K.E. and I K.E. The show starts now. Our lines are open at 907-522-0650. This is The Morning Drive on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back. Current Time 606 on this Wednesday morning. It is February 19th. It's going to be a great week. I got to tell you, Daryl, we made it to hump day. It's a short week for me because I have a special fill-in guest on Friday. Bernadette Wilson will be coming in studio with you on Friday. Bernadette's always fun. I love Bernadette. She used to have her own radio show.
Years ago, she came in and saved one of my campaigns, and she's somebody that I have a lot of political respect for, a lot of respect for in general. But she's also one of the reasons I have the show is because she talked me into... into doing it. She's very smart. I got to give her that. She's very smart. Not just smart. She's very persuasive. Her and Suzanne and...
Oh, goodness. Allard were the three that really talked me into it. But Suzanne was very convincing, and so was Bernadette. And so, anyways, here we stand two years later, and we get to talk about all the fun stuff. stuff but yeah i'm taking friday off so bernadette i love if i can whenever i'm off i'd rather have a fill-in host than a recording if possible
Because I think it's interesting. The news of the day are happening. You get a little bit of a different take on somebody's opinion. I think it's just, in general, a good thing. All right, well, today will be a fun day, too. Also, in the 7 o'clock hour, we're expecting Senator Rob Yunt to call in. Obviously, the talk of the town right now is his oil tax bill that he has proposed.
really targeting Hillcorp is who it targets. And so we'll talk to him about that, kind of his thought process on why he thought it was a good idea and what he thinks he's going to get out of it. So we'll have that conversation with him. And then tomorrow, Kathy McCollum from the MATSU School Board is going to be calling in. She is amazing. And so it will be a good conversation. We'll have a lot to talk about.
And, of course, you know, the winning keeps going at the federal level. I can't tell you. You can't turn on the TV without five new things coming at you. I think that's the plan. I know. I know. It's shock and awe, baby. That's what's happening, shock and awe. I laughed. I saw a headline today that Chuck Schumer is going to introduce a bill to deny access to special government employees.
Wow. Okay, first of all, Chucky, there's zero chance that's going to pass the House, right? It's not going to pass the Senate, but it's not going to pass the House either. But, you know, this is what legislators do. They got to introduce their legislation to signal to their constituency that they're trying. And that's what they're going to do. That's what they're going to do.
I just don't see it passing the Congress at all. I mean, not the Senate, not the House. And, of course, if it were to pass, Trump would veto it. So, like, again, this is just a signaling piece of legislation. Everybody does it. So I don't fault Chuckie Schumer for doing it. But it's going to go nowhere. Doge, all for one and one for all. Send the Musketeers. The Musketeers. Yeah, the Elon Musketeers, yeah. That's hilarious. Daryl, you're pithy, and I haven't even had my coffee yet.
Well, so pith also is what you call the white stuff in an orange. So, yeah, I am kind of, yeah. Oh, man. Oh, man. Well, I suppose I should get into some community announcements. We don't have a whole lot of them today. I will tell you, Daryl, I did a little gander at the weather, and I'm sitting at 30 degrees right now. You got me beat. I am 29.
But it's a really, like, warm 29. I actually thought it was above freezing when I went out and then slipped on a puddle and went, oh, no, okay, there is ice. Oh, man. The other, yes, day before yesterday. On Monday, yeah. Monday, I had a dentist appointment. And then after I got my teeth all squeaky clean, a shout-out to Dr. Penfield's office. They're amazing in Eagle River. I've been going there for many years.
Then my husband and I decided, you know, we're going to go to lunch. There's a great little Thai restaurant in Eagle River over by North Rim Bank. If you haven't been there, it's fantastic. I always forget the name of it, but it's really good. But, oh, my goodness. Like, I stepped on a, I wasn't paying any attention. On the sidewalk, you know the drippings that come off the roofs? I wasn't paying any attention.
Wham. Bit it. Fell right up. Oh, no. I know. I didn't break anything. So, hey, it's a step ahead. But talking about you fall in the ice. You caught yourself. I did not catch myself, Daryl. But it did not deter me from getting my spring rolls in my soup. There you go. See, and mine, I just tweaked a little bit. It was one of those, ooh, caught it and was like, oh, okay, we're back to this situation. Got it.
oh no i landed i mean my glasses went flying i went oh yeah i was gonna say i was down this this is the time of year this year i think orthopedic surgeons have been busy this year uh just guessing but whenever we have like very icy years it seems I know a lot of people that fall and break hips and arms and ankles and everything, so do be careful. We get a little complacent. I know I do.
And I wasn't paying attention to the sidewalk. I was more careful walking on the road than I was on the sidewalk. But anyways, I digress. Let's get into some of our community announcements for today. For the Mat-Su Borough at 10 a.m. this morning. The Animal Care and Regulation Board has a hearing that will be at the Borough Building over there in Palmer, 350 East Dahlia Avenue in...
