At the end of a Senate majority press conference today, Sen. Cathy Giessel of south Anchorage answered a reporter’s question about her call for a new tax.
Must Read Alaska was the first to report that Giessel had stated in her constituent newsletter that an income tax on Alaskans is unavoidable.
“I’ve lived here since before statehood,” Giessel said on Tuesday. “We’ve lived since 1982 with a cash handout from the state of Alaska. And I think it’s pretty obvious that the time for that is ending.”
Then she blamed President Donald Trump.
“President Trump wants to lower the cost of fuel, lower the cost of oil. That’s what we’ve been depending on. But now, nearly 50% of our income is coming from the federal government. Somehow we’re going to have to make some corrections here,” she said.
“So what I’m basically hoping to prepare people for is the fact that the gravy train is over,” she continued. “And we’re going to have to make some serious decisions. We’ve got some revenue suggestions on the table. We’re going to get a huge amount of pushback on that. I know who will say ‘wait, you’re going to reduce the production of oil, you’re going to cost these companies more.’ These are very big national or international companies. We’re a small state. No other regime has given away cash credits before as we did in Cook Inlet, right? And to some degree that we still do on the North Slope. So I think citizens need to have a very serious look at this concept of receiving a dividend every year.”
She said she gets a lot of emails from people that say they want the Legislature to increasing funding for education with half of their Permanent Fund dividends.
“That’s what that dividend money should be used for,” she said. “We all benefit from a solid education so that people don’t end up in corrections, needing more police officers, or committing suicide.”
The little guy, Alaskans, are being asked to pay an income tax and possibly a sales tax to subsidize Big Oil. We’ve already given up over $10 billion in lower dividends thanks to SB-21.
When Big Oil got caught bribing our legislators it resorted to simply ensuring key legislators were their own employees. People like Kevin Meyer, Micciche, etc, or “former” employees, like Sean Parnell.
Legislators that don’t hate Alaskans would, before trying to impose income taxes, end corporate welfare and get Alaskans a fair return on our oil.
Translation: you put me back in office, suckers.
Now choke on it.
Geissel looks like an old witch. How did it get that bad for her?
Yep!!! I warned everyone
Giessel is full of it. She’s been trying to steal our money for years. She’s ignoring critical variables in order to spew her narrative, too.
The gravy train isn’t over, it’s just got started. When the traitorous lying rino’s joined with the corrupt union democrat their goal was a spending spree so they wouldn’t have to do the hard work. Just watch.
Would someone just show that b*tch the f-ing door, PLEASE?
There is no sense in listening to that self-serving, RINO, back-stabbing, POS legislator that hopefully gets voted out of office quicker that diddily-squat!
Problem is that Alaska ranks in the bottom 50 in education. All the money in the world isn’t going to fix the problem. The programs that the school districts use aren’t working. Get back to the basics. Reading, writing and math. DEI and CRT aren’t working.
“The gravy train” began with the communist takeover of the Alaska legislature and they’ve been choking on it since Bill “the tool” walker. She’s been here since 1982. Carpetbagger; I’ve been here since 1965 so how ’bout that? “Education funding” is a metaphor for ‘blank checkbook”. Stop pouring money down the toilet of public indoctrination and give it to parents to send kids to real schools.
.
Geissel: “Increase funding for education or people will: commit crimes, go to prison, die.” Sheesh, maybe we should just give up. When we’re stuck with half-witted legislators like Giessel we must suppose that the end of the world is already nigh.
No. We toss money at education and we have one of, if not the worst student success rate in the country so again, No. Also as long as municipalities and boroughs extort money through property taxes keep your grubby fingers off my PFD. Many of you here before statehood seem to forget the dismal failures of government here in Alaska. I have enjoyed my life here since 1962, dont f it up Kathy.
Oh sure she can say that , she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
Giessel is as bad as Pocahontas, and AOC now!
I must have missed the part where she talked about accountability on behalf of all those whom require funding, prior to us obligating ourselves in that fashion.
Suzanne could you please put that up next time?
