In politics, education is an issue all its own. It’s not Democrats vs. Republicans, dogs vs. cats, Sharks vs. Jets, pro-life vs. pro-choice, pro-“More Alaska Production Act” vs. anti-“Oil Tax Giveaway.”
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Like a good story, most legislative sessions have a narrative. Last session’s narrative was simple and wholesome: the passage of a multi-billion dollar tax cut for oil companies. And by golly, we got the job done with SB 21, which passed the Senate 11-9, and fulfilled its unfortunate destiny by a vote of 27-12 on the floor of the House of Representatives at 2:07 a.m. in the wee hours of April 14, 2013. (I was among the dozen dissenters.)
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Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, I’ve been trying to find zen with the the ongoing Fukushima nuclear mess. Between colossal tax cuts for oil companies, a budget forecast that induces acid reflux, and Medicaid un-expansion, I barely had the brainspace to worry whether my dad’s smoked sockeye was going to give me colon cancer or turn me into a mutant.
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• “$2 billion revenue shortfall sparks oil tax debate” — Anchorage Daily News
• “Oil Tax Revenue Expected To Decline By $2 Billion” — Alaska Public Radio
• “Alaska Revenue Forecast Shows Unanticipated Multibillion-Dollar Deficit” — Alaska Dispatch
Translation: We, the State of Alaska, have $2 billion less in oil revenue this coming year than we thought.
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Sportsmanship and Statesmanship
I love great sports rivalries. I love that the intensity of competition between great rivals — Red Sox and Yankees; Auburn and Alabama; Duke and North Carolina — is couched by an even greater respect each holds for the other. Ferocious competitors, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird dueled each other in some of the most epic playoff games in NBA history, but when the series was over, Bird and Jordan genuinely respected each other and even teamed up to shoot good-natured McDonalds commercials in the off-season.
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