Palmer at the Assembly Chambers. 4.30 today, the Agriculture Advisory Board has a meeting at the Palmer Building as well, but it's going to be in the lower-level conference room. 5 o'clock, the Water Body Setback Advisory Board has a meeting. It's going to be in conference room 203 at the Borough Building in Palmer. They also have a Teams ID, so if you want to attend virtually, you can do that.
And last but not least, the Kinnick Fairview Community Council has their board meeting at 630. They meet at Settlers Bay Lodge. And if you want more information on any of these meetings in the borough, just go to matsugov.us. I looked at the calendar for Wasilla and Palmer, didn't see anything on their calendar, so we're going to skip right over to Anchorage. The Anchorage Community Development Authority Finance and Operations Committee has a meeting today.
At 3 p.m., this is virtual meeting only, so if you need the Teams link and password, you can go to the website. It's muni.org. Then click on the Mayor's tab. Then click on the Events tab. If you want, the Anchorage Port Commission has a meeting today as well at noon at 1871 Anchorage Port Road. It's its third floor conference room. They do have a Teams link as well. You can go to the same place, the website, muni.org, click on the Mayor's tab, click on the Events tab, and you'll find it.
Same for the Valley View Lursa, that's Limited Road Service Area Board. They have a meeting tonight at 7 p.m. This is a Zoom meeting, so again, you need to go to the website if you want the link. All right, as far as... The Anchorage Assembly goes, the only thing on their calendar today is a Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting at 11 a.m. What is that noise?
Just a foghorn to warn people what they're doing out there. You know, one of those giant reefs in the water. You know what it sounded like? It sounded like a really tightly wound airplane. That's what it sounded like. Yeah, no, no, that was just a foghorn. I'm trying to think of ways to warn people when this homelessness and homeless committee comes up, you know, or unhoused. Yeah, so the what, what, what, I thought about that, and then I was like, we need to warn people.
Well, there it is. If you want to go to a big spending committee, Housing and Homelessness, 11 a.m. today at City Hall in Anchorage. It's going to be in room 155. Of course, City Hall in Anchorage is 632 West 6th Avenue. If you'd like more information, just go to the website, muni.org, and then click on the Assembly tab, and you'll be able to find it from there. There are no meetings today for the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
And as I'm looking at the city of Kenai, there is a regular city council meeting tonight. In Kenai, it's going to be 6 p.m. at the Kenai City Council Chambers to 10 Fidalgo Avenue in Kenai. There are no meetings in Soldotna for today. But don't forget the Seldotna, they do have a grants program right now that is offering up to $7,500 to improve your business exterior.
You have to apply by February 28th. So if you want more information, go to soldatna.org. Or you can just call the Planning Department, 262-9107. There you have it. For the City of Homer, the only thing we have on your calendar for today is there is a Planning Commission meeting tonight at 6.30. You can attend in person at the Cal's Council Chamber located at Homer City Hall. 491 East Pioneer Avenue. You can attend via Zoom or by phone.
If you want more information, just go to cityofhomer-ak.gov. That really does it for our public announcements for today. If you have something fun going on that you want to plug, we're always happy to do it. I do want to remind people that Senator Shelley Hughes does... have a resiliency type of event this weekend it's a few food security event actually and it's going to be from 9 to noon at Palmer junior middle school
and it's free so if you've ever thought about hey i want to learn how to raise chickens or i want to learn how to garden or i want to learn how to can or i want some free cinnamon rolls that is the place to be palmer junior middle school this saturday From 9 to noon. So remember.
Those free cinnamon rolls are going to be a fabulous thing. Also, gentlemen out there, it's a great way to learn how to pick up chicks properly. They'll teach you how to go from hatching the eggs all the way on up through raising the brood chickens. Oh, there we go. There we go. It's going to be one of those days. I love it. I love it.
All right, we're going to go ahead and take a quick break. When we come back, we will go to your calls. 522-0650 if you'd like to call in. Look at your Alaska. ...into the mid to upper 30s for inland locations, with the isolated areas managing to climb near 40. For Alaska's weather source, I'm a meteorologist. Aaron Morrison. Amy Demboski, 628 Mornings on NewsRadio 650, KENI. Call now, 907-522-0650.
Welcome back. Her time 621 on this Wednesday. Hopefully everybody's... having a good day we're off to a good start we're going to go to our phones here as soon as i can get mine working there it is and there's randy good morning sir good morning happy hump day you too Yes, it's Wednesday. It feels more like Thursday to me, but it is Wednesday. Well, Thursday is the women's, valet women's, Republican women's. Dolly, Republican Women of Alaska Meeting. Nice.
