Ok, this is for Alaskans, or maybe not, maybe it is for everybody. here is the scene Alaska has oil, lots of oil. The constitution says the oil is owned by the citizens of Alaska. Producers (BP Conoco, Exxon) "Produce" the oil. Meaning they provide the means by which the oil is extracted and sold to market. We (the people) realize our "profit" from the oil by taxing every gallon of oil the producers produce. Producing oil in Alaska is unimaginably expensive. More so that just about any place on earth. A lot of this expense comes from the bureaucracy. Somehow, the oil companies muster the patience and persistence to still produce oil even though it seems every government agency is trying to stop their efforts. A couple years back, our legislature revised the method in which the tax on oil is calculated. This revision was vbased on a number of sound economic principals;
As can be expected, the people who produce nothing (social activists, socialists, welfare recipients, academics, etc, took umbrage at the idea that the states revenue stream (the one the do nothings live off) was seemingly decreased. They refuse to see the new tax structure created a much more equitable environment for the oil producers whereby encouraging billions (as in tens or hundreds) of dollars in new investment. The majority of which is in the form of jobs. A quick aside. If I have a job, i have income, I in-turn spend my income on the services i require. The companies i employ to provide those goods and services in turn employ other people and the cycle continues, and grows over time. This is capitalism, and it is the ONLY way to create wealth. The do nothings, think that the government should extract more money from those who earn it, and re-distribute it to those that do not. This of course sounds all touchy feely but the truth is, the money has to come from someplace and can only come from an individual or corporation that actually produces something of value and sells it (at a profit) So, the real issue is this simple If we make it less profitable for the producers we remove the incentive to produce. jobs go away, and we end up back at square one. Two things you need to consider.
Summary. If the do nothings get what they want (more government cheese) those of us that actually believe in working for a living will have less job opportunities. VOTE NO ON PROP 1. |