Senator Giessel stated that her constituents prefer increased eduction funding over a pfd. She also stated to meet future Constitutional expenses new revenue will be needed. Alaska had an income tax before oil money and that Federal $$$ will be decreasing is stating the obvious. Mixing opinions in headlines with a factual story is a MRAK standard
Sounds like she’s gone off the deep end..The PFD(25%) was never meant to be used for schools. That belonged to the other 75% that was given into the budget. I’M getting sick and tired of people thinking that “OUR” PFD is their piggy bank..They want more and more and more…there is never going to be end once it’s starts. They need to re-define their budget so they don’t have borrow from others.
When you peel away the rhetoric it appears that taxes prevent suicide. In addition to being a disagreeable old hack she’s also an altruistic therapist.
A nickel says that she’ll somehow twist a State income tax into a bigger retirement income for her husband and herself.
I’ve had it with these useless Democraps taking what ever they want They might want to stop lying and rethink what they are doing
Fixing education in Alaska, the answer is not to threw a huge sum of money at the problem. The education needs reform and higher standards for the students. There will be no income tax, else the politicians supporting that will be ousted and replaced with Generation Y. Old ways and old thought is out.
“President Trump wants to lower the cost of fuel, lower the cost of oil. That’s what we’ve been depending on. But now, nearly 50% of our income is coming from the federal government. Somehow we’re going to have to make some corrections here,” she said.
The corrections needed are that YOU don’t waste money you don’t have on special projects! YOUR spending has increased and exceeded the desires over Alaskans. YOU are happy to spend other people’s money as long as it doesn’t come out of your bank. YOU expect US to pay for your poor choices!
Giessel is committing suicide on Alaskans and the reasons are so she can have a tax without effecting her wild projects.
Before we get a tax, we need to end additional roads that we can’t maintain, reduce contractors over state employees, stop paying lobbyist projects, build the gas pipeline and hold accountability for education, not more money.
Hmm…. repubs doing repub things.
Why am I not surprised?
When will the repubs unveil their tax plan too?
Cathy Giessel needs to go jump in a lake! Yeah, the money pit that doesn’t allow Alaskans to develop our vast natural resources that would most likely make our state debt free. Instead, she wants to fund a failing educational system with funds set aside for the human being residents. No Cathy, you are failing as co-chair of Natural Resources! You seem immune to what is happening in our nations capitol. Put on your big boy pants, cut monies from the budget. As a member of the finance committee put on your DOGE hat and become ruthless for smaller Alaskan state budget using what we have.
She is so stupid that she actually admitted “No other regime has given away cash credits before as we did….” The people insist that Alaska stops giving away our oil. That’s the only new source of revenue we need. Nowhere else in the world do the owners of oil give it away like Alaska’s politicians do. The gravy train is not over for the oil companies and the politicians.There, fixed it for you.
What is wrong with this woman? She claims that people are going to commit suicide if they don’t institute some kind of tax?? And I would like to know how she would improve the school system to be a solid education system. I think there needs to be some kind of research done on how it can be improved before throwing more money at it.
Why oh why did we leave the door open for her?
No matter how much money government spends on education it is never enough. The education establishment has an insatiable appetite for other people’s money. If you need evidence of that witness the budget gimmickry of the Anchorage school board. Giessel is now riding that education funding wave in the hopes of attracting votes in her upcoming bid for governor. Giessel has no core beliefs other than doing what she sees as necessary to promote Giessel. She is a political chameleon changing her colors for the audience at hand.
I lived here before statehood too, honey, and you are wrong. Please get the mental health care that you need.
Start by taxing the native casinos.
When I read the words,”Blame Trump” I knew then that is a “Straw man fallacy” Nothing before or after is under consideration with regards to her comments.
On the other hand, one would suppose that an anticipated expansion of exploration with development in an atmosphere of knowing the development is encouraged by Trump would bring added wealth to the State coffers. I’ll go for the “Full Glass”, thank you.
Cheers, Johnson-Ketchikan
Inevitably, without question, these politicians will most assuredly institute a state income tax, confiscate the annual PDF check, implement a value added tax applied to all of Alaska toys, continue to increase the state payroll, and increase costs to private industry thru greater regulations … unless of course(!), we start pushing back, holding them personally accountable with severe consequences for being recklessly malicious and void of true representation.
