Alaska cruise tax initiative passes!

>Alaska Cruise Tax Initiative

Does anyone know....is this written to include the small cruise lines that
are home-based in Alaska? I would imagine that the impact to them is
greater than to the larger lines.

In article <lIydnX4s66jVOWzZnZ2dnUVZ_ridnZ2d@buckeye-express.com>,
Marsha <mas@ves.org> wrote:


> Messrs. Stevens and Young maintain that the local projects they fund are
> of the highest value to the public. Perhaps so, though our Alaska
> contacts tell us that even local residents are embarrassed by all the
> pork in their backyard. The best way to sort out which bridges, museums
> and research grants are worthy, and which are a waste, is to stop the
> earmarking and require the residents of this rich state -- and others --
> to fund this stuff themselves.
What nobody seems to really talk about is that earmark are, by
definition, projects that went through the regular vetting process for
grants and were turned down. I would settle (at least as a start) for
just killing off the earmarks.
BTW: This is also nothin' new. Before the GOP took over, Sen.
Robert Byrd was famous for trying to move the US Government to W.
Virginia stick by stick .

Thus spake Henry Sniadoch <sniadoch@frontiernet.net> :

>I'm not worried because I know many people will NOT go on cruises to
>Alaska any more .... this will impact the industry so much that it will
>be repealed some day. For now, I'll cruise the Caribbean instead.

Flew into Anchorage. Spent the night. Bought some butane cans. Flew
to Denali. Spent three weeks on Denali. Summited. Flew to
Anchorage. Ate a steak. Flew home. That's been my contribution to
the Alaskan economy.

>
>jim wrote:
>> What this basically means is that there are enough people in Alaska that are
>> still greedy! First they looked for gold, then oil, and now cruise ships.
>> Seems like they keep looking for the free money.
>> Jim
>>
--
dillon

If you can't figure out how to unmunge my
address, email me and I'll explain it.

jim wrote:
>
> So? YOU chose to live there...

I don't live in Alaska, Jim.

Perhaps you should have done some fact-checking (like simply checking
the IP address in my posts' headers) instead of being belligerently
ignorant. It may help to prevent you from leaping to any more invalid
conclusions.


> so why should the State help you pay for your
> heating or anything else?


> I live in Florida but they don't pay for my air-conditioner or sun-screen!

In Florida, residents pay no personal income tax.

In Florida, homeowners get a $25,000 homestead rebate on property
taxes.

In Florida, the above increases for eligible retirees (one of my
familymember's property taxes are reduced by this by $1200 per year).

And so on.

The reality is that essentially all States have incentives in one form
or another. Some people like to point fingers while "conveniently
neglecting" to remember what they're getting at home.


In short, Alaska is a place that may be beautiful in summer, but brutal
in winter...too many people have a too highly romanticized perception
based on a short visit.

The harsh reality is that the suicide rate is roughly 19 per 100K,
nearly twice the National average.

Similarly, of the people that try to move to Alaska, many give up afer
a year and come back down to the Lower 48 after just one winter. I've
not been able to find good statistics on this, but I'd not be surprised
if the "drop out" rate was 50% or higher. Perhaps you should pick up a
copy of Heather Lende's book, "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name."

Highway deaths are also higher. There's a couple of contributing
factors there.


Romatically, I'd like to live in Alaska, but realistically, I don't
think my family could cut it. For those that can make it there, more
power to them...I'm not foolish enough to begrudge how the State
chooses to spend the very small cut that they get of their region's
mineral resources.

But if you wish to begrudge them of that, start by not asking for any
more FEMA "handouts", including Hurricane Ernesto this upcoming week.


-hh

I agree. Some people spend that much, if not more for cigs each month.
Do you hear them crabbing? Well......yes you do BUT they still suck down
them cancer sticks.
Just like your National Parks in a way. Some charge en entrance fee,
some don't. I think there should bee a fee for EVERY one.
Jim
=========
booth@alaska.net (Jim Booth) wrote:
Henry....think just a minute....do you realize how much fuel costs have
gone up? It costs *much* more to drive now to Alaska for vacation
compared to last year....much more than $46 and we *still* have
thousands of vacationers arrive here.
Do you *really* think that a small fee of $50 is going to stop anyone!
Think not. Anyway, when I visited Iowa this past spring I was shocked to
see how much sales tax one had to pay.......you pay *NO* state sales tax
in Alaska....$50 is still extremely cheap.