DISQUS

tesha · 1 year ago

Oh, and look at HOW she spent as mayor- this is from a citizen of Wasilla as reported by NPR.

"She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. and $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex -- - - "

Do we need another Bush-Cheney type in Washington - you know - the borrow and spend - spend - spend kind.

michaeledward · 1 year ago

Well ... that certainly is a lopsided view of facts.

As mayor of Wasilla ... Ms. Palin raised the sales tax. She was sworn in to a town with a balanced budget; she received Federal Earmarks of $1,000.00 per citizen per year, and she left the mayoral position with a town 20 million dollars in debt.

As governor of Alaska ... the jet was not sold on Ebay. It was listed three times, but never sold. It was sold privately on an airfield at a loss of more than $200,000.00 for the Alaskan people.

She did not say 'Thanks But No Thanks' on the "bridge to nowhere". Congress had cancelled the project before she was sworn in as governor. And Governor Palin said "Thank you very much" for the more than 200,000,000.00 from the earmark, which she did not send back to U.S. taxpayers, but spent on other projects in Alaska.

I would suggest people making these arguments to see the articles on George Will and fungible accounting.

tesha · 1 year ago

Oh, and look at HOW she spent as mayor- this is from a citizen of Wasilla as reported by NPR.

"She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. and $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex -- - - "

Do we need another Bush-Cheney type in Washington - you know - the borrow and spend - spend - spend kind.

Think_Globally_2 · 1 year ago

Alaska is unlike any other state in the nation because they have had a tremendous amount of income coming into the state's coffers since the oil pipeline was completed in 1977.

Add to that the massive increases in oil prices the last few years and Alaska made enough tax revenue from oil profits to cover 80% of their operating expenses.

Then, as previously mentioned, there was that $223 million the state still got even though the bridge project was canceled.

With all this money coming in, I'd like to know what exactly was cut from the budget those 2 years. Were they "wish list" programs legislators put in because there was so much money available to them to spend, or were they programs that had a legitimate need?

Either way, negotiating the national budget with Congress is going to require far more negotiating skills than Ms. Palin seems to possess.

Patty · 1 year ago

Actually, some fact-checking is needed on the details in this column.
Gov. Palin did put the jet on e-bay; however, it did not sell on e-bay. Instead, it was taken off and sold at a lower price than mentioned in this column, which meant it was sold for a loss.
This jet was not, as was implied, designed for frivolous use. Instead, the bulk of the time, the jet took Alaskan convicts to the jail space in Arizona, since the country's largest state lacks adequate jail facilities. The replacement transportation costs more than the jet trips.
As far as the Bridge to Nowhere, Gov. Palin said "Yes, thanks" way before she said "No, thanks."
Let's work toward accuracy, even while promoting one candidate over another.

Robert Chapman · 1 year ago

Gov. Palin has done her best to join the GOP big-spenders club. In her effort to muscle up the Alaskan transport net she has supported massive federal earmarks for a bridge connecting Wassillia to Anchorage.

When Gov. Palin reaches Washington, she won't be shaking them up, instead the good Governor will be shaking them down.