Dear Santa:
Just wanted to drop you a short note and let you know how good the RDC has been this year. While we know it is your busy time of year, please take a moment and think of us when you are making your rounds.
Our wish list is modest. As a matter of fact, we would actually LIKE coal in our stocking! We would also like to develop more of it. We think we have proved that we know how to mine correctly, and that everyone will benefit if they actually learn how mining operates.
Our brief wish list is:
We wish for more wisdom for our elected leaders. Newly minted Governor Walker and Lt. Governor Mallott have big challenges in front of them. Please grant them and all other leaders the wisdom to move through the challenges.
We wish for a better sense of economics from many of our neighbors in the Lower 48. The way to solve the high rates of suicide, domestic violence and substance abuse is to provide hope and economic opportunities for all Alaskans, in all parts of Alaska.
We wish for less rhetoric, and more understanding of how businesses operate.
We wish for less litigation from those who simply want to stop projects, but don’t have to worry about the costs of a shrinking economy on the day to day lives of Alaskans. If you cannot give us less litigation, at least think about giving those that sue simply to stop jobs a chance to pay for those lost opportunities if they lose the lawsuits.
We wish for more visitors to explore Alaska, and to take home memories that last a lifetime, and then to tell their neighbors about the great trip they had.
We wish for enough fish to not have fights over allocation…..well, how about we just wish for more fish…it would be a start!
(We have stolen the next wish from a prayer given in the Legislature, but it doesn’t make it any less true)…. We wish for oil to be expensive by the barrel, but cheap by the gallon.
We wish for a gas pipeline, so that Alaskans and businesses can benefi t from both the gas as well as the revenue generated from the sale of gas. We are not too concerned about who we sell it to, as long as we get to use a little bit of it.
The year at RDC has been very fruitful. I know you attended our Alaska Resources Conference, where we learned that the price of oil may have shifted downward systemically. We also learned that tourism had a very good year in Alaska, and that demand is looking strong for next year. We learned that the timber industry needs some help, but if the good folks at the federal government get out of the way, timber could be strong again. Could you help us with that? We learned that mining can be strong in Alaska, but we need to be careful about how we regulate them so that they can continue operating.
We legalized pot this year. I don’t know if that will have impact on you at the North Pole. RDC didn’t really have an opinion about pot, although there are some concerns about how we move forward on regulating it.
More than anything else, we wish for you to spread the word that a strong economy in a natural resource state such as Alaska will help all Alaskans, and the way to a strong economy is to responsibly develop the resources we have available. We have spent more than fifty years proving that we can do it right, and when we do, everyone wins.
I know you will be tired in January, and we Alaskans are well aware of the short days and cold weather that you must face at the North Pole. I would like to remind you that Holland America Line sells great cruises to warm destinations throughout the winter season. After Christmas, you deserve a break. Take one.
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