By JEANINE ST. JOHN

It’s time for supporters of Ballot Measure 1 to come straight with Alaska.

For months now, they have been feeding Alaskans one mistruth after another in an effort to trick us into voting for their dangerous oil tax initiative.

The latest assault on the truth came a few days ago when Robin Brena, the initiative’s chief sponsor, termed our current oil tax structure “the largest oil resource giveaway in Alaska’s history.”

The dictionary defines “giveaway” as something given for free, and I suspect it would surprise the producers to learn they are producing “our” oil for free. The fact is oil has paid for 85-90% of our budget for the past 40 years.

The producers paid Alaska about $3 billion each year in taxes and royalties the last couple of years. That’s far from the “nothing” Brena says oil companies pay –and twice as much as all other businesses combined. You can find the true details on the State’s website.

Brena repeatedly says we are not getting “our fair share.” That isn’t what the experts say. Independent economists tell us that our current oil taxes are about in the middle of our national and international peers and that the initiative would make Alaska among the highest rate of government take in the world. 

A just-released report from a group of highly respected international analysts examined “Alaska’s Competitiveness in Global Oil and Gas Markets.”

Their conclusion: “Alaska’s competitiveness deteriorates under Ballot Measure 1 as commodity prices increase. At prices above $60/bbl Alaska’s proposed fiscal system is the least competitive within the international peer group.” 

These analysts, who are trusted advisors to the world’s largest companies, say it’s bad for business to keep changing the tax structure. “Since 2006 the Alaskan oil and gas fiscal system has undergone frequent changes, resulting in fiscal instability and loss of investor confidence in the state.”

But back to Brena’s recent commentary. “Prudhoe Bay,” he says “is one of the most profitable, conventional oil fields in the world. It can easily support paying Alaskans a fair share without impacting investment or jobs.”

If Prudhoe is so profitable, why did BP sell it for a bargain price? Why are there so many rigs stacked idle on the North Slope instead of drilling for oil?

Brena likes to go on and on about ConocoPhillips’ profits. Here’s what he doesn’t tell you. ConocoPhillips reinvests every penny of Alaska earnings right back into Alaska. In 2019 the company made $1.5 billion in Alaska and it spent $1.5 billion in Alaska. So much for Alaska being ConocoPhillips’ “cash cow.”

The numbers are right there in their annual report, which is posted on their website. The fact is ConocoPhillips is the kind of partner Alaska desperately needs right now.

But the biggest whopper of all – and he said it again the other day in his newspaper commentary – is that “Ballot Measure 1 will help the overall economy of Alaska,” add “11,000 new jobs” and not hurt investment.

Well, we’ve been there, done that under ACES – and we’re still paying the price. Even though oil prices were over $100/barrel, investment lagged, exploration came to a halt and jobs disappeared. Alaska was the only oil state to actually lose production.  Ballot Measure 1 raises taxes even higher than during ACES.

The Vote No side is held to a higher standard for truth telling, and consequently bends over backward to use public information to support its claims. They acknowledge that Alaskans are not likely to give the benefit of the doubt to industry groups, and will be called upon to provide proof of their statements.

Brena makes no such effort and is rarely called on it. As such, much of what he says is flat out false. He knows he can get away with it. 

If passed, Ballot Measure One will further devastate our economy, lead to even more lost jobs and shrink future PFDs.

That is the truth Brena is so desperate to conceal, because most rational Alaskans would quickly conclude that upending our largest economic driver for something that won’t come remotely close to fixing our problem is a very, very bad idea. 

Jeanine St. John, Vice President at Lynden Logistics, and President of the Resource Development Council Board of Directors

By MARY E.

I am probably not the only parent who has had enough with the Anchorage School District.

I have two students: One in immersion 5th grade and one in 7th grade middle school. I know that teachers and students are trying. However, this online classroom process has been frustrating and difficult. I have no idea what is going on, and as a single parent who works, I have no idea how I’m supposed to get this information.

I have a master’s degree from Wayland Baptist University. I have a post-graduate certificate from William James College. I am working on a graduate certificate from Capella University.

All these schools, I attended primarily online. They each have slightly different platforms (both Blackboard and Canvas). However, I didn’t have as much trouble trying to figure out what to do as I’ve had for my children’s school.

The biggest difference? My university courses understood that they were an online school, so they required all students to complete an orientation class. It was self-guided and taught me how to use the platform, how to access resources, and how to submit work.

Guess what? I’ve done fabulously and am a 4.0 student. I tried online classes through UAA and they did not provide an orientation. I struggled so much and although I passed, I wasn’t sure what I was doing or how to do it properly. The difference? UAA is a brick and mortor school offering online classes. They didn’t actually know how to do that so they failed miserably with many students. 

That is what is happening at ASD. You could provide all your online content via canvas; however, it’s in so many different areas, I can’t keep track.

My kids have Clever, Quizlet, Canvas, Zoom, XtraMATH, and what seems like a billion others that are scattered throughout the internet. How am I supposed to keep up, along with maintaining my full-time job, school, and normal parenting obligations (feed, nurture, and clothe my children)?

 I want my kids back in school full time. They are so under stimulated with human interaction that they’re having psychological problems. We have masks, but there is nothing but TV, video games, computers, and devices for me to shove at my children, that they’re out of control when I can finally be with them. They’re gaining weight and starting to become shut-ins. My oldest son who is extremely social, often doesn’t want to leave the house anymore. He’s clearly depressed, and I’m worried that by creating this situation where they never have to leave, never have to show up in person, and never have to do more than log onto a Zoom meeting a few times a week, that it is breeding psychological problems.

The Anchorage School District needs to allow parents the ability to choose to send their kids to school and set up Zoom meetings concurrent with in-person meetings. Let me choose how to handle the risk.

If teachers are willing to handle the risk, let parents decide. If teachers aren’t, then come up with another plan. I still go to work in an office and see limited clients in person. I have telemedicine sessions and in-person sessions. It’s not ideal, but it’s working, and it’s more than our children are getting.

Anchorage School District communication is terrible. I don’t have time to watch 2-hour board meetings, 1-hour airplane arms episodes about things that don’t apply to me. I need something succinct and consistent, and so do my kids.

The schools seem like they have no idea what’s going on, and the meeting schedule changes every other day for kids. They’re being asked to do everything online, but not taught how to use their school email to communicate.

I can’t even imagine what my life would look like if I had more than two kids to work with, and I’m not your typical ASD parent. Most parents have more than two kids and are struggling with income issues. If I can hardly do this, how can we expect other parents to do this? 

The bottom line is: This is not working.

Mary E. is a parent with students in the Anchorage School District. Her name has been abbreviated to protect the privacy of her family.