SB 247: Appropriations and re-appropriations SPENDING bill

POM:
Please do NOT support this spending bill! Except for fully funded Federal programs, balance are non-essential spending items, and should therefore be voted down. Defeat this bill and put saving in the bank! Where Federal matching dollars are concerned, let the communities benefiting produce the match. Thank you.
Mike McBride; Kenai

Written Testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, dated; February 5, 2002:
Please do NOT support this spending bill! Except for fully funded Federal programs, the balance appears to be non-essential spending items, and should therefore be voted down by a wide margin. Where Federal matching dollars are concerned, let the communities benefiting produce the required match. This is how my parent's generation addressed any extra needs in their community. It was a good system then, and should continue today.

In those days, State/Federal government spending provided funds for roads, education, public health and safety. We all felt safe in our homes, got a good education, and the roads were always maintained. Those were essential government services then, and they still are today.  We need to fully fund these basic services not only now but into the future as well. All these other "give away" programs should be CUT, CUT, and CUT! If you defeat this one bill the budget gap will go away!

Given the Governor's proposed budget, and fiscal notes attached to bills currently pending before the Alaska Legislature, this year's spending could easily exceed $7,500,000,000. If you divide $7,500,000,000 by the number of people who applied for a PFD in 2000 (607,596), it works out to a whopping $12,344.00 being spent for every man, woman, and child in the state! For a
family of four that works out to $49,375.00! We all need to think about that number for a minute, and ask ourselves, are we really getting our money's worth? The majority of Alaskan voters will answer a resounding NO!

We also need to think about whom is going to pay for this proposed spending. Using Department of Labor statistics, it appears there are only about 279,000 possible taxpayers in the entire State. Assuming 100% employment, and no other funding sources, the bill for each taxpayer to pay for a $7,500,000,000 budget would amount to $26,882. That is an obscene amount of money! In the future, when all the oil money has been spent, and this tax bill gets adjusted for inflation, you will find a population unable to continue living in Alaska because it
COST TOO MUCH! Please think about the future, and vote NO on this and ALL non-essential spending bills that come before you this session. Thank you.
Mike McBride; Kenai

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