Governments are instituted to spend money.

• Author: McCorkle, Vern
• Position: From the Publisher

How's that again?

'Tis true in point of fact. Few governments were created to lay up vast stores of wealth, but rather to spend wealth wisely to benefit their constituency; and hopefully, with the consent of that constituency.

Most Alaskans agree their state is destined to realize great wealth from a new and robust petroleum resource policy that promises to provide billions of dollars annually, beyond what experts ever believed might be available. That's good news; the sad news is that few seem to agree on what to do with it. When no one knows what to do with a financial surplus, it is often locked up in an "investment account" because earning interest is thought to be a grand (and safe) thing to do. However, governments are created to do the following things:

1. Establish justice;

2. Insure domestic tranquility;

3. Provide for the common defense; and,

4. Promote the general welfare. *

These four tenets of basic government service provide sufficient latitude for most governments to furnish constitutional and statutorial mission requisites, and even a few pet projects. Note that there are no requirements to salt away huge fortunes in savings or investment accounts having no specific or intended uses, but they do allow for prudent limited cash reserve funds, of which Alaska has several.

ALASKA'S FISCAL GAP TURNS 25

Truth be told, Alaska has faced a fiscal gap since statehood. However, it has not been widely discussed until recent times, all the while past Alaska Legislatures have been unable or politically unwilling to affirmatively address the matter of fiscal responsibility. And so now we celebrate (quaint word though it may be), still another term of fiscal mismanagement with no possibility in sight of ending what has become a political third rail.

That Alaska is a unique place has long been obvious to those who have lived here for more than a couple of winters, and that has become more universally believed across the wide world. One of the things that make this state unique among the Lower 48 states is that Alaska has citizens who live in the Far Bush, in small villages and tiny settlements.

Promoting the general welfare of rural...