Contributed by J.R.Myers, Alaska Constitution Party
Once holding incredible riches, potential and promise, Alaska now finds itself in an existential political, moral and financial storm. There is a fundamental disconnect, a widening chasm between the ruling political elite and the rest of the population. Power mongering and greed have replaced public service and civic virtue in the halls of the isolated and arrogant Capitol of Juneau. Collusion between lobbyists, politicians and the media has driven Alaska far beyond established boundaries and nearly over a cliff from which it may not recover.
Alaska is close to becoming a failed state. Well over 1% of the population, or about 8,500 people fled the state in 2017, leading to an actual population decline. The state has been in a worsening recession with an unemployment rate of 7.3% as of 12/2017. The permanent fund dividend (PFD), the people's share of Alaska's mineral wealth, has been recklessly tampered with by the governor and legislature for two years in a row. Billions of anticipated dollars have been withheld from Alaskans, and thus the Alaskan economy. This was one of the worst economic moves possible, which has deepened and prolonged Alaska's Great Recession. This was predicted, and was totally avoidable. Now Alaska faces a worsening crisis, manufactured with full bipartisan cooperation.
Instead of taking the opportunity to right-size government, Alaska's corrupt political elite have decided to double down on the people. They seek to confiscate more and more private wealth to continue to fund bloated state government. As anticipated, they are proposing statewide sales and income taxes, as well as implementing and raising a myriad of other local and state fees. Alaska's corrupt political elite aim to take care of their cronies, regardless of the fallout on average Alaskans. There is growing anger from the people, who witness the political elite rapidly plundering the inheritance of future generations to satisfy their current lusts. Alaska, once a stronghold of liberty, has clearly lost its way.
There is a growing distrust between the people and the Alaskan government. Bill Walker has the lowest popularity rating of any state chief executive in the nation with a 26% approval rating as of 1/2018. Perhaps this is because he has twice seized the bulk of the PFD, with collusion from the Alaska Legislature, as well as corporate, media and globalist interests. Those larcenous acts alone have greatly increased the severity of Alaska's recession by withholding billions of dollars from the people of Alaska and the Alaskan economy.
Alaska's Golden Goose, the PFD, was once a globally envied model of citizen ownership of resources and wise economic policy. It was designed to be a perpetual economic engine producing larger and larger eggs. Now, the PFD has been gutted by the farmyard foxes, and is about to be ravenously consumed, feathers, beak, feet and all. The people are invited to watch this depraved feeding frenzy.
Years of reckless bipartisan fiscal and public policies have fostered expansive local and state governments. In 2016, it was estimated that Alaska expended combined state/federal funds of $14,290.00 per capita, the highest rate in the nation by far. Yet, despite all the massive public spending, education and health results in Alaska routinely rank at the bottom nationally, while crime ranks at the top. Real lives and opportunities are lost and destroyed as a direct result of the continued implementation of such misguided public policy.
Justice and the Rule of Law have eroded as a result of leaders ignoring and deriding the Constitution rather than truly keeping their oaths to uphold the rule of law while serving the public with integrity. There is no longer any sense that the government is serving the best interests of the public. Like wicked swamp puppets, our leaders have emulated the worst of Washington D.C. politics. They have brazenly usurped authority, created a protected enclave in Juneau for themselves and set into motion a cascading effect of statewide destruction. All this in a vain attempt to satisfy their lust for power and control. True government oversight and accountability is practically nonexistent, except for the Alaska Constitution Party, and what I call our “Tundra Coalition” allies.
There are hopeful signs that Alaskans are waking and taking action. The Constitution Party was able to place its presidential nominee, Darrell Castle, on the Alaskan ballot in 2016 via petition. The Alaska ballot is where the Constitution Party ticket received its highest vote percentage in the nation.
Defenders of the Constitution must remain strong and united, regardless of party affiliation. The Alaska Constitution Party will continue to uphold a high standard. The ACP, and its allies in the Tundra Coalition, will remain the impetus for true political correction and reform in Alaska. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, freedom loving Alaskans can, and must, choose to act as catalysts of restoration together.
