will be taking these profits and distributing them to the rich and powerful in the lower 48 who own these oil field companies.
As a result of this failure, it is only a matter of time that the state will be taking away the dividend check, will be putting on us income taxes, sale taxes and will continue deep cutbacks in the state budget to pay for the state’s operating budget. Mayor Sullivan did not remind us that the state is removing one of the state troopers rescue helicopters from service because the state no longer has the funds to support its operations in rescuing people.
We all know that next year the state will continue to cutback funds for fire, police, roads, schools and so on. The state could have keep those things if it would have made the choice to develop its own oil and gas. But instead Mayor Sullivan was in favor of bringing in private oil field companies to take all of the profits for their selves leaving the state with up-coming taxes and deep cuts in the state budget.
Which one would you rather have? Is Mayor Sullivan’s choice the best one of the two?
John Suter
Chugiak, Alaska
Received June 22, 2015
- Published June 22, 2015
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