Fact Check: Palin’s Alaska spreads its wealth
Is Palin a Socialist?
Yahoo-Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin summon antidemocratic images of a communist state to attack Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plan and his comment about spreading the wealth around. But in her home state, Palin embraces Alaska’s own version of doing just that.
Palin and McCain seized on a comment Obama made to Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher, who asked about his tax plans.
Obama wants to raise taxes on families earning $250,000 to pay for cutting taxes for the 95 percent of workers and their families making less than $200,000. “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody,” he told Wurzelbacher.
McCain said that sounds “a lot like socialism” to many Americans. Palin has derided the Illinois senator as “Barack the Wealth Spreader.”
But in Alaska, Palin is the envy of governors nationwide for the annual checks the state doles out to nearly every resident, representing their share of the revenues from the state’s oil riches. She boosted those checks this year by raising taxes on oil.
Olbermann: Sarah Palin Says SHE Spreads the Wealth
Captain Menace
How much is Sarah paying you?
In all fairness to Palin, I think most Alaskan politicians felt compelled to provide some energy relief to Alaskans this past year. It’s hard for the “average Joe” to understand why energy is so expensive up here when we pump a good bit out of the ground just several hundred miles to the north. The other thing is that Alaska has quite a lot of wealth to spread. Giving out money to the public didn’t require issuing bonds.
Some would argue that there are better ways to spend $600 million (or thereabouts).
But then again…
Rural Alaska is hit especially hard by high energy rates. In many villages a gallon of milk goes for $11.
The local merchants love dividend time of year. Costco’s shelves were bare of big screen TVs. But for people in the bush, the money was most likely used to offset insanely high energy costs (and the trickle down effect that high energy has on consumer product prices).
My dad was in Kodiak earlier in the summer and a fellow there had told him that last winter it had cost him $900/month to heat his house. Not sure how you can sustain that kind of heating plan?
I’ve got a family of three Bill.
We received roughly $10,000 last month.
We all get an annual dividend check ($2,100 per person this year – it changes yearly based on interest earned). The dividends have nothing to do with who is in office. The Permanent Fund is managed by a public corporation that is fairly well-insulated from the changing political tides. And then there was the onetime energy rebate of $1,200 per person. Not a bad year to be in Alaska. High oil prices are obviously good for Alaska.
The downside is that we are a one-trick economy. When oil is bad, things aren’t so good.
Here’s what I spent a good portion of our dividends on…
That’s awesome. My wife and I are planning out the log cabin we intend to start building in a few years. We know we want a stove (non-cooking) of some sorts in the kitchen . . . I was thinking of a Franklin type stove. Have you fired that thing up yet? How does it work?
My cousin lives on Kodiak nd is a Coastie, I’ll ask him what he spent on heating. He may be in C.G. housing though. But from what he’s said about Kodiak is that it doesn’t get anywhere near as cold as the mainland because of the ocean.
Nah, I’m still waiting on the stove to arrive. But before I install it, I’ve got to put in some new flooring and possibly add additional support to the subfloor. The thing weighs about 1,400 lbs.
Will the cabin be for living? Or recreation?
My dad was a coastie, what does your cousin do? You probably heard about the Katmai that just went down last week in the Bering? Pretty sad. I watched video of the deck boss’s account of what happened. Sad indeed.
Katmai link
Thanks CM for shedding a little light on the Alaska revenue sharing plan.
May I also mention that from what I read, there is no income or sales tax paid by Alaska citizens. The state has always relied upon its natural resources to pay for government and give a little back to residents.
So John, the answer to your question is NO, Palin is not a socailist….there is no comparison. You also might want to run the full story instead of cutting off before the fact check.
If I’m not mistaken the ideal stove you can cook on too. And the Amish sold lots of woodburning stoves in preparation for y2k. No offense but there’s probably some deals on craigslist.org.
The cabin will be for living. I go back in the Army this coming summer and we want to buy our land (in Maine) and begin building within the next five years. Of course, we want the giant stone fireplace in the living room area, but also a woodburner type stove in the kitchen for warmth and ambiance.
My cousin is a Senior Chief? An E-7, I believe. He got a sweetheart deal as the recreation hmfic. He rents sports boats and runs the movie theatre. Tough gig, huh?
Aubrey
Is Palin a Socialist?
John,
Are you oblivious to facts? The question is answered in the article you referenced if one reads past where you cut it off.
Bart
What is your point? Palin increased taxes and gave it to the people!
Aubrey, take a look at the Blaze King and Quadra Fire for wood stoves.
The Blaze King has some nice woodstoves with catalytic components, but they need replacing every 6 or 7 years (not to my liking).
The Quadra Fire Millennium 3100 gets high marks from a friend of mine. Nice stove.
I went with the soapstone because I’ve always wanted one ever since I worked for a construction contractor back when I was in my early 20’s.
He received one to install for a client. It was sitting outside his workshop and we went ahead and lit a fire up. It burned for a while and then went out. The contractor told me that when he went outside to look at it the next morning the stone was still warm to the touch.