Yep, that is true. And not to forget, they have a big shindig coming up in March where Nick Begich is going to be here. He is going to be the guest speaker. You can get your tickets if you want to go to the Lincoln Day dinner. Just go to the Valley Republican Women's Club of Alaska. I'll find the website. I should know it. I'm the secretary.
and get your tickets. But I'm going to miss tomorrow's meeting because I'm going to be on an airplane. So I'm not going to be there with you tomorrow night. But tell everybody I said hi. Okay, we'll do. The reason I'm calling in, I'm so glad Senator Rob Young is calling in. It's because I read the bill, Senate Bill No. 92, several times. And something strikes me that this bill has been voted once the crisis for the Democratic Party. Yeah, Willikowski. Willikowski.
I mean, there's no getting around it. I mean, and, you know. This is a conversation, and to be clear, I've had a conversation with Rob about his bill already, and so I want to have a conversation with him on the air about it because I think I have real questions, and he's ready and willing. He's one of those legislators.
afraid to answer questions so you know we'll have a real discussion at in the seven o'clock hour about the bill kind of his thoughts what his strategy is because I think a lot of people were very surprised when a valley Republican introduced an oil tax bill. I agree and I'm trying to keep an open mind but the wording of the bill kind of concerns me a great deal. I'll be listening intently. about that. But let me close with a quick joke. Oh yes, go. Okay. Why is it so hard to buy a futurist
A futurist? Why? They don't like the present. They like the future. Yeah, you see, why is it so hard to buy a futurist present? Because they don't like this. they because they're in the present they don't like i i messed up your punchline already but garyl gave me a funny look he gave me a funny look it's it's a play on present and future
Quick. And somehow I missed it. I had my buttons ready, and I'm like going, I missed that. Daryl will go sit in this corner. It's okay. Well, Randy, thank you for giving me a chuckle first thing in the morning. You have a good one, young wife. You too. All right, bye-bye. Man, if I could mess up every punchline, I've got to tell you, I've got to really struggle with some of my dad jokes because I can mess them up.
But I got where he was going. I got where he was going. All right, let's go to Jim. Good morning, sir. Yeah, I told you about, you know, we're trying to put things in perspective and discover where all our money goes. We're thinking they should put the problems we have with what they call homeless in the right category, because homeless I'd want to help because rent's so high or whatever. But we have tent tourists.
And they either came up to climb that mountain, if you don't know what the name is, or they just came up and don't have enough sense to go back before the winter shows. And then, of course, we have our normal street people who like to hang around on the street because that's what they do. They get thrown out of the village or where they come from, you know, out in the bush. Anyhow, we need to address that as it is. So I'd appreciate if the city council would...
not spend any money on anybody other than homeless. So that's all. And you can call the mountain wherever you want to. If you ever climb it, you call it Oh No or Uh-Oh or Bad Mountain. So that's all. Bye. Take care. Thank you, Jim. I appreciate the call. Well, you know, we're watching a lot of different news that is happening all over the place. And I go to my daily Doge update, right? And doge.gov. Doge. Doge.
Dosa Doge. And I have to tell you, you know, they're hitting all the right targets because their latest post. The U.S. government currently has 4.6 million active credit card accounts, which process 90 million unique transactions for $40 billion of spending in 2024. with the agencies to simplify the program and reduce admin costs we will report back in one week so that was just updated last night at 6 26 p.m. so and I want to point out 6 26 p.m. you know if they posted that
Yeah, exactly. It's kind of late. Well, you know Elon does sleep on the floor of the office, right? You understand that. Oh, yeah. Maybe they gave him a cot. I don't even know. I heard he sleeps in the office. I don't know if he sleeps on the floor. I know in some of his factories he has slept on the floor before. I've heard that. Well, if there's anything like me with the ADD and stuff, you've got to sleep on the floor. Softness is the...
like the complete sleep disruptor, the solid floor and the coldness of it. Oh, it works perfect. All right. Well, I will tell you, Doge is on to something because some of the best audits I've ever seen. They're always, every single time you could do credit card audits. There's always things that were inappropriately bought, whether it being something that is a violation of policy or whether it's fraud. the first time we did a credit card audit for the Anchorage School District.
When I was on, I can't remember what committee or board I was on, I can't remember, but I remember the first, I think I was on the assembly, the first audit that came back, I mean, somebody bought a shed for their backyard. I mean, in that particular situation, I think, I don't remember exactly, but I think somebody ended up getting fired over that one.
But there's always fraud, waste, and abuse when it comes to credit cards. You have to have strict credit card controls. People will buy alcohol. They'll spend it on trips. They'll use it, you know, oh, sorry, I used the wrong credit card. card on my trip to Vegas.
