Let the weeping begin

By Dave Stieren
Publisher
The Alaska Standard

"I think it's a lot of kind of tricky business," says Sheila Selkregg. "I think our community has to take responsibility for coming to the table and saying these are the things that we think matter, and we're willing to pay for it or we're not willing to pay for it, and if we want to cut services it's OK with me, but I don't think we should force ourselves into a tax structure that forces us to cut services without that conversation, and I think that's where we're moving with this kind of approach to the revenue sharing," Selkregg said.

Thank you, Jason Lamb, for doing Anchorage voters the kind service of catching a former mayoral candidate on camera, as she comes clean on her tone deaf political ear. Thank you Sir, for letting the camera run as Dr. Selkregg clearly articulates her complete lack of understanding that the passage of Prop 9 and the election of Dan Sullivan was the conversation that voters have already had. Indeed, thank you Mr. Lamb, for illustrating to those who live in the area that Dr. Selkregg represents, that there is a clear contrast in belief and understanding of the issues between her and candidate Adam Trombley, and for many April can’t come soon enough.

In only logic some of the Socialist 6 could understand, the belief that taxing to the cap, and increasing the limit for the cap next year, is an actual cut if diminishing revenue sharing from the state is used as a placebo to keep us clueless. Mayor Sullivan and the minority on the assembly believe that the only way to lower taxes is to spend less over the long term. Wow. I may still have my post-Halloween sugar hangover, but spending less and taxing less does seem to lead to a reduction in the size of city government. As the mayor has said he will not compromise public safety or road maintenance, I can’t help but think that many Begich/6 entities that were created under their tenure are facing a timely demise.

Watching the assembly meeting last week, many of those who are a part of or benefit from the creation of many of those pet projects lined up and gave us their version of the “sky is falling, and you need to keep giving me cash” stories. Please. In listening to some of the testimony from last week, 1 lady spoke of her legally blind son, who needs public transportation to get to work. She spoke of supporting a program, not because her son chooses not to drive, or reduce their carbon footprint, or because he has a right to travel at the expense of others, but as needing the system to get to work. To me, a society must provide the means for those who wish to, to help themselves contribute. Yet after this woman’s testimony, another lady spoke of how Anchorage is contributing to climate change, and we must do all we can to expand public transportation and limit the use of private cars. How far have we traveled down the socialist path?

I am sure that in the coming days, members of the socialist 6 will trumpet “quality of life”, “comparatively under taxed”, “noble public employee’s” and so on and on, as reasons to fight these draconian tax cuts. I have a few questions for them, and their supporters:

1. When you agreed to labor contracts you didn’t read, did you understand that you were tying the hands of government in efforts to privatize some services, and increase the costs of city government?
2. When some of you ran for the office of Mayor, aside from the dead end of taxing to the cap, what other solutions for the budget crisis were you bringing to the table?
3. Mr. Claman, still waiting for that box of cost cutting measures that you learned from your trips as the temporary mayor. Will you pass that to your replacement on the assembly after your voted out of office?
4. Labor unions, do you support contracts that may force some of your new members to lose their jobs? Oh, don’t tell me, tell their families that will need to deal with the lost jobs. I’m sure your hard line approach will help them make their mortgage payments.
5. Members of the Teacher’s union, you all but trip over yourselves in an effort to support Grey-Jackson, Claman, Skelkregg, and so on. Will you follow the lead of those amongst your ranks who call for a measured and civil discourse in your pending labor negotiations, or well you listen to a loud, militant thug minority who advocate a “we’re tired of being screwed over” approach? Good luck, and we’ll be watching.

Just submit your answers to the questions in a clear, thoughtful manner. Plenty of space is provided below as a service to Standard readers.