In recent “battle of the budget” town hall meetings across the state, there have been few surprises. Budget-cutting resisters really know how to pack a room with emotionally charged testimony. And many people seem determined to “kill the goose that laid the golden egg” — insisting that Alaska’s largesse-fueled services are not just a benefit but a permanent entitlement.<\/p>\n
Many testified that along with the Permanent Fund Dividend program, generous government services are sacrosanct and, if reduced, economic dislocation, widespread suffering, even death, would ensue.<\/p>\n
Nevermind that residents living in Alaska 50 years or more got along just fine before receiving government gifts like the PFD, Medicaid expansion, pre-K programs, hefty union-negotiated retirements, 1 percent for arts, and ferries to any community that asked — just to name a few.<\/p>\n
[Doom for the fast ferries: Two more go up for sale]<\/a><\/ins><\/p>\n Anguished testimony about the Alaska Marine Highway System<\/a> has been particularly intense. The Alaska House Majority shamelessly produced a video featuring a child weeping over the possibility she might never again see her cousins in a neighboring community.<\/p>\n It’s understandable people are upset over potential cuts to our ferry system. Coastal towns in Southeast, Prince William Sound and southwest Alaska rely on subsidized ferries because of the lack of inexpensive alternatives. But if we ever hope to justify continuing ferry operations, it’s important to recognize why we’re in this fix.<\/p>\n Some testimony compared AMHS to Alaska’s road system saying that “roads don’t make a profit” and reducing ferry service would be like “shutting down the Parks Highway.” This faulty comparison ignores the fact that 99.5 percent of Alaska’s vehicular traffic occurs on roads but historically over 80 percent of the highway operations\/maintenance budget is offset by users through gas taxes and other fees. Ferries move less than 1 percent of vehicular traffic with only 30 percent of the cost paid by users.<\/p>\n [Opinion: No harm, no foul with city, cruise lawsuit settlement]<\/a><\/ins><\/p>\n Yet, total AMHS expenses run about $150 million annually, almost double the cost of maintaining all Alaska’s highways.<\/p>\n Environmental activists and ferry unions have deliberately stalled meaningful road projects that would have made AMHS more efficient and sustainable. In 2000, after ample public process, former Gov. Tony Knowles rejected the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ announced Preferred Alternative for a Lynn Canal highway — instead spending almost $70 million on two untested fast ferries. Both ferries turned out to be unreliable, gas-guzzling albatrosses that have since been removed from service.<\/p>\n For decades, ferry boosters ignored the reality of decreasing ridership and thwarted commonsense transportation planning. Alaskans are now saddled with a system rife with inefficiency, runaway operating costs, maintenance issues with aging vessels and a state subsidy of about $100 million in Fiscal Year 2017.<\/p>\n For every dollar of passenger revenue, the state of Alaska contributes two dollars to keep the ferries afloat. Now we face more vessel layups, increasingly unaffordable vehicle fares and service cutbacks.<\/p>\n