I've seen it all. I've seen it all. I've seen it all. And credit cards are usually, they're the hardest to control because so many people have them. And if you don't have a supervisor that's actively reviewing every credit card statement. of every one of their employees, they tend to, even if it's, truly there are accidents that happen, where somebody, you know, accidentally it happened with.
one of my staffers once, where they had a credit card that was autosaved in their computer, and they jumped on to buy something for work from Amazon or wherever, and they put in their company credit card. And then later, you know incidental use that's allowed at the state or city incidental use on their lunch hour they go to book something you know or buy something or whatever and their auto save credit card from work accidentally purchases it
But when you actually balance your credit card statements every month and you... reconcile them with your receipts from work all of a sudden you catch it you're like oh my gosh i didn't realize it automatically went there and then there's a process to fix it right and so the key is i mean you don't rake somebody over the coals because a mistake like that happens
because they do happen. But what happens is immediately they have to cut a check to the city or the state and say, I'm so sorry this happened. And they have to fill out a form and they have to, you know. They tend to be more cautious next time. So those mistakes do happen. But the thing is, if people aren't reconciling their credit card statements, you're not going to catch them. So in the one there where you said the person, what, they bought a shed, you said it was?
Oh, yeah. That was, yeah. Was there, by chance, just out of curiosity, was their name Sherlock? Because then you could say No Shed Sherlock. I don't think so. I don't think so. That was bad. That was a bad joke. This is serious as all serious, though. Something people are missing in this whole picture right here. Credit card companies don't do those transactions for free. No, it all costs money. Those banks made bank.
on those transactions. I mean, seriously, even with a quote discounted rate, you know, we'll only charge you a percentage compared to what, you know, small business gets 3% on theirs. Walmart gets 1.5, even at a half a percent. Oh, $40 billion? $40 billion? Oh, my God. In 2024. $40 billion in credit card transactions. That's money there. I'm not saying it's not.
needed when it comes to you know people having credit cards of course I mean when I've worked for government whether it's state or city I've had a company credit card very rarely do I use them the only time I use them is when I'm traveling right like if I had to go to a conference in Fairbanks or something you know and so or something like that you know it's very rare that you actually have to use a credit card
to be honest. But sometimes you do. Sometimes you need it. A lot of times, companies that you buy from, you have accounts, so you don't really have to use a credit card. Right. Net 30s. But things come up, and so you do have to occasionally use credit cards. cards but you have to have strict cash control processes for cash you have to have strict credit card processes for credit cards who has access to it what can they buy with it
Are the credit card statements getting reconciled every single month? And my guess is probably not, especially when it comes to the federal. My guess is probably not, especially when it comes to the federal government. So Doge is now on the credit card. Look. They're going after the dead people on Social Security's list. Now they're going after credit cards in all the departments. I mean, this is honestly, for most auditors, this is low-hanging fruit.
To be honest. What the national news media, because, you know, right now, everything Doge is doing, they're focusing on making it. Oh, he accessed this and it's illegal not to. Yeah, he accessed that and he found four hundred billion dollars worth of misspent or a trillion dollars worth of misspent that.
They're not focusing on that. They're focusing on what he accessed that. And, you know, he doesn't have the right piece of paper with the right signature on it. And then yesterday I'm looking at this and they're talking about the dead people on Social Security. And literally the.
pundit this is CNN the pundit says you know the guy brings up that well we've got you know all these hundreds of thousands of people over a hundred and twelve years old and the person says well it's not that bad really because only like maybe a small amount of a maybe 44,000 of them are collecting any money.
Well, that's not the point. 44,000 is a lot. If there's 10 people that are collecting Social Security, that's too many. I mean, the reality is it shouldn't be the trillions of dollars that they're saying that are... potentially sent overseas that are fraudulent to me is heart palpitating so you know i i want them all cleaned up and i think you make a good point daryl i think just because we have you know 16 million people
People over the age of 110 on Social Security doesn't mean every single one of them are getting payments. But even if a fraction of them are getting payments, it's too many. It's too many. And it's not a small thing. I mean, literally, they went 44,000. I mean, come on. That's just so small. Know it. You know, I would hate to have to be in the Democrats position and argue their position right now because they sound like a bunch of.
Well, they don't sound educated. Let's put it that way. They sound ridiculous. For people who came out of college, yeah. Exactly. All right, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we will get into more of the headlines of the day. This is NewsRadio 650 KENI.
Anchorage. Community members are voicing concerns over major cuts being planned for the Anchorage School District's budget for next year. Alaska's news source reports more than 100 people showed up to give public testimony during the Anchorage School Board's meeting last night. The district issued a letter to families. Senator Lisa McCown. We'll be right back. That's the latest. I'm John Fink. What happens next happens here.
News Radio 650 KENI. Look at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Wednesday morning. Currently light traffic in. Reach out to Amy now. 907-522-0650. That's 907-522-0650. Welcome back. Current time is 639. We're going to go straight to the phones, and Brady is with us. Let's see if I can pick him up. I'm having issues here. Oh, there we go. I got him. All right, Brady, good morning. Hey, good morning, Amy. How are you?
