MARCH 5 - MARCH 19, 2019
FEATURES
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
OPINION
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UAA history professor shares stories of Alaska’s military past
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG
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Opening a pub at UAA can help campus culture
Wallace and Roenning lead the ‘Skiwolves’ to NCAA National Championships said. “I have had some great races here and there and was sports@thenorthernlight.org a strong start with some of my best results ever.” The Seawolf ski team has After the completion of the been putting in its best efforts West Regionals, Wallace was after completing the NCAA named Rocky Mountain InterWest Region Championships collegiate Ski Association Skier and nearing the end of the sea- of the Week. son with the upcoming NCAA Having the combination of a Skiing National Championships. familiar course, local races and Both Liam Wallace and Sigurd ideal weather made Wallace’s Roenning have been recognized most recent races much more for their recent successes. successful than the rest of his Wallace, a freshman from season has been. Calgary, Alberta, placed in the “The Alyeska races were fantop-10 for both his races at the tastic. Great weather and condiWest Regionals. In the slalom, tions made it that much easier he placed second overall; in the to just focus on strong skiing,” giant slalom, he tied for seventh. Wallace said. “Lots of organizHowever, his success didn’t ing and finding the excitement is come easy. my best motivation to do well in “[The season has] had ups a race series, and I felt that way and downs so far. Fighting sick- for the past weekend.” ness for part of the competitive season made it hard to be conSEE NCAA PAGE 3 sistent with my runs,” Wallace By Lauren Cuddihy
PHOTO COURTESY OF SKIP HICKEY
Liam Wallace is one of ten Seawolves to qualify for the National Championships.
The cure to cabin fever By Robert Gant features2@thenorthernlight.org
Has being pent up inside during these long winter months got you frustrated? If so, you may have cabin fever. Luckily, there is a cure: the Cabin Fever Debates. The Cabin Fever Debates were established in 2006 for amateur debaters and has been held every
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spring since. They mimic the British Parliamentary Debate form, which has four teams. Two teams argue for the proposition and the other two argue for the opposition. The winners are determined by judges based on presentation and strategy. The Cabin Fever Debates coach Steve Johnson announces the topic a week prior. He determines which side each team ar-
gues on by pulling slips of paper out of a comically large leprechaun hat. The teams then have a week to prepare their debates, regardless of their actual viewpoints on the chosen topic. This year, over 30 teams of two students each with names such as
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FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019
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When statues become scenery management major, often studies at the tables across from the second-floor statfeatures2@thenorthernlight.org ue. “[The statues] have been around for When art becomes a fixture, does time a while, and I like them,” Jackson said. erode meaning? “I haven’t given [the meaning] too much In 1999, Bright Bimpong was com- thought.” missioned to make two statues for RasAshton Lekites, a sophomore walking muson Hall. These curious statues seem to her next class through Rasmuson Hall, normal enough at first, but a closer look initially did not even realize there were will reveal startling details like a single statues. high heeled sandal on a man, a laptop “I think I may have [heard of the statwith no monitor and several conch shells. ues] but not enough to have an opinion on One statue sits outside of the building, them,” Lekites said. draped in snow, and the other one on the Robert Davis, an alumnus visiting second floor, bathed in sunlight. Together Rasmuson Hall, expressed confusion they make up the bronze cast piece en- about the existence of a second statue. titled “Transaction.” “I don’t know where the other [statue] After two decades of watching stu- is,” Davis said. “I haven’t looked at them dents come and go, these statues know in a long time. I feel like somebody’s sitmany stories, but do the students of UAA ting on a bench? I forgot.” know the stories of these statues, or even Davis remarked on his desire to know notice them at all? what the statues meant. The majority of The one thing countless students in students who were asked echoed this deRasmuson Hall all have in common is sire. lack of knowledge about “Transaction.” According to Bimpong, “Transaction” Freshman Ally Jackson, a business is about the evolution of trade-offs and By Robert Gant
PHOTO BY CHASE BURNETT
culture with the passage of time. Every detail of the statues references tradeoffs. The man in the high-heeled sandal represents the sacrifices we make in the pursuit of gender equality. The monitorless laptop displays our evolving worldview with the advent of technology. Conch shells were considered money in parts of Africa up until the 20th century, now traded off for more convenient currency. Bimpong made the largest tradeoff of his life when he moved from Ghana
to America. He considers this to be his proudest commission. It has been 20 years, and “Transaction” still has a very relevant meaning to the school of business and public policy. These students made the trade-off of focusing on other things, like studying and schoolwork, instead of the statues. As time goes on, visitors to Rasmuson Hall may not notice “Transaction,” but they demonstrate the artist’s message.
