Alaska's Budget Deficit; Flawed System Of Large Tax Credits For Oil And Gas Industry -- Politician -- December 17, 2016

For background, see this post.

At the full survey, page 17: among the "medium reserve holders," states ranked by policy perception:

1 - Oklahoma
2 - Wyoming
3 - North Dakota
4 - Norway -- North Sea
5 - Netherlands

11 - New Mexico

16 - Pennsylvania

21 -- Alaska

31 -- Brazil

36 (last) -- Bolivia

I was curious to see the rankings again (I had forgotten them) after reading this story over at PennEnergy:  Alaska challenged with budget deficit.

Gov. Bill Walker has proposed cutting hundreds more state jobs as part of a budget plan that includes the use of earnings from Alaska's oil-wealth nest egg and ultimately tripling state motor fuels taxes.

Walker's budget office said the governor's overall budget plan, if implemented, still would leave a budget deficit of nearly $900 million that would need to be closed with lawmakers' help.

In a statement Thursday, Walker said the state has already slashed its budget and will look for more ways to reduce costs. But he said Alaska can't cut its way to prosperity and a critical discussion is needed on raising new revenue.

The last paragraph of that article:

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, said while Walker has gotten things started, House and Senate need to work on responsible ways to fill the deficit.

In a release, LeDoux, one of three Republicans who joined with Democrats and independents to form a new House majority for the coming Legislature, said she hopes fixing the state's "flawed system of subsidizing the oil and gas industry with large tax credits will be part of the fiscal solution."

If that becomes the prevailing attitude, one wonders if Alaska, currently #21 of 36 medium reserve holders, will drop farther down the list.

By the way, in the United States, Texas is the only state that is considered a "large reserve holder" along with UAE, Qatar, Alberta, and China.