I am well. What's on your mind this morning? All right. Well, Lisa Murkowski is irritating me. Join the club. Oh, I got you. I got you. You know, I think we need to send some phone numbers out over the airwaves. And, you know, she has an e-mail address also. And, of course, we can all post on her, you know, X account. and her Facebook account, which I did this morning. So we need to encourage her to vote for Cash Patel.
Yes, yes, we have. Look, you see, I laugh every day I get up. There's a new story. I mean, they are trying really, really, really hard to block Kash Patel. Really hard. Yep, and I don't want, I do not want. Lisa to not vote for him. So none of us do. I mean, you know, Alaska won or Trump won Alaska by a pretty good majority. And we voted for her for his agenda.
So she needs to follow it. She needs to listen. She needs to listen to us. So if you could please post her phone numbers. I have them if you want. I can do it, too. I mean, if you want to call her in D.C., it's 202-224-6665. That's her D.C. office. Right, and she also has an email, which is... What is it? It's email at murkowski.senate.gov. That'll get right to her. Not that I expect her to respond, but either way.
Get our voice out there. Let her know that we're listening, we're watching, and we're pissed off at her. Yeah, I've got to tell you, I know Cash Patel, right now, they are coming unglued. You know, the Senate Reuters has it out just last night. Senate advances nomination of Trump. FBI put Kash Patel. So, you know, it should happen this week is my hope. We'll see. Yeah.
Yeah, we'll see. I'm hoping I get some good news this week as they take the vote. You know, we can only stand three dissenters, and then J.D. Vance would have to be the tie-breaking vote. So four would be a kiss of death for that nominee. But, you know, I don't want to jinx it, but it's looking promising so far.
It's going to be close, though. I think it's going to be close. I think you're right. I think Murkowski is one that's on a bubble. I almost feel like RFK Jr. and Tulsi might have been her cover fire so she could vote against Kash Patel. Yeah, and she voted against Texas. So she did not vote to confirm Pete. That's right. She didn't. She voted against him. Yep. That annoyed the heck out of me, too. But she voted for Ketanji Brown-Jackson, if I recall.
She voted for Mayorkas, as I recall. She voted for that trainee over at the health department, as I recall.
And that annoys me. Thanks. I appreciate that. What about Interior Department? What about Interior Department? Yeah, yeah. She did. Holland. She voted for Holland. I mean, she voted for a lot of the Biden. I'm hard-pressed to think of a Biden nominee that she... didn't vote for i know it yep you know and i i had wrote in uh on my x account that uh i pointed out that she had voted for katanji brown
You know, the one that would not or could not define what a woman is. Isn't that amazing? A Supreme Court justice who cannot tell you what a woman is. It's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. I mean, this is what... This is why I say the left is losing it. It's because they are not connecting with regular Americans that have just seen their level of crazy and they've gone too far. Oh, 100%.
Yep, and Burkowski's right there in the mix. Yep. I agree. I agree. Well, I'm going to let you go. Thank you for taking my call. I appreciate it. All right, Brady, thanks for giving out those contacts and reminding people that Kash Patel's nomination is this week. They should be voting on it. And our senator, Senator Murkowski, probably needs a little Alaska love, a little intervention.
So it's a great idea. It's a great idea. Brady, thank you for the call. I appreciate it. All right. We'll see you later. Bye. Bye-bye. All right, well, one of our friends, Scott, texted me yesterday this story out of Breitbart. You know, I had seen some audio clips on it, but when I can't tell who was talking, like... On social media, for example, you'll see little tiny snippets that are
I don't know, 20, 40 seconds long. And you can tell they're speaking in like a congressional hearing, but you can't tell which committee it is. They don't have them well labeled. I always like to go back to the source and say, hey, you know. house so-and-so committee this is the house representative that's talking if i can't identify it
I generally won't pull the audio clip. But Scott sent me this story yesterday, and I was like, there it is. House Oversight Committee, $241 million spent on transgender surgery and treatments on animals.
What? Now, I've seen a lot of these clips where they're talking about it, but here's the first article where I've seen it, and I want to thank Scott for sending it to me. Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on transgender surgeries and treatments on... animals according to the house oversight committee chairman eli crane he's a republican from arizona
He confirmed again this week. According to reports, the committee revealed that $241 million in taxpayer dollars were used to study transgender surgeries and treatments on animals. Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Chief Anthony Fauci gave the green light to the bulk of these cruel and unusual experiments.
