Alaska Common Ground

More than 250 participants from around the state and as far away as New Zealand tuned in to the Alaska Common Ground Forum on Ballot Measure 1, held virtually on October 6. Ralph Townsend, Director for the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), provided a short overview of the proposed oil tax initiative before proponents and opponents presented their arguments. In Townsend’s brief summary, he presented highlights of the current production tax, proposed changes, and Department of Revenue estimates of its impacts.

Want to practice balancing the state budget in a variety of ways? Want to see how a particular strategy might play out? At lunchtime on Tuesday, September 29, we will set up the Balancing-Alaska's-Budget game in the ISER conference room so anyone can try balancing what the state spends and how to pay for it. Alaska Common Ground and ISER unveiled the game at a recent forum on Alaska's fiscal and economic future. It explains our current state budget crisis in a hands-on and understandable way, with a spinning wheel, scales, and blocks. There won't be any formal talk, but Cliff Groh, chair of Alaska Common Ground, and Bob Loeffler, visiting professor of public policy at ISER, will be there to help the players. Please join us.

When: Tuesday, September 29, 12 to 1
Where: 1901 Bragaw Street, third floor, ISER conference room

1901 Bragaw Street is about two blocks from the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Bragaw Street. Parking will be limited, because an area of the parking lot is blocked off for construction. Do not park in the adjacent parking lot for East High School; the school district can have your car towed. Call 907-786-7710 if you have questions.

To help Alaskans better understand the big budget problems the state government faces, Alaska Common Ground and ISER hosted a public forum on September 19. The forum introduced a new budget-balancing game, and it included a group of Alaskans presenting their own budget proposals, other Alaskans discussing potential economic effects of reduced state spending, and a panel of policymakers talking about factors that will influence future budget decisions.

Forum handouts
Alaska’s Fiscal Situation in Four Graphs (PDF, 484KB)

Brad Keithley's “Sustainable Budget Proposal” (PDF, 140KB)
Gary Wilken's “Everyone Helps a Little: A Five-Year Fiscal Plan” (PDF, 132KB)
John Havelock's “The Hat Trick” (PDF, 114KB)
Liz Medicine Crow's “Progress Will Come by Investing in Our Own” (PDF, 129KB)

Watch forum videos courtesy of 360 North and Alaska Public Media.

ISER and Alaska Common Ground are sponsoring a free public forum on Alaska’s fiscal and economic future on September 19. But in advance of that forum, Gunnar Knapp, ISER’s director, and Cliff Groh, the chair of Alaska Common Ground, talked at ISER, previewing some of the material they plan to present. They encouraged those at the talk to ask questions and offer suggestions for improvement.

Download the handouts (PDF, 341KB) from this lunchtime talk.

You are invited to join other Alaskans at a free public forum on Saturday, September 19, from 9 to 4, at UAA's Wendy Williamson Auditorium, for a conversation about the scale of fiscal and economic challenges the state faces and our options for dealing with them. It is co-sponsored by ISER, Alaska Common Ground, the Anchorage Public Library, and the League of Women Voters of Anchorage. Alaska Common Ground is a nonprofit organization that brings people together to talk about public policy issues.

The forum will include speakers and panelists, but those in the audience will also have the opportunity to vote on how they think the state can best move toward a healthy fiscal and economic future. Later we'll post more detailed information.

Alaska Common Ground and ISER recently sponsored a non-partisan public forum, with analysts from government, the University of Alaska, and private industry discussing choices the state government will likely face as pressure on the state budget increases. Oil from Alaska’s North Slope has supported the state’s government and economy for decades. But oil production has been dropping—at the same time population and state spending have been growing and the government’s debt obligations, pension liabilities, and other costs have been increasing. Now you can watch panel discussions from the October 4 forum on Alaska Common Ground's website.

In the primary election scheduled for August 19, Alaskans will vote on whether to keep or repeal the new state oil-production tax system, commonly known as Senate Bill (SB) 21. Alaska Common Ground and several co-sponsors (including ISER) are holding a forum on the oil-tax referendum on July 23, in the Wilda Marston Theatre of Anchorage's Loussac Library, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The forum is free and open to the public. Speaking in favor of repealing the new tax will be Bill Wielechowski, a state senator from Anchorage, and Gregg Erickson, a long-time Alaska economist. Supporting the new system will be Brad Keithley, an oil and gas policy consultant, and Roger Marks, a veteran petroleum economist. ISER's director, Gunnar Knapp, will moderate the discussion. Alaska Common Ground is a non-profit organization that brings Alaskans together to talk about Alaska public policy issues. For more information, go to www.akcommonground.org or call 907-952-3353.