The current available balance in the earnings reserve is not $19 billion or $18.8 billion. And no one can say with certainty that it will grow to $20 billion shortly because no one can successfully predict oil prices or investment returns.
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During his inauguration in Kotzebue Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said there was a “misunderstanding that I had said something about closing schools in rural Alaska.”
Read MoreThe announcement naming John Quick, who is in his mid-30s, as commissioner of administration for Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy said one of his “signature achievements” was cutting a $5 million deficit to $400,000 at the Kenai Peninsula Borough in one year “simply by finding efficiencies.” That’s not what happened.
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A Dunleavy press release said Adam Crum, 34, has managed “large teams and multi-million dollar budgets,” but he has not managed anything approaching the largest department in the state, one with a budget of $3.2 billion.
Read MoreGov.-elect Mike Dunleavy has decided that the best way to cut the budget is to get someone from Outside to lead the charge, though she doesn’t know the state budget or Alaska.
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The demand by Gov.-elect Mike Dunelavy and chief of staff Tuckerman Babcock for a loyalty oath from hundreds of state employees who are not part of the political class is a mistake.
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Tuckerman Babcock has been named by Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy as the chief of staff for the Dunleavy administration, a position in which he ought to set a good example by accepting a salary commensurate with the ideals of a man dedicated to small government.
Read MorePresident Trump started a trade war with China without a coherent strategy or any concern about the damage it could inflict on fishing or any other industry in the United States. Alaska’s U.S. senators just can’t bring themselves to say that or push back.
Read MoreDeciding whether the state can afford to take $6 billion from the permanent fund will be a major decision for the next Legislature. But it shouldn’t be a difficult one because the withdrawal should only be about half that amount.
Read MoreAlaska oil hit $85 a barrel on Oct. 3, but the price is now below $70 per barrel. President Donald Trump wants to see it keep falling: "Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" he wrote on Twitter.
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