The confirmation is welcome, but the news is not. As taxpayers and watchdog groups, White Coat Waste Project, WCW, what a cool name, has continued to bring these realities to light, testifying that in an oversight hearing earlier this month, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy at White Coat Waste Project, Justin Goodman, testified that the
$141 million spent on transgender animal testing is merely the floor of this so-called research. This is who I couldn't figure out who was talking. I'm like, who is this Goodman guy? I didn't know who he was. In a lot of these cases, they involve mice, rats, monkeys who are being surgically mutilated and subjected to hormone therapies to mimic female or male.
or male to female gender transitions, gender-affirming hormone therapies, and then looking at the biological, psychological, and physiological effects. of the gender transitions looking at the effects of taking vaccines after you've transitioned these animals from male to female or female to male looking at the size of the genitalia changing after you've put them on estrogen or testosterone therapy or transition them.
He highlighted $1.1 million grant to give female lab rats testosterone to mimic transgender male humans and then overdose them with this party drug to see if animals who are taking... Taking tests, female animals taking testosterone, he said, were more likely to overdose on the sex party drug than animals who are not taking testosterone. So let me break it down. So basically, we're giving female lab rats testosterone.
and then we're giving them a party drug, and we're seeing if the animals that are taking the party drug on testosterone are more likely to overdose than the ones that are just giving the party drug. Like, this is how... how we're spending our taxpayer dollars? I'm trying to figure out what music they're playing for the party. I mean, are they giving these rats country music? Are they, I mean...
This is beyond crazy. This is literally somebody saying, how stupid of a project do you think we can set up that they'll pay for? And it just keeps going. Exactly. Like, at what point? Like, are we seriously doing this? We're transitioning animals? Like, these...
What a waste. This is lunacy. But this is the kind of stuff that is coming out of these congressional hearings when they're starting to dig into really what the NIH and Fauci and some of these experiments are. I'm telling you, some of the audio clips from... Some of these hearings that I've seen are just mind-blowing. You wouldn't think anything so stupid could happen. Leave it up to the government. There you go. All right, we're going to go ahead and take a quick break. We'll be right back.
Look at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Wednesday morning. Currently light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway. No stoppages or slowdowns out there. In town, traffic is moving well. Also, roads have a few slick spots out there. It did get down below freezing, so that means some of that water on the road from last night.
has iced up, do be careful. From the Swickard Chevrolet Anchorage Traffic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. This report is sponsored by Compassion International. ...overcast skies expected throughout the day. Once again, seeing those highs climbing into the mid to upper 30s. inland locations with the isolated areas managing to climb near 40. For Alaska's weather source, meteorologist Aaron Morrison. Now back to the boss, Amy Demboski. Call 907-522-0650 and be a part of the show on NewsRadio 650. KENI.
Welcome back. Current time is 653. I'm going to go straight to the phones and Roland is with us. Good morning, sir. Good morning. I think what you're famous saying, follow the money. Yep, always. I would like to know what they spent their money on and who got it. Because I'll bet you some of these politicians, they're multi-million dollar, you know, like O.C. She's... She's a millionaire now, and she was just shortly ago a nobody.
Well, when she first got to Congress, I remember news stories about how she couldn't afford an apartment and she couldn't afford one on her congressional salary. I think the congressional salary was about $155,000, somewhere in there. And now all of a sudden, sudden her net worth in just a few short years is over it's like 28 million how is that possible years ago i was at a restaurant and i i loved over to hear things and this gentleman was talking about uh that
We're trying to build across the inlet. Yeah, Cinnacarm Crossing, yep. He had done the study, but it wasn't the first study. It was the second or third study, and basically he said it was a multimillion-dollar... study and basically he just took the old study and put the new numbers in it for how much the materials cost and how much labor cost. That's all he did. And he made bank.
Oh, I'm sure. I would like to take a forensic audit on those things and on the politicians. Yeah, I will tell you. Look. Look, Nancy Pelosi is the best. stock trader in the entire world, I think. And how does that happen? Do you think maybe she has some inside information? I would think that's probably logical. Usually the easiest explanation is usually the true one.
And in politics, there's no such thing as coincidence, let's be honest. And so, you know, you're right over target when you say follow the money. And I think Doge shouldn't stop. It shouldn't just be Doge. I mean, frankly, it should be. There should be a lot of internal ethics controls in order to make sure that legislators are not benefiting from their actions in the legislature, whether it's at a state level or a federal level.
It's so obvious that the corruption is so rank in D.C. I mean, I think it's obvious to all of us that aren't in D.C. Well, and then you look at, you know, our state needs to be taken care of and also our city because the homeless... debacle we have. I mean, the industry is rampant, you know? I mean, we could build houses for the homeless, not put them in hotels. We could build them houses, nice houses.
for the amount of money we spend on them. Yeah, I'm telling you, you know, Anchorage wanted to build toilets for $500,000 a piece, so I think they could... They could house a few people for that amount. I mean, it's all in where, you know, budgets are policy documents, and it's all where they choose to put their money. And you're right. I think whether it's DOGE on the federal level. or legislative oversight on a local level.
I think we could be more efficient with our tax dollars, and it takes people like Elon Musk, unfortunately, to step in and actually right this ship, because this has been going on for decades, and it's about time somebody's taken a look at it. Roland, thank you for calling in. this morning. I appreciate it. Alright, we're hitting our hard break. When we come back...
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The opinions expressed on this show are those of the host and not of iHeartMedia or its employees. Thank you for listening to NewsRadio 650, Katie and I. Welcome back to live, local, and insightful Morning Drive Radio on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back to Hour 2 of the Amy Dubosky Show, broadcasting live and local every weekday morning from 6 to 8 a.m. right here on 6.50 a.m. if you're listening to us on the radio.
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we cover some interesting topics. We try to have interesting guests, people that will tell you what's happening in different areas, and today is no different. Joining us from Juneau, he is a Wasilla legislator, Senator Rob Young. He's one of the good guys. Good morning, Senator Yent. Good morning. How are you today? This is the first time I'm able to say that. I'm very excited about this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I appreciate that.
Yep. You never know during a campaign how things can go. I'm glad it worked out the way it did. Yeah, well, I got to tell you, you know, I was a big fan. I became a very big fan of you when you were on the Matusboro Assembly, and I watched some of the different common sense legislation that you put forward, and I can't wait to see what happens in Juneau.
You know, there's two things I was pretty convinced were going to come out of this legislative session because the Democrats are in control. They're going to pass some sort of huge BSA increase, based student allocation increase for education. And they're going to push to get back to a return.
defined benefit retirement plan, both of which are going to be very expensive. And I keep asking the same question, how are you going to pay for it? Those are two things that I expect to come out of Juneau this session. I expect the governor would likely veto both of them. But, you know, who... knows, it's Juneau. There's always wheeling and dealing that's happening. What do you see coming on those fronts? Respectfully, I don't think anything gets to 40 votes.
or 45, unless it really makes sense, right? Like, I think... We can want in one hand and you know what in the other and see which one fills up first. There's a lot of things out there people want, but how are we going to pay for them? I don't know. You know me. I actually count pennies. I treat every dollar that I'm in charge of around as an elected official like it was my own in my own house, right? So I hope... that we all get together and work as a team to start counting pennies.
That's what I hope, right? Well, that's what needs to happen. Because those pennies add up, right? And we're seeing it on the federal level. They add up to billions. And on the state level, they'll add up to millions. And that's a lot of money for Alaskans, especially in this. economy.
My favorite thing to do every day is wake up. I don't get on the phone during the day. I'm in the building around 6.30 and then go to bed late after working all day. So my favorite thing to do every day is get up in the morning, 4.30, 5 o'clock, and read about what dojo is. did the day before. It's inspiring. I'm glad to see they're counting pennies. And look, nobody is going to agree with 100% of anything.
My wife is my best friend. Her and I don't agree on 100% of things, right? But I think we could all agree, or at least I hope everybody could agree, everybody from both sides of the political spectrum, that we appreciate that they're counting pennies in D.C. I don't think that's too much to ask. You may not think that these cuts or that cuts are your cup of tea, but, man, count the pennies. You've got to do it.
You've got to do it. Well, you know, the buzz in the Matsu for the past week has been legislation that you've introduced. And I said to everybody, before I really jumped into this bill, I really wanted you to have the chance to explain to people. what you're doing, what your bill would do. We're talking about Senate Bill 92. It's entitled an act establishing an income tax on certain entities producing or transferring oil or gas in the state and providing for effective date.
So I would love for you to explain to folks what you're doing, why you're doing it, and what the outcome you think will be. Yeah, creating and extending are two different things, right? structure that's in place right now has actually existed since before I was born. Probably actually before you were, Amy. You might even be a little bit younger than me. So it's been around a while, right? I actually think it's a very fair structure. It's set up, you know, you have...
oil and gas royalties that they're taking into consideration. You have production taxes and then you have petroleum income tax, right? And I think that's a very fair structure because what happens if you try to put it all on... royalties are all on production. You set the developers up for...
dark days when oil prices drop substantially. Does that make sense? That's not good for anybody. There are partners. We want them here. It's the greatest industry in the world, in my opinion, oil, and we're all better for it on the planet, right? It's set up in a really good way. I don't think anybody intentionally did this, but I know they didn't because this structure was set up so long ago that S-Corps were not a standard vehicle at that time. They were not a standard X-Corps.
structured vehicle at that time. And so I came here. I'm counting pennies. That's what I'm doing. I promise you I'm not going to stop. And we've got more bills coming out that I think are not a big deal. This bill, to me, is a big bag of nothing. It's literally nothing, right? But others may think it is, and to me it's just counting pennies. Doge is debits and credits, right? It's not just debits.
