The Weekly Top 3

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of September 2, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain how some legislative candidates have become so focused on being pro-oil that they have lost focus on being pro-Alaskan (2:15); 2) on the opposite end of the political spectrum, we explain how some s...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of August 26, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss our take on the results for various legislative races from the primary election and what we see as the path forward (2:33); 2) we discuss the effort by some to combine what we view as two entirely sep...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of August 19, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain how, after draining the Statutory Budget Reserve, the Constitutional Budget Reserve and a large part of the PFD, some are positioning to come after the Permanent Fund corpus (2:19); 2) we discuss what...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of August 12, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss whether the Alaska economy is on an up- or down-swing (2:17); 2) we discuss the significance of global LNG supplier Excelerate’s recent announcement that they are in advanced discussions to bring LNG...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of August 5, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain how a recent ADN editorial board op-ed advocates for a fiscal future that, if successful, would largely undermine former Governor Jay Hammond’s vision for Alaska (2:15); 2) we explain how the Permanent...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of July 29, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss the movement we are (finally) seeing from Southcentral utilities on gas supplies (2:10); 2) we discuss another bad week for the Permanent Fund Board and how the new Chairman made the case even stronger...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of July 22, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain how the term “surplus” has become another step in the Orwellianization of Alaska budget terms (2:05); 2) we discuss what is driving what some are now saying is the long-term outmigration of working Alas...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of July 15, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) following up on last week's discussion, we keep digging into the problem with oil revenues (2:11); 2) we explain why it's deeply concerning that, while there's continued handwringing (and wild ideas...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of July 8, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss what the true "opportunity costs" are of PFDcuts (2:13); 2) we explain why assuming state revenues from oil follow oil production volumes is wrong (19:10); and 3) we explain why KTUU's rec...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of July 1, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we examine the sum total of the Dunleavy budget legacy so far: spending growth, no fiscal plan and PFD cuts (2:00); 2) we explain how the Permanent Fund Corporation is trying to manipulate Alaskans and why it no lo...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 24, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why the Fairbanks Newsminer editorial board is hallucinating about the potential for a gas pipeline (2:10); 2) we discuss a subject on which we think Alaska’s Congressional candidates should be focusing...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 17, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why, on fiscal matters, “bipartisanship” generally is becoming a dirty word at both the federal and state levels (2:13); 2) we discuss the concept of revenue design and why one of the objectives of the...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 10, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss the growing calls for scrutiny of the Permanent Fund Board (2:15); 2) we explain how, rather than rationally discuss the actual facts about the Cook Inlet, the Anchorage Daily News editorial page — or a...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 3, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why the fiscal future the state is facing is far different from what some think it is (2:10); 2) we discuss our initial reaction to how the upcoming legislative races are shaping up (18:53); and 3) we ex...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of May 27, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we look at why some are pushing for a special session to pass the Cook Inlet royalty relief bills that stalled out during the regular session (2:06); 2) we discuss what Shell’s decision to relinquish its West Harri...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of May 20, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we look at the "good" from this #akleg session - it's mostly a list of what the Legislature didn't do (2:01); 2) we look at the "bad" from this #akleg session - it's much a longer...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of May 13, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we look at Hilcorp’s recent, way over-the-top response to the proposal to close their unique loophole in the Alaska oil tax code (2:05); 2) we discuss what we see as the common theme underlying the current problems...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of May 6, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we assess where this year’s budget cycle is leaving us as we look forward to the years ahead (2:03); 2) we look at this session’s discussions around Cook Inlet gas and explain why it’s mostly involved going in circl...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 29, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss how the FY24 Supplemental and FY25 budgets are shaping up (2:18); 2) we explain the latest embarrassment involving the Permanent Fund Board and ask whether it will ever stop (17:14); and 3) we discuss...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 22, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain our significant concerns about the recent passage by House Ways & Means of a bill cutting the state’s corporate income tax rate (2:05); 2) now that it is clear the Governor’s carbon bills aren’t go...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 15, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss what the debate last week on the House floor on HJR 7 tells us about future efforts to develop a durable fiscal policy for the state (2:15); 2) we explain what we believe our debate last week at the Al...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 8, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss the operating budget as it passed from House Finance, including how the FY25 PFD is being jerry-rigged by taking money from FY24 (2:09); 2) we look at the timeline for Cook Inlet gas supply to explain w...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 1, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why it appears Republicans on the House Finance Committee have given up on both “following the law” and trying to restrain spending ( 2:08); 2) we discuss how, just like the Democrats have, Governor Dun...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of March 25, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss our take on the House Finance Committee’s draft budget (2:11); 2) we explain why we believe the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and the Department of Natural Resources have frontline responsibility for...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of March 18, 2024. This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain the hypocrisy of those voting on Monday to override the Governor’s veto of SB 140 (2:09); 2) we discuss our disappointment in the #akleg reaction to the Spring Forecast (among many it was “yippee, more...