Word of mouth

Posted: Monday, January 24, 2000

No wonder the students of Phoenix are doing so well, with the student-teacher ratio of 21-to-1. In the general student population it's 35-to-1. With all that room to move, they don't have to worry about running into people. They just have to worry about their studies. I hope Choice has at least that ratio and that much room.

Why doesn't the state have a garage sale on all the equipment it has in storage. It has all kinds of computers and what-have-you that could be sold at a garage sale and pay for some of the budget shortfall.

Why would the governor allow BP, a foreign entity, to have control over the oil production in Alaska, which has one of the largest oil reservoirs in the U.S.?

We're all like fish in the ocean about that Mackie plan. Don't bite at the first bait that's dangled. Wait until it's fair. Let's go for the million.

On this Mackie plan, my husband and I are all for it, but there should be a time people should have to live here before they qualify for it, like at least two years. And it should be tax free.

About the shortage of blood in the U.S., if the Red Cross and Food and Drug Administration would allow us of blood from hereditary hemochromatosis people (iron overload) we would single-handedly wipe out the blood shortage in the country in 24 hours. But the government won't allow them to use this blood as donor blood, because they say people who give blood for other than altruistic reasons are more likely to carry diseases.

Come on, Alaskans, do your math. There's $27 billion in the permanent fund account. Each Alaskan could walk away with a million and still there would be money left over. Twenty-five thousand dollars is selling your soul to the devil. Rethink the bill or up the ante.

While the Mackie plan has merit, we worry about the impact on the economy, such as in real estate prices. I'd suggest that thousands of Alaskans could take their money and move away. In the long run that could be disastrous to the economy, as lots of people lose their jobs, since many people wouldn't be here to support those jobs anymore.

I have four words to say about the Mackie pay out plan: Show me the money.

I think the Mackie plan has a great deal of opportunity both four and against. Look at Page 6 of Friday's paper and read the list of student loan borrowers who haven't paid back their loans. That's just one example of how the state could collect a great deal of this money back.

Alaskans should be given a choice of whether they want a payout of one year or over several years, as that has been our tradition in this state. I also support Elton's budget plan and think this will be a good topic this legislative session.


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