Made of history: Tundra Vision digs into Alaska’s past
By Malia Barto
arts@thenorthernlight.org
Who doesn’t love a little history? Tundra Vision, a lecture series, intends to open a narrative about Alaska’s history, accurate understandings and events and how all individuals
are a part of history. Tundra Vision is a participatory lecture series by Katherine Ringsmuth, a history professor at UAA, for all history buffs and students or just curious learners. This year marks the ninth series of learning parts of Alaska’s history, that is, the world’s encounter with Alaska and Alas-
kans’ encounters with the world, through Tundra Vision. This includes looking at events like war, segregation, scientific discovery, innovations, resiliency and diversity — and what better place to hold these lectures than in the most diverse neighborhood in the United States: Mountain View. This year, Tundra Vision will have the theme of “Surprising Stories of Alaska’s Military Past.” There are four lectures, one on the last Thursday of each month. The first was Feb. 28, the second will be March 28, then April 25 and lastly, May 30. Each session will have a different history-expert speaker, who will start the conversation about different areas in Alaska’s military through time.
“Ultimately, Tundra Vision aims to cultivate the idea that instead of observers of history— whether you are 96 or 6 — we are all history makers. We all can make a contribution to the story and we can learn about and create history together,” Ringsmuth wrote in a narrative for Tundra Vision. February’s lecture looked at the history of African-American troops and the Alaska Highway Project in 1942. March’s lecture, “The Secret History of the Cold War in Alaska,” is all in the title: Alaska’s part in the Cold War and some “little-known” stories to accompany the conversation. April’s lecture will focus on the Allen expedition in 1885, “Lower Copper River Landscapes and Indigenous Encounters: The Army Returns after
134 Years.” May’s lecture is “Refuge in the Last Frontier: Evolution of the Alaska Development Plan” which will explore the story of how the U.S. tried to make Alaska a refuge for Jews to escape to during Nazi Germany. “I think just being able to come and know you’re listening to an expert, no matter where you are in life or how much money you have to attend a lecture, you know you are hearing from the experts on the topic,” Olivia Petroccia, senior history major and an intern for Ringsmuth, said. All lectures are free, familyfriendly and open to the public. There are also light refreshments at the lectures that are taking place at the Mountain View Library, 120 Bragaw St.
DEBATE: ‘A little outside your usual norms’ Continued from cover “This Is Half-Vegan,” “Went to Get Milk” and “Blue Velvet” competed in eight preliminary elimination rounds. In the final round, only four teams will remain. Suparat Prasannet, who is pursuing a double major in marketing and management info systems, gets a rush out of debating once she overcomes her initial nerves. “The whole process is a lot more interactive than I thought it would be,” Prasannet said. “The audience isn’t just sitting there. You know how in a show, even if it’s the most amazing show ever, you just sit and you’re immersed? But [at the Cabin Fever Debates], you’re physically banging on the table, asking
questions. It’s kind of addictive.” Mitchell Jones II, who is double majoring in international studies and global social sciences, went from not knowing much about debating to becoming a stand-out debater. By observing his peers in the Cabin Fever Debates, he figured out how to apply his theater background to analyzing complex issues via competitive debate. “It’s just going to be a lot of fun seeing all of these people debate about topics that they might not necessarily agree with,” Jones said. “That’s what this encourages. Think a little bit outside your usual norms and preconceived biases.” The Cabin Fever Debates has been a tradition for twelve years. This is Dakota Seibert’s third year participating, and he
is determined to make it past the semi-finals for the first time. “[The audience] will realize ‘oh, I can do this,’” Seibert said. “Then maybe next year they can come to Cabin Fever Debates and be one of the people who win $50-$500.” Though the champion team is awarded $1,000, admission for the debates is free and all are welcome to watch. So cure your cabin fever by spending Thursday night watching Cabin Fever Debates. The final round is at 7 p.m. on March 7 right next to the Kaladi Brothers in SSB 118. The topic debated will be instituting a tax to fund Alaska state services instead of cutting the Permanent Fund Dividend. For more information, contact Steve Johnson at (907) 786-4391.
