PFD posturers, with an eye on election, propose giant deficit

Six members of the finance committee earned honors as PFD Posturers this week by claiming the state can afford to spend $2.4 billion on dividends and burn through half of the Constitutional Budget Reserve, which would make it impossible to deal with future state emergencies without going into the Permanent Fund.

No responsible person would vote for this giant deficit.

Democratic Rep. Neal Foster and Republicans Frank Tomaszewski, Will Stapp, Jeremy Bynum, Jamie Allard and Elexie Moore took the reckless approach. The Republicans claim to be conservatives. They are posers.

They are content to say whatever they think will get them reelected, so they act as if $3,800 per person makes perfect sense without new taxes or eliminating most state services.

With Foster’s help, they prevailed over the five members of the committee who acted responsibly—Reps. Andy Josephson, Calvin Schrage, Alyse Galvin, Sara Hannan and Nellie Jimmie.

Now in the end, the Legislature will not spend $2.4 billion on dividends and cut the Constitutional Budget Reserve to the dangerous level endorsed by the House Finance Committee.

The Legislature will not approve the $1.5 billion to $2 billion deficit favored by Foster, Tomaszewski, Stapp, Bynum, Allard and Moore.

And the Legislature will not approve the screwball plan from Bynum—which he was unable to explain on his own—to promise to hand out extra money to Alaskans in the future that might be created from Trump’s war against Iran.

The dividend will probably be in the $1,000 range.

What we didn’t hear from Foster, Tomaszewski, Stapp, Bynum, Allard and Moore is any plan to raise taxes or slash most state services so the state can afford to allocate $2.4 billion to dividends.

One way of cutting $1.5 billion to $2 billion would be to eliminate state funding for two branches of government—the Legislature and the courts—while also ending state funding for about a dozen executive branch departments including transportation, fish and game, law, natural resources, revenue, labor, environmental conservation and the motor vehicle division. The capital budget would also have to go, so more buildings and facilities would fall apart faster.

It is dishonest for this group to fail to mention the consequences of big dividends and to try to con Alaskans into thinking the $2.4 billion plan is based on something other than a compulsion to tell people what they might want to hear.

Instead, we heard a weak stream of lukewarm flapdoodle.

“This is the best time to give a full and statutory PFD,” claimed Tomaszewski.

“It can be done. We’ve heard about economic headwinds. There’s a lot out there. The people are feeling it. This amendment follows statute. It follows the law. And I ran on that premise. I ran on the premise of following the law. And I’m gonna vote for that. I believe the people of the state of Alaska know how to spend their money better than we do. And this is the most fair way to get those dollars out to all Alaskans who are eligible for the PFD. This is the best way. This is a boom for economic growth. For the private sector. There is no reason that we can’t make this decision right here, right now,” he said, echoing a Ralph Seekins commercial.

Right here, right now, Tomaszewski should mention the taxes he supports and the services he wants to cut in his district and elsewhere to allow $2.4 billion to be spent on dividends. He can’t do it. He has never done it.

As for Foster, who inherited his job from his father in 2009, the claim that the state could afford a bigger dividend this year if oil taxes are increased is hollow. That’s not going to happen this year. And all these years have gone by without Foster leading the charge in Juneau for higher taxes to pay for higher dividends.

"I made an impassioned speech yesterday explaining why Alaskans deserve their share of Alaska's resource wealth consistent with the PFD formula that currently exists in law," Foster said. "This is the people's money and so I will be voting ‘yes’ for this full statutory PFD."

I am waiting for Foster’s “impassioned speech” about his plans to become a leader on taxes to pay for higher dividends.

The best coverage of the PFD Posturers is in the Anchorage Daily News.

The Juneau Independent also has good coverage.

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