How Are We Doing? Monitoring Alaska's Fiscal Condition

• Main Author: Goldsmith, Scott
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska. 1994
• Subjects: oil prices; Alaska Permanent Fund; checklist; cash reserves; budget strategy; Anchorage; Ketchikan; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12487

Alaska’s government has been down on its luck this year, with low oil prices, a big deficit, and legal disputes over the budget. Despite all that, Alaska still has substantial assets. The state’s share of Alaska oil reserves is worth—even at low oil prices—about $16 billion. The Permanent Fund has a balance of $13 billion and earned $1 billion last year. Pages 2 and 3 of this summary examine what is happening to the state’s assets—and why preserving and building them is so important. The foldout details the risks of relying exclusively on cash reserves. Page 4 provides a simple checklist for monitoring the state’s progress toward the long-term budget strategy called the Safe Landing. National Bank of Alaska; First National Bank of Anchorage; the Anchorage Daily News; Alascom, Inc.; Alaska National Insurance Company; Ketchikan Pulp Company; Lynden Incorporated