* From Alaska…
When he introduced his budget in February, Gov. Mike Dunleavy did not say he wanted to start a conversation.
“I promised to fix our budget and I will keep my promise to Alaskans,” he said. “We will fix the budget and we will fix it this year.”
This was the occasion at which temporary budget director Donna Arduin introduced herself to Alaska by frequently talking about “our” fiscal problems and declaring, “The cost to transport a vehicle on a state highway is about 2 cents per mile, where it’s about $4.58 per mile on a ferry.”
“We’re here to solve our problems, not to ask Alaskans to do it for us,” she said, touching on the plan to gut the University of Alaska, K-12 schools and Medicaid, while sending 500 prisoners out of state and getting rid of the ferry system.
Ah, Donna Arduin. Remember her?
* Back to Alaska…
The governor made those cuts, in part, to fulfill a campaign promise to pay a full Permanent Fund dividend using the traditional formula, which this year amounts to about $3,000.
“The governor’s approach is tough,” said Matt Shuckerow, his press secretary. “But it’s necessary.”
Others disagree — vehemently — and some economists estimate Dunleavy’s cuts would lead to 4,000 jobs lost in the short term, plunging Alaska into recession.
“This is a dismantling of our state: economically, emotionally, morally,” said Kodiak Rep. Louise Stutes, a Republican who represents parts of Southcentral Alaska, including Cordova. “It’s unreal. It’s just stinking unreal.”
* All sorts of havoc was wreaked…
The University of Alaska could lay off more than 1,000 and cut dozens of programs, thanks to a dramatic slash in money it gets from the state – a 41% cut from a line-item veto by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
University officials say the $130 million cut could prove disastrous for Alaska’s future, endangering local economies, school employees and rural programs for Alaska Native students. They have pleaded with the Legislature to override the veto but say they have little hope that will happen.
Even stuff like this was cut…
A state program that costs nothing to administer was restored this week to keep Alaska-grown produce in groceries, but the state’s nascent hemp program remains in limbo.
* From a post I did when Governor-elect Bruce Rauner announced he’d hired Arduin…
“She has a complete tin ear with respect to the political ramifications of particular cuts, ” University of California-Berkeley political scientist Bruce Cain told the Los Angeles Times in a story published in 2004.
Rauner loved her…
“Because she’s the best in America,” Rauner said when asked by a reporter how he can justify that [$30,000 per month Arduin contract] expense. “She’s a brilliant lady who’s done financial turnarounds at a number of states. She’s the smartest state government budget person in America that I was able to find and she’s well worth it, because she’s going to save us billions.”
Some of the substantial proposed cuts in Rauner’s first budget which he failed to mention in his address…
* The Department of Children and Family Services. It would also eliminate services for youth ages 18 to 21.
* Community care for senior citizens.
* Mental health services.
* Addiction treatment.
* Dental Care for adults on Medicaid.
* Support for children on ventilators.
Brownie tried to warn the state…
“People in Alaska better buckle up if she has any real authority,” [Speaker Madigan spokesman Steve Brown] said.
* And now…
Organizers of the effort to remove Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office announced Thursday that one week after launching, they had gathered more than 18,000 signatures and were more than two-thirds toward completing a first-round signature drive.
* Last week…
The campaign to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy has gathered 36,731 signatures as of Thursday, Aug. 22. […]
The campaign’s website says the petition phase will continue until the campaign collects 71,252 signatures, which is equal to 25% of the voter turnout in the last general election.
Uh-oh…
The state agency in charge of monitoring campaign finance laws in Alaska says backers of a movement to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office can accept unlimited campaign contributions and do not have to immediately disclose the source of that money. The same rules apply to any organization formed to oppose the recall. […]
“You can get (money) from labor organizations, businesses, nonprofits, folks out of state — the only limitation is foreign nationals. But that’s the only limitation,” Lucas said.
* Gov. Dunleavy is now backtracking as fast as he can…
Remember when candidate Mike Dunleavy promised every man, woman, and child in Alaska checks in excess of $6,000 if he was elected governor?
