If you’ve turned on a television set in Alaska recently, you’ve been inundated with slick TV commercials that are becoming harder to differentiate from outright extortion. The pitch is basically this:

Unless you agree to shovel more of the public’s money out of the state budget and into Big Oil’s (already wildly profitable) bottom line, there will be no investment or job growth in Alaska and the Pipeline will run dry.

Given Alaska’s dependence on the energy industry one can understand why Big Oil chose this as their pitch. The problem with it is that its entire premise is factually flawed, which is why the industry’s claims come alongside its refusal to commit to more jobs or investment in our state if we meet their demands.

Why Should We, As APEA-AFT, Care?

Because we’ve seen this movie before, most recently in Wisconsin. A governor gives away mountains of money to his corporate friends, then pleads poverty and claims the only way to fix the problem is to take it out of your wages and benefits. Yes, their strategy amounts to a transfer of wealth from average working families to some of the world’s wealthiest and most profitable corporations. And yes, if our state follows suit and empties its financial coffers into the corporate bottom line, we should fully expect attempts to pit us against each other with claims that the reason the state is now broke is that you have too much health insurance.

Arm Yourself With The Facts

The facts surrounding this issue are indisputable and, moreover, are sourced by Governor Parnell’s own numbers. On last week’s Moore Up North television program, State Sen. Bill Wielechowski demolished the proposed Big Oil Bailout and used its proponents’ own data to do it. (The entire broadcast is posted via the 4 clips at the bottom of this post.) You can also download the presentation as Powerpoints or in PDF format, and read a summary of the issue on The Mudflats (including links and other resources).

Take Action

A growing, bipartisan opposition to this scheme is gathering steam and the proposed bailout is running into problems with members of both parties in the legislature. Because working families don’t have the luxury of running expensive television ads or pack committee hearings in Juneau with an army of lobbyists, our best weapon remains our strength in numbers, our solidarity, and our activism. Please take a moment to contact your representatives in the State House & Senate, and let them know we’re opposed to a corporate bailout Big Oil doesn’t need and the people of Alaska can’t afford.