Aruba International Regatta
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August 10, 2019 T: 582-7800 | F: 582-7044 www.arubatoday.com Page 13
Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
Alaska budget woes prod debate over oil-wealth fund checks By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Daniel Bowen came to Alaska in 2011, looking for adventure and opportunity. He and his wife eventually settled on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage, a salmon fishing haven calling itself “Alaska’s Playground.” But the Bowens, both teachers, recently returned to their native Michigan. After years of stress over delayed state budgets, their breaking point, he said, was Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed reductions to K-12 spending and health and social service programs. The state has been roiled by a budget dilemma linked to its uneasy reliance on oil, bringing a reckoning that has scrambled traditional political alliances. For decades, Alaska binged on infrastructure and community projects when oil prices were high and cut spending and closed facilities when they weren’t. This time, prices haven’t boomed and after years of drawing down savings and cutting expenses, state leaders face tough decisions. The situation has politi-
In this Feb. 27, 2019 file photo, protesters attend a rally at the Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, to show opposition to budget cuts proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. For decades, Alaska has had an uneasy reliance on oil, building budgets around its volatile boom-or-bust nature. Associated Press
cians debating changes to the annual dividend paid to residents from Alaska’s nest-egg oil-wealth fund. The checks, seen by many
as an entitlement, once were considered almost untouchable. But the budget reality, and differences over taxes and
spending, has politicians and residents choosing between the size of the prized checks and public services many expect.
The anxiety is tied to persistent low-to-middling North Slope oil prices. Continued on Page 3