SPORTS
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019
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UAA and UAF hockey wrap up the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup By Lauren Cuddihy sports@thenorthernlight.org
The UAA hockey team spent the first weekend of March competing in the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup at the Sullivan Arena. They played two backto-back games against UAF on Friday and Saturday, resulting in two losses. The losses extended their conference record to 2-23 and their overall record to 3-28. They still sit at No. 10 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, out of the total ten teams included. The recent games marked the second weekend of the Governor’s Cup. The first games were played in early February in Fairbanks, resulting in one win (4-1) and one loss (1-2) for the Seawolves. In a much more dire outcome for UAA, the recent games started with a 0-4 loss and finished off with a 1-2 loss. Head coach Matt Curley described their mindset for these games to be teamfocused. “At the end of the day, as much time as it takes to focus on what they do and trying to game plan for what they may bring to the table, it’s more important to focus on executing what we need to do and that is where we have put a lot of our focus
PHOTO COURTESY OF SKIP HICKEY
Corey Renwick challenges a UAF player at Governor’s Cup.
on,” Curley said. UAF started off strong in the first game with 12 shot attempts, with one success at 14:40 in the first period made by Max Newton. While the Seawolves tried to keep up, they made only six attempts with no success. As the game progressed, the Nanooks attempted less but made more goals. At
8:46 in the second period, UAF’s Steven Jandric made the second goal of the night for the Nanooks. UAF attempted nine shots in the second period, while the Seawolves attempted eight. The Nanooks finished the game up strong with two goals in the third period. Ryker Leer made the first goal at 3:29,
while Jandric followed through to finish off at 14:06. Kristian Stead was goaltending for the Seawolves, making 23 saves. In contrast, the Seawolves started off in a better position on Saturday. They were able to make the first goal of the game. At 2:13 in the second period, Corey Renwick was assisted by Drake Glover and Camine Buono to get the Seawolves’ only point for the game. In a turn of events, the Nanooks not only tied up the game in the third period but surpassed UAA to take the win. UAF’s Tyler Cline and Kylar Hope each made a goal in the third period. Stead was goaltending again for the Seawolves with 22 saves. Despite the losses, Curley still appreciated what it meant to play in the Governor’s Cup and was grateful for the opportunity. “You have these classic, historic rivalries and I think that Fairbanks and Anchorage is a big one,” Curley said. “I am not oblivious to what it means, and I certainly appreciate what it meant to have this rivalry.” With the end of the Governor’s Cup, the Seawolves have officially concluded their 2018-19 season.
NCAA: Ten Seawolves qualify for campionships Continued from cover Due to his recent performances, Wallace is one of ten Seawolves to qualify for the National Championships, and he only hopes to improve even further. “[My] goals are to just ski hard and try to expand my knowledge and build experience. Hopefully these next series in Vermont goes well and I can get some good results down there,” Wallace said. Also one of the ten qualifiers, Roenning will be joining Wallace at the NCAA National Championships. Roenning had ample personal success throughout the entire season. He raced in a total of 10 races, with seven of them being
top-10 finishes and five of them being podium finishes. However, some were more memorable for Roenning than others. “My biggest accomplishment this season have been the two victories I got. The one in 10K classic in steamboat and the sprint classic here in Anchorage was fun to win,” Roenning said. Similar to Wallace, Roenning’s success wasn’t without certain hardships. “I really like to focus on my skiing career, so my biggest obstacle has been the homework. I think it’s hard to stay on track in classes all the time and be motivated to do homework,” Roenning said. With that in mind, Roenning is already planning his goals for the remainder of the season.
At the beginning of March, he will travel to Stowe, Vermont to compete for the last time for UAA this season. Roenning hopes to win the NCAA Championships. After that, he will not yet be done with racing. “I will also go home to Norway in spring break to compete against some very good skiers, so it should be exciting to see how good I am now compared to one of the best skiers in the world,” Roenning said. Eight more Seawolves will be joining Wallace and Roenning in Vermont. Freshman Sky Kelsey and JC Schoonmaker and senior Toomas Kollo will be the additions to the men’s team. Senior Casey Wright, sopho-
PHOTO COURTESY OF SKIP HICKEY
Sigurd Roenning made the podium in five of his 10 races.
mores Georgia Burgess and Li Djurestaal and juniors Anna Darnell and Michaela KellerMiller will make up the women’s team.
