That royalty argument is one we might expect from their lobby… that since eventually new oil will come online, from which we receive a royalty…we should be happy with that and just keep quiet about the rest.
However that reasoning ignores the very real circumstance, that AK is BOTH the resource owner, AND the taxing authority. So we forego one side (taxes), in lieu of the royalty gain on the other (which we would receive in any event).
In fact, as the taxing authority, if we’re paying out MORE than we’re taking in (which we are now, by design), then aren’t we effectively surrendering part of the royalty as well?