SECOND UPDATE: The Permanent Fund corporation said it would extend the deadline for comments on the proposed strategic plan. The corporation should take steps to inform the general public. I’m glad to see this.

Submit comments and read the plan here.

UPDATE: No word yet from the Permanent Fund corporation on whether Jason Brune’s proposal, mentioned in the comments below, will be adopted to extend the comment deadline on the Permanent Fund strategic plan until February 15.

There has been no news coverage of the specifics in the strategic plan. That is one reason why there are not many public comments on it. Another is that the fund did little to publicize the ability to offer comments.

I agree with the commenter who said hundreds of thousands of Alaskans care about nothing except the dividend. The blame for that is widespread. Some of it is due to politicians who grandstand on the dividend and never delve into the many decisions and choices facing Alaska’s fund.

Some of it is due to Alaska civic and political entities ranging from chambers of commerce and the University of Alaska to local governments that should see the danger in the dividend grandstanding, but never try to change the discussion.

Some of it is due to news organizations that cover the grandstanding politicians and never force the debate to go beyond the dividend, leaving us with a revolving door of repetitive blather that is just about useless.

Reporters cover the grandstanding politicians promising big dividends and the politicians are institutionally encouraged to keep grandstanding because they get news coverage. Reporters say they have to cover the grandstanding debate because that is what politicians like to talk about, knowing that this always works with voters who pay no attention to details.

The strategic plan contains some major ideas that deserve public discussion in Alaska. One is whether the fund should borrow billions to make more investments that could, if things work out well, lead to increase earnings. A second big item is to consider whether the fund should open offices in the Lower 48 or overseas. A third is the amorphous “alpha” idea of turning the corporation’s investment pros into overachievers.

There are many big questions unaddressed in the strategic plan, including the role of private equity investments and how Alaskans are unaware of what is being done in their name. The fund and its investment mix have never been so complex. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does require informed and consistent oversight from the Legislature. The Legislature has neglected its duty.

Instead of simply assuming that private equity investments are appropriate and justified, taking the word of private equity investors and promoters, the fund should present a more balanced picture to Alaskans of the consequences. Private equity investments make up about $15 billion of the fund and there is no comprehensive public list of exactly what the money is invested in.

The focus on secrecy at the expense of transparency has to be addressed.

Here is the updated list of comments on the strategic plan as of February 1. Comments are due by Friday at 5 p.m. unless the corporation extends the deadline.

Original blog post: The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. has not done a promotional campaign seeking public comment on the proposed strategic plan drafted by the six trustees.

Comments on the plan opened Jan. 24 and are to close Friday at 5 p.m. The tight timeline makes it appear that public comments were an afterthought.

Here is the list of comments submitted as of Tuesday. There were only about two dozen comments so far.

Considering the importance of this document and the lack of public involvement, the trustees should extend the deadline and make a real effort to get public comments from Alaskans. That hasn’t happened.

The fund posted this notice on January 24, but there has been no news coverage beyond what appeared in this blog.

For more on the strategic plan and how it came about, see this blog post from January 25.

The strategic plan is supposed to communicate a clear vision for the future. The tortured process that led to this proposal is evidence that the trustees and the corporation need to rethink how they communicate with Alaskans.

The challenge of keeping this public trust healthy requires more collaboration and cooperation with the public. And it requires a more informed public, as hundreds of thousands of Alaskans know about nothing except the dividend.

To read the strategic plan and submit a comment, click here.

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