The NCAA Skiing National Championships will take place in Stowe, Vermont from March 6-9.
OPINION
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019
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Open a pub on campus By Ben Edwards
opinion2@thenorthernlight.org
UAA often struggles to create a sense of campus culture. For most students, there usually isn’t a good reason to stay late on campus unless it’s for studying. We have plenty of great coffee establishments for the mornings, but few options for the nights. Even dining is limited to a paltry two businesses in the Student Union. There is a pretty easy fix to this. UAA is effectively a dry campus at the moment, but it doesn’t have to be. The administration could allow for a bar on campus. Such a thing would not be unprecedented. In fact, UAF has hosted a successful pub since 1975. The beer and wine establishment hosts events, rents space and contributes to a campus culture that further enriches the experience of students there. UAA could have the same experience by selecting a venue and leasing it to a local bar or entrepreneur. Not only would this increase campus immersion, but it would provide a viable late-night food and drink choice for students. The objectives and parameters for a campus pub would need to be outlined first. That is why this process should begin at USUAA. Three topics should be addressed: what the establishment would be allowed to sell, how it can be financially sustainable and how to maintain a healthy environment in the pub for students and employees. All of this should be drafted as a USUAA resolution before being proposed to the appropriate admin-
istrative bodies. The first topic is fairly straightforward. The UAF model of selling only beer and wine appears to be safe and satisfactory. The absence of hard liquor decreases the chance of ever having to call the University Police Department, which is something this new pub should obviously seek to avoid. Basic food items should be accessible depending on which venue the university approved for a bar. The Student Union Den appears to be the best choice given that it already has a miniature kitchen. The next question is how we can make this pub as financially sustainable as the 44-year-old UAF pub. If this establishment springs up and then goes out of business within a couple of semesters, then the UAA administration will probably never consider allowing this endeavor again. At the same time, we should seek to distance the turbulent university budget from the bar as much as possible. This means that USUAA and the administration should carefully screen each applicant for their financial worthiness. It also means that the lease agreed upon between the bar and the university should be reasonably low. This venture is not intended to create new revenue for the university. Rather, the objective is only to create an immersive, sustainable alternative for late-night students. The pub will need to maintain a low cost of doing business, so utilities ought to be covered by the university, as would normally happen if the pub was never leased. Student workers are a great option for low-cost, tips-based labor as
GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
well. Finally, no establishment is welcome at UAA unless it is serious about maintaining a healthy environment. These are stipulations that USUAA should write clearly into a resolution concerning this bar. Employees at the bar should be familiar with UAA’s Title IX training and associated bystander training. The campus pub should also exercise the right to refuse service if a patron is drinking excessively or acting with unruly behavior. The only type of bar that UAA students will endorse on campus is one that meets our expectations for safety and respect. When all topics are answered for, UAA will be ready to reap the benefits of a campus pub. An environment where students can safely consume alcohol while bonding with classmates is one
where the overall academic purpose of the university is served. Late-night social gatherings alleviate stress and create opportunity for intellectual exercises like pub trivia. A campus pub also decreases the incentive for on-campus students to drive elsewhere in Anchorage, should they wish to drink. Consequently, that decreases the risk of driving while intoxicated for those students. At the very least, creating a late-night option for students is a good justification in its own right. Students deserve to have a university tailored to their interests, and the campus culture is improved when there’s a fun environment to congregate and host activities. A campus pub has all the right ramifications for UAA. It is time to make it happen.
Stop asking about the cost of climate change By Robert Hockema opinion@thenorthernlight.org
Politicians love to wax poetic about fiscal responsibility. Our own governor is cutting back on major social services and education funding to close our $1.6 billion budget deficit, even though he’s giving away more money in tax credits to oil companies. National politics is no different. After U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York revealed her Green New Deal, a plan to dramatically reduce the U.S.’ carbon footprint, hysteria over budget concerns ensued. “Green New Deal would cost up to $93 trillion, or $600G per household,” a Fox News headline reads. Investor’s Business Daily ran a similar headline titled “How Does ‘Boss’ AOC Plan To Pay For Her $93 Trillion Green New Deal?”. Several members of Congress have chimed in as well. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina likened the proposal to socialism. Of course, the cardinal rule of the Republican Party is that you can’t put forward a plan to address climate change without calling it socialism. And yet, as commentators and politicians scream from the heavens about how expensive this is going to be, I can’t help but ask: who cares? Oddly enough, nobody asks how expensive emergencies of
a lesser degree will cost to mitigate. Despite historically low undocumented immigration and the comparatively low levels of crime committed by those who do come, President Trump has declared a national emergency so he can build the $15 billion dollar wall he promised. Heck, even legitimate emergencies like natural disasters — which costs the U.S. up to over $300 billion each year — are unquestionable, non-negotiable spending priorities. So why isn’t climate change prevention considered worth spending big bucks on? Without exaggeration, climate change
is quite literally a global emergency. The Earth’s warming of 1 degree Celsius from preindustrial levels has amplified deadly natural disasters all over the planet, and a UN report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. government’s National Climate Assessment confirmed that climate change was an indisputable force. Heat waves, hurricanes, storms, water shortages and wildfires are wreaking havoc here in the United States as the frequency with which they occur drastically increases. 2017 alone saw a flurry of hurricanes like Maria and Michael wipe out
entire communities, along with historic fires that blazed across California. The effect on people’s lives cannot be overstated. On a micro-level, losing your home or business to a fire often means starting over. It affects the availability of public education, often in the places that need it the most. It disrupts major production centers that are crucial for the economies of states and communities. Related changes in sea levels affect disadvantaged communities, not including Alaska villages like Newtok being relocated as their homes literally plunge underwater.
As for the macro-level, it’s safe to say climate change will fundamentally threaten the way we live. There is no way to adapt to massive heat waves that destroy crop production, which affects how over 1 billion people in the poorest regions of Africa and Asia are fed. As ice sheets in the Arctic melt and water dries up, those displaced by climate change will quickly overcome the refugees from international conflicts. Air pollution in major city centers like Seattle will become impossible to ignore. But if it is money people are so concerned about, you’re far better off paying the up-front cost of mitigation proposals like the Green New Deal than waiting until things get worse. Natural disasters in 2017 alone cost the government around $306 billion. However, when we include the costs climate change overall poses to governments, it becomes clear that these aren’t one-off costs we pay. A report by the Universal Ecological Fund estimates that climate change will cost the U.S. up to $360 billion annually. Is that anywhere close to $91 trillion? No, not yet. But that isn’t the point. Attempts to crunch numbers and match funds to the estimated cost of a particular climate change-related effect is as unreasonable as using a ladle to scoop water out of a sinking ship. Climate change is the sinking ship; disingenuous concerns about how much it costs to save everyone is the ladle.
UA is an AA/EO employer and educational institution and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.
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OPINION
Taxation as theft Alaska’s fiscal future
GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
By Ben Edwards
opinion2@thenorthernlight.org
The position that taxation is a form of theft has floated around libertarian and anarchist circles of thought for quite some time. The reasoning is fairly straightforward. After all, an individual’s consent is disregarded when the state comes to collect money. You either pay up or you go to jail. But this broad denunciation of taxation fails to distinguish the many forms in which taxes are levied. As it so happens, the theft argument is weaker for some forms and stronger for others. The justification given for property and sales taxes, for example, falls within the social contract theory. Citizens enjoy public services like snow plowing or police protection, and so they should have to pay for it. Therefore, these taxes are transactional. But if we scrutinize the merits of each tax independently, then we find some that fail this test. The most egregious of which are those levied upon the worldly U.S. citizens, or those who travel or live abroad. Specifically, individual import duties and tax on foreign income. These deserve to be singled out because they lack the rationale. Instead of a transaction, they are based on opportunity. Pots of gold that Uncle Sam can raid simply because the peasants cannot resist. We would do well to dissect each and advocate for their repeal. Individual import duties are