First, I would like to thank all the folks who have offered their prayers and support due to a severe injury to my spinal cord, surrounding nerves and vertebrae. I am the type of guy who gets up and goes to work no matter how much it hurts. If I can walk, Im working. Just another hard-working Alaskan with worn body parts. I knew that it would come back to haunt me, but I have responsibilities to my family and employer, the people of my district.

Over the last two years I have worked with Governor Dunleavy and his administration to find more opportunities to diversify our economy as we continue to struggle with funding our state budget. It appears that most legislators can only depend on folks pockets for more government, well folks pockets arent that deep. I feel the best way to solve our financial problems is to follow the plan that Governor Dunleavey has laid out based upon developing the vast array of natural resources and turning our resources into jobs. By turning our resources into jobs companies make a profit when there is a favorable business environment and pay corporate taxes to the state and a royalty share to the state. It is what we promised Congress we would do to fund our government when we became a state.

I have been working with Governor Dunleavy and his commissioners to create an economic development plan for short, mid, and long-term financing for our state based upon developing our resources, not taking needed cash out of our economy.

Currently, there is more than $16 billion available in an earnings reserve account which has averaged 10.74% since it was created in 1981. Mostly from the money that current legislators took from Alaskans permanent fund that was supposed to go to the people in dividend checks. I support Governor Dunleaveys permanent fund dividend plan to fully fund dividend checks and back-owed dividends to get desperately needed cash to our residents and into our economy as soon as possible.

Infrastructure projects like the Kink Arm Crossing, which is a state DOT project, is ready to go and would only require $5 million in state funds and put a $750 million project out for construction and thousands of jobs into our community. And most importantly, reduce accidents on Alaskas deadliest road. All stopped because of politics.

I have been working with the folks at the Department of Natural Resources and our legislative legal department to get the necessary information that could lower cost by over an estimated 25% for state projects like the Amber Road project, which connects to a new port in Northwestern Alaska, the Gateway to the Arctic, or hydroelectric dams in Southeast, and a railroad to through Canada. I presented this information to Governor Dunleavy and he has asked me to continue working with his team of commissioners.

I have also worked to develop a plan to reduce the number of prisoners committing re-offenses, while at the same time grow our agriculture industry using the Point Mackenzie prison farm. Prisoners could learn a trade by processing every bit of food that our farmers can grow to be used in our state facilities, such as schools and the pioneer homes, as well as feed the 6000 prisoners across the state. Commissioner Dahlstrom continues to fully support this project. We should never throw away perfectly good food.

Any well thought out business plan needs to look at least 20 years out. With that in mind, I feel that Alaska should be positioning itself to be the next Panama Canal, the Northern Canal of the arctic. This would require building and retrofitting vessels to use clean high-grade synthetic fuel and lubricant made from Alaskas natural gas. Engineered and operated by Alaskans. Our university would never be for want again. Trying to build a natural gas pipeline so we can try to be competitive in a world awash with natural gas is not feasible. We should be converting it to environmentally safe synthetic motor fuels and lubricants that is so clean it is considered benign, meaning that if there is a fuel spill and arctic there would be no environmental impact. Made by Alaskans from Alaskas natural gas. The world continues to spend billions of dollars trying to remove carbon. We have a natural gas resource with minimal carbons to start with. We also have the technology. This is another project I continue to work on.

It will take vision to get out of the huge financial problems we face. More politics as usual, lies and falsifications need to be gone.

I would love to talk to anyone who would like to learn more about how we could solve our financial problems by turning our jobs into resources and diversifying our economy. By creating a good working environment for industry to thrive and infrastructure to support them.

I would be welcome to share my ideas and as usual just call my office at 376-2679 and let us know that you would like to visit. I would be glad to talk and share my thoughts.

Mark Neuman is a State Representative for District 8: Meadow Lakes, Big Lake, Knik, and Point MacKenzie.

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Working to find more opportunities to diversify economy | Opinions - Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman