‘Capitol Crude' recounts how industry ‘transformed’ Alaska politics to reduce regulation — and state revenues
The author of a book that takes a critical look at the oil industry and its influence on Alaska politics will speak Saturday in Fairbanks.
Lisa Weissler says “Capitol Crude: The Impact of Oil on Alaska Politics” outlined how that happened.
“There are moments in history when you can see where they really did change the governing philosophy of Alaska legislators,” Weissler said in a recent interview with KUAC.
Weissler worked in Juneau in the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. She got a law degree, then worked in the state Department of Law, specializing in oil- and gas-related issues. Eventually, she became a special assistant to Governor Bill Walker, researching state oil tax credits. At the time, the oil market was crashing, and the state’s revenue with it.
“I ended up doing a history about oil tax credits,” she said, “because the state, when oil prices went way down, was paying more in tax credits than it was getting in revenue from the production tax. I thought this would make a good book, and so then I retired after that and spent the next 10 years writing the book.”
In “Capitol Crude,” Weissler recalls how Alaska lawmakers used to rely more heavily on revenue from the oil and gas taxes and royalties to fund public services.
“There was a time that I think old-timers will remember when there was more of a bipartisan approach to governing, where legislators would work together in, we'll say, in terms of oil and gas, in terms of getting a sufficient production tax return and using that money to improve Alaska.”
In the 1980s, however, the politics of Alaska’s Legislature shifted.
“The oil industry, because they wanted to make more profit, they wanted to keep taxes low, and they started helping get legislators elected who had what I would call an anti-government, anti-tax perspective,” she said. “And that ultimately resulted in lower taxes on the industry and drastic budget cuts to government, government services, you know, all the things that people rely on, education, public safety, healthcare.
Weissler details in her book how this shift led to today’s ongoing state budget constraints.
“And that mentality went through until recently, (and) that has led to, I think, where Alaska is, both economically and socially.”
Weissler will share this history and answer community questions at 6 p.m. Saturday at Solstice Books, 721 Second Ave. She’ll be joined by University of Alaska Fairbanks associate professor of History and Arctic and Northern Studies Philip Wight.
Tabitha Williams is a KUAC intern and student in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Science and Environmental Journalism.