the bluntest form of theft. This is a tax that is imposed on goods transported into the United States. Although duties and tariffs are different words for the same thing, people typically think of duties as taxes on individual travelers and tariffs as taxes on corporations. Regardless, the philosophical foundation for this burden is weak. Juxtapose sales tax with individual duties. On the onset, both appear to be similar: a value-based charge applied to merchandise. But social contract theory only supports the sales tax. The bottle of ketchup that you pulled off the store shelf used U.S. public resources, like ports and roads, to get there in the first place. No such rationale exists for the fine wine that you purchased in France. Its manufacture and sale used French public resources, and you already paid taxes to the government of France when you bought it. Yet, the U.S. customs officer in the airport is authorized to extort money from you as a percentage of the value of that wine. It doesn’t matter that your merchandise never used U.S. public resourc-
es, nor does it matter that you already paid for use of the airport through your plane ticket. Import duties are levied on returning U.S. citizens for no other reason than the fact that they are vulnerable when asking permission to re-enter. Identifying what goods are entering the country can be accomplished by having travelers declare without the threat of duty charges. In fact, the existence of duties encourages travelers to conceal what items they bring in, so this tax actually undermines the purpose of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The U.S. tax on foreign income is another example of arbitrary, legal theft. If you are a U.S. citizen living and working in another country, your income in that country is still subject to the Internal Revenue Service, for no apparent reason. This is called a citizenship-based tax system, and the U.S. is the only developed country that uses it. Almost every other country uses a reasonable residencybased tax system, which taxes income only on citizens who reside within the country. In this context, taxing foreign income is not a situation where a U.S. citizen lives and works domestically, but has moved their income source abroad. That is obviously tax evasion. Rather, the people that are unjustifiably burdened by this are U.S. expats living and working abroad and the so-called “accidental Americans.” There may be between three and six million U.S. expats living abroad. Some study or work abroad for short periods of time and others have lived abroad for decades. Subjecting all of them to U.S. tax law is bizarre and regressive. Similar to import duties, their activities do not utilize U.S. public resources. The fact that they still hold U.S. citizenship requires no expense on our behalf. So why tax them? The enigma broadens with the “accidental Americans,” who are U.S. citizens who neither live here nor possess any real ties here. They are often a result of having been born to a parent with U.S. citizenship. Most of them have never lived in the U.S. as an adult, but their financial activities in their country of residence are nevertheless considered to be fair game by the IRS. Again, this is taxation by opportunity and lacks just cause. These taxes are levied without reason. But a fair question to ask is, so what? Why does the government need to justify the taxes that it collects? There are idealistic responses to that. Perhaps it is the consent of the governed. Think Abraham Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” or the hostility early American colonists showed towards British taxation. But the realistic responses are more compelling. In this age of globalism, U.S. citizens who travel and work abroad are unjustifiably burdened by our tax laws. These people are not drains on this country. They are our business and cultural representatives. A more fluid understanding of what a citizen owes to the state is needed. We don’t owe our bodies, our rights and our wealth to the government. We only chip in for what public services we use. Any other tax is just theft by opportunity.
will require taxation
It’s time to address the political elephant in the room By Robert Hockema opinion@thenorthernlight.org
Nobody likes taxes. I suspect those reading this don’t like being told they should have them. But if we’ve learned anything since the fiscal crisis began in 2014, sometimes the hardest solutions are the same ones we dislike the most. Everyone has been hit hard by budget cuts, which were spurred by the historic drop of oil prices in 2014. An uncommonly recognized silver lining here is that we now all know that our current formula for funding the budget is unsustainable. In 2013, oil and gas revenues made up 92 percent of Alaska’s unrestricted revenue. Our dependence on oil wasn’t such a problem back when prices were riding high at $110 a barrel, especially since our generation has enjoyed the benefits of a fat PFD and fully-funded services like public education. Cue the drop in oil prices, and the public has been shocked into the realization that relying on a single source of revenue is a horrible way to fund the government. The problem is that we’re stuck talking ourselves in circles about what to do about it. By that, I mean that we’ve ruled out pretty much any solution to our fiscal situation that involves restructuring the way we take in revenue, including taxation. Alaska is in a unique situation here: we are the only state to have zero state taxes on consumption, property or income. Zero. In fact, Gov. Dunleavy recently rolled out a proposed constitutional amendment to block the implementation of state taxes, even if the legislature wanted to pass it. At the same time, Dunleavy hasn’t proposed a single proposal that would diversify our revenues. The closest we’ve gotten is a few attempts to propose state income taxes, most recently by the bipartisan coalition in the Alaska House of Representatives, which went nowhere. Our refusal to consider taxes comes from the two cardinal rules in Alaska politics: don’t touch the PFD and don’t propose any new taxes. At the same time, politicians are expected to find magical sources of new revenue and cut “government waste” to balance the budget. There’s a few key problems with this approach. The first is that there aren’t any streams of revenue big enough to replace oil and gas. The nature of our geography is cold, rural and dislocated from the remainder of the states. As a consequence, we’re largely reliant on natural resources. There aren’t enough people to fuel demand for large industries that typi-
