2017 economic outlook: 'bright, if....'.

• Position: FROM THE EDITOR

Back in spring, 2012, my Alaska Business Monthly column warned against that generation stealing from the next. I opined that, "Alaska has evolved into a state so blinded by its own greed and constrained by entitlement constituencies that rational, political decision-making is nearly impossible."

Way back, on December 13, 1980, Alaska's business and government leaders assembled to warn against overspending and excessive reliance on volatile oil tax revenue (i.e. "The Challenge of Plenty").

In the early 1990s, Dr. Scott Goldsmith reported on how Alaska could create an economic "safe landing." Year by year, the Institute of Social and Economic Research has shown lawmakers how to create a sustainable budget.

Most politicians have ignored these...