Our Advice To Albertans and Alaskans
Q. Why is our prosperous, fossil fuel-energized way of life under such attack?
A. Because that’s where the money is.
Those of us who want to protect our way of life better strengthen our bleeding hearts and quit compromising.
The socialists/communists/anarchists/progressives/democrats/leftists are the extremists. They want to create welfare states (i.e. a la Chavez, Hitler, Lenin) with themselves in charge. It’s not about “the people”; it’s about transferring power and money from our free enterprises to their tightly controlled, dictatorial government enterprises.
So our advice is this: the next time a socialist/communist/anarchist/progressive/democrat/leftist calls you “non-compromising redneck”, some type of “phobic”, a “climate change denier” or “racist”, just say, “no, I will not agree to expand government, to burden free enterprise, to mandate minimum or ‘prevailing’ wages or change my culture.
“You want the change, not me. I have no obligation to ‘compromise’ what is free, wholesome and competitive to accept your social experiments or self-serving mandates.
“You can protest, use vulgarity, dress up in costumes, call me names and promote violence to get your way. I will not compromise my good values for your valueless objectives. I like my country the way our Christian founders framed it and the way our parents gave it to us — complete with generations of sacrifice.
“Get a job. Get God. Get honest. Or, get lost.”
-dh
Bill Walker, Governor of Alaska. NGP file photo by Dave Harbour.
Yesterday, The Juneau Empire along with Tom Brennan and Paul Jenkins of the Anchorage Daily Planet joined us in providing fellow citizens and the Legislature with compelling reasons to derail Governor Bill Walker’s Quixotic (i.e. a term we have used for a couple years, now) quest to have government control an Alaska natural gas transportation project.
On Saturday, respected oil and gas reporter and columnist Tim Bradner, urged the Governor to take a more cautious, logical path toward resolving the state’s gas transportation and fiscal crisis challenges.
Representative Lynn Gattis weighed in a day earlier, noting that, “…his antagonistic behavior towards the oil industry … could decimate resource development in Alaska.”
Senator Cathy Giessel observed last week that, “If there was a significant profit to be made with an Alaska LNG line, I am confident that Exxon would be chasing it. They aren’t. And if Exxon’s shareholders don’t want the company losing money in an Alaska LNG mega-project, why should the shareholders in Alaska’s future, you and me, take such a risky gamble?”
And, in the last few days a group has started a process to recall the Governor from office.
In our analysis last week, we said:
We believe this governor has:
- continued to injure Alaska’s reputation as a reliable, “deal is a deal” investment climate.
- broken Alaska’s word with oil & gas explorers and producer by denying them timely payment of lawful credits.
- seemingly done everything possible to repel Alaska’s most important and faithful investors by 1) threatening them with higher and new taxes; and 2) demanding of them proprietary marketing information; and 3) using the bully pulpit to suggest their participation in a gas/LNG project is not needed; and more.
- used poor communications and a dictatorial attitude on the public, legislators and even state employees. This has resulted in growing legislative resistance to his leadership, growing public disdain for his unilateral actions and causing an unusual turnover of executive employees.
- reflected an abysmal sense of priorities and nonchalant sense of financial responsibility regarding risky, expensive, subsidy increasing investments in the LNG project when the whole, undiversified state is at the fiscal mercy of volatile commodities like oil and gas.
- is vigorously pursing a “go it alone” LNG project attitude when 1) the LNG commodity-delivered market price needs to be about three – four times the current $4.50/Mmbtu spot price in Asia; and 2) when there are nearly one hundred competing LNG projects around the world in the same or a more advanced state of readiness than Alaska’s; and 3) when the state’s leader, seemingly oblivious to competition, is doing everything possible to “nationalize” the gas project and perhaps the Alaska North Slope oil & gas leases when Repsol’s Argentina expropriation experienceand Venezuela’s contemporary happiness should be telling a wise leader to avoid socialistic behavior.
On top of this withering gas project criticism and an unprecedented, fiscal crisis on his hands, Walker is now facing a populist “recall” petition.
In Canada’s brave new world, maybe we’ll all have a government job
by
Chris Nelson, for the Calgary Herald
Chris Nelson Calgary Herald Photo
Perhaps that’s what this endless blather about diversifying our economy actually means — some of us will work for the city, some for Alberta heath care, others in education, a gaggle more for AUPE, a fair few on this or that provincial advisory board, and the rest on one federal dodge or another.
Oh, and if there’s anyone left, they can always sign on with the post office, assuming there’s no strike going on at the time.
Because, once we’ve managed to finally drive the last spike through our energy industry, there’ll not be many places left to even send a resume to in the private sector.
Of course, by then, the main driver of private jobs — small business — will have gone the way of Alberta’s drilling and pipeline construction companies. Here in Calgary, once higher tax rates, insurance and utilities are added to the toxic mix of jacked-up CPP payments, a $15-an-hour minimum wage and a carbon tax tacked onto everything, then the only suitable work left for the lonely former entrepreneur will be on some provincial committee earnestly formed to discover what can be done to stimulate small business. Yippee, more government jobs.
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