Economic Development

So you want government to run like a business? If that’s your desire we’ll have to manage the inherent challenges in our operations department.

In business, customers always want a consistent product. In order to stay profitable you have to find innovative ways to provide it faster, friendlier and with more value. It’s called the free market.

Nobel laureate economist Vernon Smith recently gave a lecture at UAA about the evolution of economic systems. One of the most timeless economic beliefs he shared is that when goods don’t cross borders, trouble will.

North Korea and China are two examples of this theory.

In my final segment about the challenges of running government like a business, we’ve reached one of the most important areas of any government or business, the marketing department.

Just how timely was it for Gov. Walter Hickel to talk about Alaska’s need for independence at a recent Anchorage Chamber of Commerce luncheon? Consider American history 229 years ago today.

On July 3, 1776 Admiral Lord Howe was assembling the largest military force ever gathered on the North American continent. With 25,000 British troops landing on New York’s Staten Island, King George was knocking on the door. Meanwhile, a little more than a hundred miles away in Philadelphia, America’s founding fathers answered.

In the early 1970’s, playing youth hockey in Anchorage was always more exciting when we’d play a rare Saturday morning game inside the old sports arena on Fireweed Lane. As a nine year old kid, the stadium atmosphere and the scoreboard that hung on the wall seemed much more professional than playing outdoors and having to listen for the parent who volunteered to keep score and the stopwatch.

Since the days of disco, Alaskans have been torturing themselves with the on again off again debate about moving the seat of state government. Few discussions in Alaska have provoked as much emotion as the location for the state’s capitol.

With the community of Juneau’s recent proposal to construct a modern Capitol building, the age-old debate is on again. A recent survey by local pollster Dave Ditman showed that a majority of Alaskans oppose any long-term commitment to the Southeast community. At 46 years old, Alaska appears to be going through yet another capitol identity crisis.

Today is the 92nd anniversary of Mother’s Day. The annual occasion when we formally acknowledge one of God’s greatest gifts: Moms.

Few realize though that this magnificent holiday shares its longevity with another act of Congress that isn’t so celebrated: The 92nd anniversary of the sixteenth amendment that authorized Congress to tax income.