I’m a huge fan of the radiating heat that goes on long after the fire is burned out. That’s the primary characteristic that I was looking for. I also like that there aren’t any parts to replace.
I’ve been researching to buy a woodstove for over a year now. I’ve looked all over (including craigslist.com, Bill). I haven’t seen a single soapstone woodstove on the secondary market. That would have been nice, but then again, I’m not sure I would buy one on the secondary market. It’s worth it to me to have the piece of mind and warranty that comes with a new stove. This is for my home, and I have no plans to move out of my home any time soon.
If you do go with a big stone fireplace, consider a masonry heater instead. You’ll need to factor it in when you plan the foundation (they are extremely heavy), but you’ll get more heat value out of a stove than out of a fireplace. You can also get masonry heaters with an oven built in (very cool). Mine is just a soapstone woodstove, not a masonry heater.
Hey, thanks. I’ve found some other stoves, but The Quadra Fire was new. So was the masonry heater. Very cool stuff. I really haven’t started shopping for anything yet. Mostly just looking at some real estate in Maine – getting an idea of what’s available now and what’ll be available in three – five years. (I want a nice chunk of land and she wants New England coastline.) I think I’ve found our timber source though – Katadin. They use white cedar logs – looks great and is naturally resistant to rot and insects. So, as soon as we can sock away twenty-thirty large we can start shopping in earnest. Needless to say, we’re excited.
Good luck with the stove.
John,
What taxes did she increase? Alaskans don’t pay income or sales tax John…read the rest of your posted story.
Oil companies agreed long ago to share profits gained by accessing natural resources available in Alaska. They aren’t complaining.
BART
YOUR HERO!
Windfall tax lets Alaska rake in billions from Big Oil
While Congress and the presidential candidates debate the wisdom of a windfall tax on oil companies, Alaska has already imposed one, hauling in billions of dollars in new revenue for the state treasury.
…..Things worked out far differently in the GOP stronghold of Alaska, a state whose economic fate is closely tied to the oil industry.
Over the opposition of oil companies, Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and Alaska’s Legislature last year approved a major increase in taxes on the oil industry — a step that has generated stunning new wealth for the state as oil prices soared.
At a time when Americans are feeling the pinch at the gasoline pump and oil companies are racking up record profits, Alaska’s choice foreshadows one of the sharpest debates in the upcoming presidential election.
Palin’s administration last week gained legislative approval for a special $1,200 payment to every Alaskan to help cope with gas prices, which are among the highest in the country.
That check will come on top of the annual dividend of about $2,000 that each resident could receive this year from an oil-wealth savings account….
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008103325_alaskatax07.html
This is true. And boy did certain Republicans really cry “it will end investment and development”.
Same old party line. More taxes will doom us.
The market value of the commodities has a far greater effect on the investment climate than does a particular tax policy. The most important thing where taxes are concerned is that the government be consistent with its tax policy, so that investment planners can count on it.
Wealth redistribution is a funny thing. You can really make it mean whatever you want it to mean. And in politics what it means changes from one day to the next.
I’ve seen some beautiful log homes in Steamboat and Breckenridge. Homes usually take away from a scenic view, unless they’re nicely done log homes. big fan of the large window area in front. Of course the south facing windows probably have some advantageous solar properties.
Bart
What about your hero spreading the wealth? Is Palin a SOCIALIST?
The first two purchases after buying a wood-burning stove (assuming you don’t already have them) are a chain saw and a pick-up truck.
From experience working in a saw mill in far Northern California back in the 1970s, I can tell you it takes a lot of wood to stay warm all winter long.
(P.S. Save the pine for kindling).
John,
Couple of facts about the Alaska situation that you seem to ignore when trying to impugn the character of Sarah Palin:
- “An accounting benefit eases the sting for oil companies. They get a huge deduction on their state taxes when calculating their federal taxes.”
- Sarah Palin said about the legislation — “The state of Alaska is currently the largest investor on the North Slope, having paid for 50 percent of all investments in 2007. Yet our share of net revenue, including royalties, property and corporate income tax, was about 40 percent. The “equitable share” component in ACES narrows this gap…”
Big difference in the Alaska tax system whereby the state actually owns the land leased to oil companies for oil exploration vs. Obama’s plan to arbitrarily tax achievers’ income in order to subsidize his socialist programs.
So no, Palin is not a socialist. She oversees land owned by the state that provides the revenue to fund state operations. Been that way for a long time John.
Of course whenever you provide handouts to individuals or corporate entities, things will just get more expensive, and you’ve just obliterated free markets, competition, and the level playing field ect…How is the best/cheapest technology supposed to rise to the forefront? Do these guys have lobbyists? Doubtful.
Chena Geothermal Power Plant
http://www.yourownpower.com/Power/
Bart
NICE SPIN!
No John, it is the truth. What part of the truth do you dispute?