Recently, Governor Mike Dunleavy took the road less travelled and issued a video statement, avoiding the press altogether, to announce that he has mostly accepted the Legislature’s budget, complete with a $1,600 PFD.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:04 am:
It’s too bad Alaska doesn’t have a long-time speaker of the house that Dunleavy could blame for all of these problems /s
- Philo - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:04 am:
Rauner’s GOMB director Hans Zigmund is also working for Dunleavy as Alaska’s Director of Finance, basically comptroller.
- FFS - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:05 am:
==“The cost to transport a vehicle on a state highway is about 2 cents per mile, where it’s about $4.58 per mile on a ferry.”==
Does she propose encouraging the State to utilize state highways over ferry’s to get to, say, Alaska’s State Capitol? That would be quite the trick.
- @misterjayem - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:07 am:
“University officials say the $130 million cut could prove disastrous for Alaska’s future, endangering local economies, school employees and rural programs for Alaska Native students. They have pleaded with the Legislature to override the veto but say they have little hope that will happen.”
Alaska’s governor, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate are all graduates of the University of Alaska system.
Yet another case of the advantaged pulling up the ladder behind themselves.
– MrJM
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:09 am:
Destroying a state is the goal, not true governing of a state as intended.
That’s the difference between Raunerism and being a Republican.
Arduin and Rauner believe(d) in an agenda, not a party.
Alaska?
“Good luck”
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:11 am:
Ah, yes, Donna Arduin…….and her buddy, Arthur Laffer.
- Langhorne - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:11 am:
wow. So sadly familiar. Drastic cuts or under funding, without a plan properly approved, and it sounds like very little discussion. Nothing like cutting higher Ed 41% to propel your state forward.
- Whatever - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:15 am:
I had the pleasure (?) of attending one of the “Vegas” meetings with legislators and Ms. Arduin. Everything she said could have been found in an Econ 101 textbook. A proposal would be described and discussed very briefly, and then she would make a pronouncement like, “Taxing something increases its price, and so reduces the demand for it” and call for the next proposal, as if she had conclusively rebutted any support for the proposal. I am still not sure if she was stupid or if her mission from the Governor was simply to squelch every proposal and she was just going through the motions of giving each a fair consideration.
- NIU Grad - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:19 am:
The master of temporary budget offices…Does she even unpack when she arrives in a new state capitol?
- Michelle Flaherty - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:20 am:
Russia: “I can see Arduin’s devastation from my house.”
- Ares - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:23 am:
The high priestess of supply-side / voodoo economics strikes again
- Who else - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:25 am:
Bruce Rauner was right. Donna Arduin is the absolute best in America at what she does which is devise and implement plans to dismantle government. The job losses, the decimation of human services, the massive higher ed cuts— those are all on purpose and are very effective ways to cause lasting damage. The pain is a feature, not a bug. These “leaders” who pick her to shake things up do it with their eyes wide open knowing full well what she’s going to do. And then they pay her taxpayer money to destroy the state.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:29 am:
“touching on the plan to gut the University of Alaska, K-12 schools and Medicaid, while sending 500 prisoners out of state and getting rid of the ferry system”
Brutal. Many keep swallowing the nonsense that big cuts are good. In Illinois we have a few of these screamers, but they are thankfully insignificant. The Kansas Koch disastrous supply side economics “experiment” didn’t dissuade Alaska. Hopefully voters there wake up.
- Name Withheld - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:33 am:
Wonder if the Alaskan reporters are prepping their FOIAs on anything related to Arduin here in Springfield.
- Southern Illinois Mayor - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:36 am:
She was the Marv Thorenberry of the worst political team ever.
- OneLittleCherry - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:36 am:
Let’s hope IDOR doesn’t welcome Zigmund back after Dunleavy gets recalled. Zigmund only left IDOR in May. It’s now totally clear what kind of Libertarian/Austrian Economist he is. Arduin hired him in Alaska for a very important job, facilitating the economic destruction. Never forget he was Rauners dark economic dark wizard. Deatheaters stick together.
