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 November 21, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) the revenue and PFD strategy some appear to be considering for this coming #akleg session (2:17), 2) the recent focus on the status of the Alaska economy, and how that also plays into the strategy of some for t...

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 November 14, 2022. This week we only had time to cover the first 2 of our issues: 1) why, at least from the fiscal side, "moderate" is the wrong word to describe who won the #akleg election (2:05), and 2) we discuss the next big fiscal issue facing the state - the "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 November 7, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why our original high hopes for this #akelect cycle have been lessened (1:58), 2) we ponder whether a Dunleavy second term will be focused on building a legacy, or looking ahead to the US Senate elect...

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 October 31, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) why we don't consider Senate candidate Doug Massie - and other candidates who are advocating "left over" PFDs - serious fiscal conservatives (1:59), 2) where we believe the K-12 funding debate goes off track and...

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 October 24, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) we look at what the platform is of those running on a "Bi-Partisan Coalition" ticket (2:08), 2) we explain why we think the discussion about increasing the K-12 BSA would look much different if it had to be fund...

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 October 17, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why a recent op-ed about needing "pro business" legislators is really a disguised appeal for "pro Top20% (and let the other 80% keep picking up the check)" legislators (2:00), 2) we explain why the To...

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 October 10, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) why we believe Bill Walker's campaign slogan should simply be "I'm from the rich running to protect the rich" (2:05), 2) why the most recent Tax Foundation study still fails to address, in an Alaska context, 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 October 3, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) we quantify the significant differences in the positions of the various candidates for Governor on the PFD (2:09), 2) we discuss the recent Salmon State report on AIDEA and explain why AIDEA is never going to pro...

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 26, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss two recent ADN articles that analyze the economic impacts of PFDs (1:55), 2) we look at what's going on with oil prices and the impact they may have on Alaska's fiscal situation (19:13), and 3) we e...

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 19, 2022. This week our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why, in the West Anchorage Senate race, we have problems with the fiscal approach of both the D and R candidates (1:59), 2) we discuss what causes Alaska outmigration and why it isn't any Governor'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 September 12, 2022. This week we only cover the first two of our issues: 1) as the drumbeat starts for increasing the base student allocation (BSA), we discuss why we need to be talking about #WhoPays for any increase at the same time as we discuss whether and how much...

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 6, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1)we explain what we will be looking for in the successor to resigning Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney (2:10), 2) we discuss why #AKLNG is testing the outer limits of the theory of "if you throw enough money...

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 29, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we ask what would it mean exactly for Republicans to "take back the [Alaska] House" (1:57), 2) we explain why the Governor's race is far from the cakewalk some currently predict (17:52), and 3) we ask how exactly...

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 22, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) Michael and I discuss our take on the primary election results thus far (2:06), 2) we explain why the decision by Santos and Repsol to sanction - take the final investment decision on - Phase I of the Pikka proje...

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 15, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why the Walker Drygas campaign pitch that PFD cuts are "for the children" is a smokescreen (1:58), 2) we discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's decision late last week upholding the Dunleavy Adminis...

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 8, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss what we've learned from the various state candidate interviews published this past week as a run up to next week's primary (2:05), 2) we explain why we believe under ranked choice voting its very import...

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 1, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we focus on what the money & endorsements are telling us so far about state races in this election cycle (1:58), 2) we look at the five #akleg races we are using as a bellwether and why we have selected them (17:2...

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 25, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we focus on some fiscal issues that some are already trying to move front and center for the 2023 legislative session (1:56), 2) we discuss a new report from Wood MacKenzie on what it will take to be an energy “sup...

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 18, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we continue the discussion of what some recent polling tells us about the upcoming Governor's race (2:02); 2) we discuss a recent op-ed by the Governor trying to spin the FY23 budget as a "win" for Alaskans (23:25)...

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 11, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) what a second Dunleavy term would mean (2:04); 2) what the federal government's draft supplemental EIS on Conoco's Willow project means for Alaska (17:22); and 3) why former Gov Walker's "leadership" the last time...

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 4, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) the Governor's FY23 budget decisions and how those flow through to the 10-year plan (2:14); 2) why, even if successful, #AKLNG won't result in "massive revenues to the state," (20:32); and 3) while some legislators...

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 27, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) what we are looking for in the Governor's budget announcements this week (2:01); 2) what we are on the alert for in the federal government's upcoming decision on the Willow project (16:50); and 3) we continue our r...

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 20, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) Michael and I discuss the op-ed we wrote on fiscal policy and some of the reactions to it (1:57); 2) we discuss some of the common myths used to justify and rationalize continued PFD cuts (16:33); and 3) we start i...

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 13, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we take a look at the status of the #AKLNG project and evaluate whether, as some claim, it is "closer than ever" (2:08); 2) we look at Alaska House candidate Cliff Groh's proposed fiscal plan and how it measures up...

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 6, 2022. This week our Top 3 issues are these: 1) we take a look at new Senate candidate Doug Massey’s position on the PFD and realize he’s just another from the “Big Government, but don’t make the Top20% pay for it” side of things (2:08); 2) continuing the theme,...