Governor Dunleavy’s big idea was to slash Alaska’s population by 13 to 30 percent, or 100,000 to 300,000 people. That, along with draconian budget vetoes, was intended to address declining oil revenues. But it wasn’t just the poor people needing housing programs, pre-K, dental services, and Medicaid who were leaving the state as he had hoped. The proposal to hack funding for research with cuts to the university created a brain drain amounting to a loss of $6 for every $1 spent by the State of Alaska.
Instead, the Governor’s illogical vision for Alaska relies heavily on oil and hard-rock mining to the apparent exclusion of other job-creating fields, shrinking the labor pool and requiring more out-of-state workers. Creating chaos may help Dunleavy politically, but a smaller population would stifle growth and make it harder for many businesses to stay open. Dunleavy’s ideological desire for a much less populous and less-educated—and less Democratic—Alaska, needs to end with the next election cycle.
Larry Larson