Are you ready to pony up $4500? That’s how much the Alaska’s State spending deficit is per person. One of our leading state economists, Gunnar Knapp, plots out simple graphs that depict our economic muddle in a glance. In this video interview by AK-Pipeline, he says, “We have a serious fiscal situation where we definitely can’t keep spending at the level that we’ve been spending, but we don’t have to panic. We’re not poor.”
Watch Interview:
The Legislature just passed the smallest capital budget in 14 years, Alaska State Troopers are slashing dozens of positions, selling search-and-rescue helicopters and closing posts, and the University of Alaska is hiking tuition and considering cutting academic programs amid a shoestring operating budget.
These are symptoms of the state’s dire fiscal situation, which have appeared in part due to low oil prices and in part due to the growth of state spending when revenue was booming. They also represent some of the first highly-visible cuts of many expected over the next few years, as the state is expected to draw $3.8 billion from budget reserves this year and a similar amount next year to keep government up and running.
See All Graphs at AK-Pipeline