Geissel claims she gets a lot of emails from Alaskans wanting half their permanent fund dividend to be thrown into the unaccountable waste hole of “education.” What’s stopping them? They can donate their half back to to the AK treasury any time they want. But of course we can pretty much figure the emails she speaks of are 1)not real or 2) from teachers/ school administrators and the teacher’s union.
‘Giessel the weasel’ is a phrase I have heard more than a few times and sure seems to fit. Yes faux republican Senator Giessel – the gravy train is indeed over – for our bloated governement – state included. Taxing citizens when no state fat trimming has occurred, eliminating the pfd, certainly will not alleviate suicide and in fact likely will increase suicide as financial struggle can add to the depression that can lead to suicide.
The state has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. If they can pay a dividend they dont need an income tax. If they can drum up a pension plan they dont need an income tax.
Caution: Politician in late stage soul destruction after pledging themselves to Old Nick.
Why must we citizens be made to suffer, but government doesn’t? We’re supposed to make do with less money, but God forbid the government does?
Whose other elected voices are part of our Alaskan
Representative team besides Ms Giessel, as we the people are inherently crucial in any change, individual opinion, or deviation in this important arena?
I don’t see many comments on this forum that supports giving more money to the school districts. So it must be people working for the school district in some manners. And we do not benefit from the school district that is not educating our kids and just taking more and more money. There must be some accountability. They have had no accountability for way too many years and we have just given them more and more money.
Total LOSER mentality.
Our children aren’t recording so e of the lowest literacy rates in reading and math because of a lack of funding.
Quite the contrary.
The school districts and liberal politicians are FAILING our students because of a lack of discipline in the schools and the lack of focus on the three R’s.
They are more focused on DEI – children’s feelings, sexuality/LGBTQ+ B.S., creating a false narrative of racism, making children feel they don’t control their destiny – and a false narrative that the world is doomed because of global warming.
Despicable and EVIL.
Shame on you people.
What about looking at the development path instead of spending up the whole piggy bank first. If the Permanent Fund is to be spent up it might better be spent on the development of resources that the State of Alaska has to capitalize on. We can likely depend on the development of our resources to be met with a favorable response from the current WH which hopefully wouldn’t obstruct much. Spending up the Permanent Fund on Education has already shown to be endless whole with lousy results.
Horse thievery.
I too have lived here since before statehood. The public school system is a spectacular failure which has not been improved by more funding. Sen. Giessel claims she needs to raise our taxes and take the PFD for “education so that people don’t end up in corrections, needing more police officers, or committing suicide” but neglects to mention that funding for government schools has caused or contributed to these outcomes.
Giessel, along with the rest of those mental midgets in Juneau have absolutely no idea on how to run this state, let alone on how to maneuver their way out of a wet paper bag. Decades of mismanagement, no fresh IMPLEMENTED ideas, giving wealth to the oil companies and pure disdain for the working stiff is exactly how we got here. If I weren’t so entrenched into this state being my home, I’d have already bailed.
So. No dividend, an income tax AND living in a state that has almost the highest cost of living (I said almost) surely isn’t ideal.
Lowering the cost of oil is not the problem. It’s Liberal policies of turning of the available land to drill that is killing production.
No income tax to pay a PFD. PFD needs to go away first.
Wow, she’s got the derangement syndrome bad. What a negative perspective. Praying for a change of heart and mind. I do believe we have the ability to bring in a golden age here in Alaska. Resources for the country, not takers, but givers 🙂
This level of grift and corruption makes Louisiana blush with embarrassment
I’d like to be able to say the Geissels’ gravy train is over. Alaska is a rich resource state. It’s who we are. It’s our strength. And she’s annoyed that fuel prices might go down!!?? So she likes inflation??!! Wow!
Notice the idea of cutting a bloated, ineffective government never crosses her mind
This is certainly a hot take by Giessel. She’s truly become a Trojan horse.
I wouldn’t give another extra dollar to fund education. We pay too much already and get dismal results in return…but the teachers and administrators sure live well and have great benefits and retirements for indoctrinating our kids with leftist ideology and sexual perversions. Public education is a grift and some of the worst socialists/communists in America are current or former public school employees. When I was in college the students who couldn’t hack a real degree program ended up in education. They were a joke and it’s those losers who are teaching your kids and demanding more and more while their PR campaign tries to convince us that their jobs are so tough and they’re all hero’s. Wake up.