Contrary to his expansive plans discussed at AFN, the budget proposed by Dunleavy would reduce spending on education throughout the state by 25 percent, with major reductions in rural Alaska.
Read MoreHis plan to gut the University of Alaska, double class sizes in schools, eliminate the ferry system, close rural hospitals, increase health insurance rates, end cash payments to poor old people, raise rates in the Pioneers Home, and confiscate hundreds of millions in local property taxes is about the worst thing any politician has done.
Read MoreIf he were really concerned about his subjects texting during meetings, he would treat them like adults, not school children, and ask that they put their phones on silent. This is about a fear of being recorded.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy is claiming he was given some bad information during his campaign about future oil prices. That claim is as ridiculous as it sounds.
Read MoreThe owners say the trans-Alaska pipeline averaged 513,441 barrels per day in 2014, the first full year in which the SB 21 oil tax change was in effect. In 2018, the pipeline averaged 509,315 barrels per day. That’s a decrease.
Read MoreDuring his campaign, Mike Dunleavy talked a lot about unidentified budget cuts—the only popular kind—but he also said specifically that the state could have a sustainable budget without cutting state and local government services.
Read MoreThe latest evidence about misusing math to justify a budget cut comes with the plan to eliminate $3.1 million that helps young Alaskans become doctors.
Read MoreGov. Mike Dunleavy wants to decrease the state appropriation to the university by $134 million. That is a reduction of 41 percent in the portion of university funding that counts the most. This is the statistic that counts.
Read MoreNet job losses from the budget proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy could reach 12,800 in the short term. That’s the alarming conclusion of an Alaska economist who took a first look at the plan for drastic cuts in major social services across Alaska, including public schools, the University of Alaska, health care, the ferry system, and payments to poor old people.
Read MoreMaybe the $25,000 is a token of thanks for taking the first step to remove former Sen. Hollis French from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Or maybe it was a reminder to the governor that he has a billionaire friend in Texas.
Read More“I will be homeless without these payments,” a Kodiak resident wrote legislators in 2017. “At 66 years of age, retired from almost 20 years of commercial fishing due to disabilities, this is a terrifying prospect for me!”
Read MoreThe attempt by the Dunleavy administration to turn over the Alaska Psychiatric Institute to a private company without competitive bidding deserves an independent investigation by the Legislature.
Read MoreHe promised he would not cut the ferry system, education spending or the University of Alaska. He promised to spend more on rural education and repeatedly stressed that budget cuts would be aimed at making everything more efficient.
“While I understand the reluctance to compare Alaska to the lower 48, I am confident that in the lower 48 there are many examples of institutions that created a plan and successfully implemented a value proposition for higher education that attracted both students and non-state funding,” Mike Barnhill said.
Read MoreSenate President Cathy Giessel is repeating bogus talking points from the Republican Party, downplaying Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s attempt to dismantle the University of Alaska.
Read MoreAlaska is not an appropriate environment for the extreme right wing/hate government cookie cutter model the governor has imported.
Read More“I was tempted to say that was one of the most dishonest presentations I've ever seen anyone give to the Legislature. But that is an overstatement. To be charitable, I'll call it grossly incomplete.”
Read MoreOne of the magic elements in the Dunleavy budget for the University of Alaska is to shift $154 million from real money to Angel Bucks. The state won’t admit that the $154 million is imaginary. So much for the honest budget every Alaskan can understand.
Read More“We're doing this because the state is out of money and we need to balance our budget," said the temporary budget director.
Wrong answer, as Sen. Click Bishop said..
Read MoreWhen Mike Dunleavy campaigned in Ketchikan, he said, “I’ll be more than happy to answer the most important question, right? It’s 6-foot-7.” No, the most important question was why did he conceal his plan to scuttle the state ferry system? Or did he dream that up after the election?
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