cally dominate the state revenues of other states. Some have tried to propose clean technology as an alternative source of revenue. Indeed, the state has made great strides with things like geothermal technology, and has increased the use of solar panels and wind turbines. You don’t have to convince me, a huge supporter of the increased use of renewable energy, that that’s a good thing. But you can’t fund our state budget with it. Solar panels rely on sunlight, which is sparsely present in Alaska. Wind turbines spin only when there’s wind, which can’t be guaranteed year-round. Geothermal energy requires major adaptations and up-front costs. Though some of these problems can be mitigated by proper and efficient use, it’s unclear how reliable renewables would be in funding state services the same way oil has. The second problem with our cut-andspend approach is that as oil revenues decline and prices stay low, the state is running out of things to cut. The Alaska State Legislature has already cut the budget over 40 percent, and can’t go much further without causing irreparable harm to the state. There’s only so much fat you can trim before you reach the bone. So here we are, stuck in a fiscal rut. It’s extremely difficult to pull in new revenue, and we’re reaching our limit with budget cuts. It’s time to revisit the political elephant in the room and consider if we’re willing to risk continued fiscal strain for the sake of avoiding a viable but unpleasant solution. To be clear, there are better taxes than others. Property taxes are likely to hurt more for some than others. Sales taxes would hurt rural communities who already pay an arm and leg for crucial commodities. An income tax, however, would substantially fill the hole in the budget and provide a fair way to collect revenues without hurting the most vulnerable. Income taxes, unlike most others, can be applied progressively, meaning you can tax different earners at different rates. They can also be levied on seasonal earners like commercial fishermen and slope workers, who currently enjoy the luxury of our services and roads without any of the costs. Our mindset is fixated on the supposed preservation of economic freedom, which gives us the illusion of prosperity while masking the consequences of doing nothing during fiscal crises. It’s time to recognize that letting the state’s irresponsible and unsustainable model for fiscal solvency does more harm than any broadbased tax ever will.
CONTACT
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STAFF CONTACTS
A S S O C I AT E D CO L L E G I AT E P R ES S
3211 Providence Drive Student Union 113 Anchorage, AK 99508
Opinion Writer Robert Hockema opinion@thenorthernlight.org
Executive Editor Levi Signe Brown (907) 786-1313 editor@thenorthernlight.org
Opinion Writer Ben Edwards opinion2@thenorthernlight.org
Managing Editor Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org Copy Editor Caleigh Jensen copy@thenorthernlight.org Features Editor Mary Ryan features@thenorthernlight.org Features Reporter Robert Gant features2@thenorthernlight.org Arts & Entertainment Editor Malia Barto arts@thenorthernlight.org
Graphic Designer Jian Bautista jbautista@thenorthernlight.org Ad Manager Morgan Wilhelm admanager@thenorthernlight.org PR & Events Coordinator James Oh events@thenorthernlight.org Media Adviser Paola Banchero Administrative Adviser Zac Clark Administrative Assistant Allie Hartman
Sports Editor Lauren Cuddihy sports@thenorthernlight.org
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L E T T E RS A N D CO R R E C T I O N S P O L I C Y The Northern Light encourages readers to express their views in the newspaper. The Northern Light reserves the right to reject or publish any submission, online or in print. Letters to the editor can be submitted to editor@thenorthernlight.org. The maximum length for a letter to the editor is 250 words, and 150 words for letters specifically endorsing candidates for federal, local, or university office. A letter to the editor is written by someone who does not have authoritative knowledge on the subject they are discussing. Contributors are restricted to one published letter to the editor per month. Opinion pieces can be submitted to editor@thenorthernlight.org. The maximum length for a contributor’s opinion piece is 450 words. Contributors are restricted to one published opinion piece per month. Opinion pieces written by staff of The Northern Light are limited to 800 words. An opinion piece that is published in The Northern Light should be written by someone who has authoritative knowledge on the subject they are discussing. Letters and opinion pieces are subject to editing for grammar, accuracy, length and clarity. All letters and opinion pieces must include names, major and/or group affiliation and contact information for verification purposes. The Northern Light will not publish anonymous letters or pseudonyms. Requests for corrections can be sent to editor@thenorthernlight.org. Print publication is subject to accuracy and available space. All corrections are posted online with the original story at www. thenorthernlight.org. The deadline for submissions is the Friday before publication at noon, no exceptions. The Northern Light newsroom is located on the first floor of the Student Union Room 118.