Word captured his social media page way back when. You can google it.
- Huh? - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:38 am:
==“The cost to transport a vehicle on a state highway is about 2 cents per mile, where it’s about $4.58 per mile on a ferry.”==
What is the cost to build all those bridges to nowhere to replace the ferries?
Isn’t there a canceled federal pork barrel project with an estimated $400 million cost to build a bridge in Alaska to serve 50 people?
- Father Ted - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:39 am:
The saddest part is that someone in Alaska surely reviewed what happened with her here in Illinois and still said, “Yes, her. Sign her up!”
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:40 am:
Seriously, who pays her for this stuff? Anyone with a calculator and a copy of the budget can do this without paying her outrageous wages.
- Last Bull Moose - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:50 am:
I took a course from the economist who helped set up the permanent fund dividend. At that time the government in Alaska had more money than it could sensibly spend. And the elected officials knew it. The PFD was an alternative to wasteful government spending. I doubt he would have made the cuts she recommended.
- Anotheretiree - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:52 am:
The people of this red state thought Sarah Palin would be a good Governor. Its kind of karma they have Arudin now.
==Southern Il Mayor == I thought Marv was a nice guy but inept ? Arudin knows what she is doing, but doesn’t care the impact to people.
- Henry Francis - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 11:59 am:
I feel the need to defend Ms. Arduin from this unfair headline. She is doing exactly what Gov. Dunleavy brought her in to do. To complain that she is trying to sink him would be like complaining that Goldberg was trying to sink Rauner when he went to committee hearings and insulted the legislators.
- Name Withheld - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 12:26 pm:
For me - I think the reason for the headline is that Arduin doesn’t seem to care about the human or infrastructure cost to her budget cutting. To say she’s just doing her job sanitizes the real costs of her proposals and the nature of the real evisceration being done to state services. Her goal is to reduce government, so she views any method that accomplishes that goal, regardless of impact, as acceptable for use.
By extension, instead of modifying the cuts - she has stood by them, and apparently encouraged the Governor of Alaska to do so. While “sinking” the Governor may not be her goals - it seems most certainly the effect - one effect among many.
- Red Ranger - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 12:53 pm:
Gov. Dunleavy is a product of the RGA political consultant world, just like Gov. Rauner. They get their own elected, and then pass them off to their friends in the government consultant world. Everyone gets rich, its the governing thing that seems to trip them all up.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 1:20 pm:
==She’s a brilliant lady who’s done financial turnarounds at a number of states==
If by financial turnaround you mean she’s ran those states finances into the ground then I guess that statement would be correct.
- Bourbon Street - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 2:06 pm:
==She’s the smartest state government budget person in America that I was able to find==
Apparently, Rauner did not look too hard since the person he found has a “tin ear with respect to the political ramifications of particular cuts”. It’s no wonder Pritzker walloped Rauner last November.
- Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 2:26 pm:
“She has a complete tin ear with respect to the political ramifications of particular cuts, ”
Possibly when she is totally unemployable she could establish a consulting firm with fellow tin ear John Filan?
- Utah Utes - Tuesday, Sep 3, 19 @ 5:29 pm:
18-21 is a youth?
- Lynn S. - Wednesday, Sep 4, 19 @ 1:20 am:
@ Utah Utes:
I’m going to be nice, and assume you’re asking that question because you don’t work with youths, especially youths who have spent time in foster care.
If you spend much time reading child development journals, you’ll learn that your brain grows by an average rate of 7% per year from birth through age 25. (After that, your brain grows at roughly 3% per year.)
You’ll learn that youths who have spent time in foster care tend to have not good long-term life outcomes. (High rates of high school dropouts, little to no college education, high rates of drug and alcohol abuse, greater likelihood of being involved in the Justice and prison systems.)
Providing services to youth age 18-21 reduced all the negative indicators in the prior paragraph. Youth who received extended services tended to have better life outcomes.
Former governor Bruce Rauner tried to slah those programs. The irony of his actions? His wife, and her leadership role at the Ounce of Prevention Fund.