You don’t have to be a political scientist to understand that ConocoPhillips would love to have one of its employees in the executive branch in Alaska. Its presentation, which excluded risk factors and qualifiers that must be made when anyone talks about billions of dollars that have yet to be committed by a wide range companies, should be interpreted in that light.
Read MoreMark Begich seems to be unaware of the progress made over the last couple of years in advancing the public discussion of the state’s fiscal problem. A lot of the credit for that progress goes to Gov. Bill Walker, and the coalition of Democrats and Republicans who led the House.
Read MoreFormer Sen. Mark Begich is right that former Sen. Mike Dunleavy’s portrayal of Iceland as the model for Alaska leaves out the inconvenient truth of taxes.
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It was almost as if the legislative witness from ConocoPhillips was there to help the campaign of fellow ConocoPhillips employee Kevin Meyer, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Alaska.
Read MoreIf the governor and Legislature follow the existing PFD formula in the law for dividends, the amount spent on them next year would almost double, from $1 billion to $1.9 billion. That would mean deficits of $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion a year though 2027, according to the current revenue forecast.
The $100 million Mike Dunleavy now describes as easy money just waiting to be cut from the budget by consolidating school district health coverage is another illusion.
Read MoreBefore he quit the Legislature to run for governor, Mike Dunleavy should have applied himself to examining the state budget. Had he done so, maybe he wouldn't be spreading a fable about one element of state spending that is obvious to anyone who has ever looked into the subject.
Listen closely to former Sen. Mike Dunleavy as he speaks with conviction about the state budget and oil prices. He rattles off numbers like a desperate timeshare salesman, which makes it hard to tell which statistics are real and which are imaginary.
Read MoreRepublican Mike Dunleavy can always get a laugh when he says the most important campaign question is about how tall he is, but it's no joke that he has failed to produce a coherent plan for state finances.
Sen. Dan Sullivan described McCain as his mentor and close friend. But Trump went on mocking the dying McCain at rallies and Sullivan stayed silent.
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