From: floyd@hayes.ims.alaska.edu (Floyd Davidson)
Subject: Re: Healthy Winter
Organization: University of Alaska Computer Network
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 15:43:37 GMT

In article <1992Dec27.122041.13308@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> les@cs.stanford.edu writes:
>In response to my remark about Alaska state subsidies on petroleum
>products sent to native villages, Floyd Davidson writes:
>   Are you seriously suggesting that the above is even a significant 
>   factor in the current state budget, the economy, or for that matter
>   much of anything else?  The amount of petroleum products used in
>   all of bush Alaska is a drop in the bucket compared to what Anchorage
>   uses.  [.  .  .]
>
>No, I was not suggesting that these subsidies constitute a major part
>of the state budget.  What I was suggesting is that specifically
>encouraging the use of more petroleum products but with no emphasis
>on developing a sustainable economy in native areas is simply setting
>them up for a fall.  If the state is willing to give those additional
>funds to the native groups then they should provide the subsidies in
>the form of cash so that it may be spent according to their perceived
>needs rather than only for petroleum products.

That's an interesting switch in your perspective from the original
article you posted.  Before you were concerned about the state
budget and spending policies and compared permanent fund dividend
payments and the above mentioned subsidy as being obvious things
that the state was mismanaging.

Now you are concerned about how to avoid problems you percieve as
relating to native villages.  First it may not have occured to you
that the subsidy is NOT for native groups, which is why it is not
delivered in cash to them or anyone else.  You seem to know enough
about the Bethel area that you should know that there are many
non-Native residents.

And the way you are making your statements has led at least a couple
of readers, myself included, to suspect that you really just don't
want Native people to be included in whatever prosperity the state
might be enjoying.  You articles have a "keep 'em down on the farm"
tone to them.

By the way, what exactly do you expect someone living in Eek or
Kongiganuk to use in place of petroleum products?  Or in Bethel
or in Aniak?

Or in Anchorage?  And why is it ok for people in Willow to
build up a false infrastructure using oil and oil money, but
not ok to do the exact same thing in Akiak?

>I'm not familiar with the North Slope situation, but if the native
>organizations in that area are actually doing something about their
>future then they are doing much better than groups in most areas.
>All too many native corporations have been taken in by fast-talking
>charlatans and swindlers. 

I think a number of such characters have tried.  I don't see where
they had much if any success.  The North Slope Borough, which I
commented on, is of course NOT a "native organization" as such...
The two regional corporations that I see the most of are Calista
and Doyon, neither of which has big bucks, but both of which have
done wonders in their particular areas.

> Not to mention the state government that
>apparently wants to keep them in a state of perpetual dependence.

What do you call it when someone suggests that (while it is OK to
fund road maintenance for Anchorage and other predominately "white"
parts of the state) it is a waste of state money to in any way
share the state's wealth, and especially it's low oil prices, with
the less "white" parts of the state?

You have only suggested things you want to take away from "native"
villages, and reasons to NOT include them in programs, but you
haven't suggested one single project that would build the
"sustainable economy" that you mentioned.

Maybe the solution is to make everyone in Anchorage burn wood for
a couple years to keep warm!  Two years later there would be no 
greater amount of money, but there would be fewer of us left to
spread it amongst too!  And if everyone in Fairbanks had to wear
clothing that in no way was derived from any Native technology
that would put a real chill on overspending there too!

See, I'm just as silly as you.

Floyd

-- 
floyd@ims.alaska.edu        A guest on the Institute of Marine Science computer
Salcha, Alaska              system at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
Newsgroups: alt.culture.alaska