During the last legislative session there was a bill, passed by the state House by a wide margin but shot down by the Senate, which would have used revenues from the state’s Legacy Fund to reduce and eventually eliminate state income taxes. I interviewed the sponsor, state Rep. Craig Headland (R-Montpelier), about the legislation earlier…
Is the Bizarre Political Situation in Alaska a Sign of Things to Come in North Dakota?
There are strange things happening in the State of Alaska. “A deep divide over budget cuts in Alaska has become so acrimonious that two feuding factions of legislators cannot even agree on where they are supposed to meet, the latest twist in what may be the nation’s oddest political climate,” The Hill reports. Republican Governor…
We Definitely Should Not Use the Legacy Fund for an Alaska-Style Permanent Dividend
My Sunday print column was about North Dakota’s Legacy Fund, a constitutional amendment initiated by the Legislature and approved by the voters which diverts a hefty chunk of oil tax revenues into a fund which now holds billions of dollars for which there is no defined public purpose. In my column I argue that it’s…
The Mountain's Name Is Denali
I love North Dakota, but for a certain part of me Alaska will always be home. That’s because I was born there, in Anchorage (we lived in Wasilla). My father was raised in Alaska. My grandfather helped build the Alaska-Canada highway and started an engine shop in Fairbanks at the road’s terminus. We moved to…
Could Alaska's Oil Price Debacle Happen To North Dakota?
Alaska’s economy and state budget are based on oil. Not surprisingly, the recent freefall in oil prices has not been good to them, but is this a cautionary tale for North Dakota? …the state woefully misread the direction of oil prices, predicting they would remain at over $100 per barrel for fiscal 2015. They are…
After Voting With Him 97 Percent Of The Time, Heitkamp Helps Dems Campaign Against Obama
A couple of weeks ago Jay Cost wrote a column at the Weekly Standard about red state Democrats and their “sneak it past the rubes” tactic. “Under this approach, you pre-sent yourself to your constituents as an independent voice, not in hock to the national Democratic party, so as to get elected,” wrote Cost. “Then…