In my opinion, we just closed the loophole. You know, I got information, stuff sent to me yesterday where our own commissioner on public record four years ago was saying that this was an issue and that it needed to be fixed, right? I don't understand why I'm the one having to do this, but to me this is common sense. I'm a staunch, staunch fiscal conservative, and I cannot lay my head down at night and call myself that.
One company, or one tax structure, I should say, is given an advantage over other tax structures. It's not fair to companies like ConocoPhillips and Santos. I believe Conoco is the greatest company in the history of Alaska.
If you look at how long they've been here and what they've done, and they're spending billions and billions and billions of dollars on the soap right now. So it's obviously a fair structure, but I don't think one tax vehicle should have an advantage over the other. That's not fiscal conservative. It's crony capitalism.
So let me ask you a question because, full disclosure, you know, I did disclose this to you this morning, but I want everybody to know, last night I had a good conversation, about an hour-long conversation with somebody. works for hillcorp and i didn't have i don't have permission to say yeah i don't have permission to say on the air who it was but it was somebody who represents hillcorp and so you know because i wanted i was glad they called me and you know wanted to
their perspective, because I thought it was fair, and they had nothing but nice things to say about you. I will just tell you that. But, you know, I thought they made a couple of really good points. You know, your bill, Senate Bill 92, would effectively levy a 9.4 4% tax on Hillcorp. Specifically, the way it's written, I think Hillcorp's the only company that would be impacted. Is that right? Because initially people were afraid this would extend to all S-Corps.
I haven't named the company because, one, I think they're a fantastic company. Two, I'm grateful they're here. To me, it's not a company name. It's a tax structure vehicle. Does that make sense? If C-Corps need to pay, they're a fantastic company, and let's say that again. I'm not out to get anybody. I'm here to defend 743,000 shareholders. If a C-Corp has to pay it and has paid it my entire life,
and S Corp. should pay it. That's it. End of story. So let me ask you this. So the first question is, This is really targeted at oil and gas companies that make over $5 million in Alaska that are S-Corps. It's not going to be every other S-Corp because, as I understand it, the Diamond Center is an S-Corp.
You know, there's other places that are, that we know, names that we know that are S-Corps that potentially. Uber drivers, massage therapists, hairstylists, every small business in Alaska is an S-Corp. That would be pure lunacy. Right. So that's why I want to get it on the record. Yeah, I want to get it on the record. I want people to understand what your bill actually is and what it is not. So what we're really talking about here is it's.
Limited to oil and gas. It's limited to those revenues over $5 million. My committee substitute today will limit it only to oil. So it also changes the effective date, but that'll roll out later today. I want to go back to something. So there's approximately 11,600, I think, S-corps in the state of Alaska, right? There's only one.
pulling a natural resource out of the ground that's not renewable. The rest are small businesses. Like I mentioned, you've got your Uber drivers here, everybody, right, who have economic activity in and amongst themselves. Not one of them is pulling something out of the ground that we can't put back in and, you know, selling it, right? And I'm grateful that they are doing it. I'm grateful all the companies. And I'll tell you, our life expectancy before oil was not good.
Oil is the greatest discovery, in my opinion, in the history of the planet, right, energy-wise. But look at Cook Inlet. Did we think when we were kids that we were ever going to wake up one day and say, oh, my gosh. we're going to run out of natural gas and cook in it. We heat our homes with that. We power our houses with it. What happens? That day will eventually come up north with oil. There's no way it can't.
Is that my kids' generation? Is that my grandkids? I don't know, but it damn sure is going to happen. And in between now and then, we should have a fair structure, which I believe we have, and everybody should pay the same. It's nothing personal. I'm not out to get anybody. To me, this is common sense. And it goes back to the counting pennies. That's what I'm going to do.
have a bunch more bills coming out counting pennies. Those pennies add up. Those pennies add up. When you're talking about this... This particular one, and you're saying this S-Corp has a loophole that effectively wasn't intended before. So if you institute this 9.4% tax to close this loophole, then it'll be an even. playing field but the conversation I had last night and I wanted to get your response to it because I thought it was a really good point
is these C corps, like the Conoco's and the Exxon's out there, there's lots of tax deductions that they're allowed to take that S corps are not allowed to take. So actually, by instituting this tax to say it's Those are on the federal level. We don't need to worry about what the feds are doing or what any business in the state is doing with the feds. That's on the federal level, not on the state level. So what you're saying then is...
It really doesn't make it an even playing field. It just makes it even in the state. But the federal tax deductions that the S-Corps can't take... Then what? Is there any way to address that, I guess is my question. Is there any way to address that? Business planning, right? So the biggest difference actually is not deductions. The biggest difference between an S-Corp and a C-Corp is an S-Corp is limited to...
100 investors, and it's a particular type of investor. A C-Corp can get unlimited amount of investors, and it could be an employee at a fast food restaurant buying stocks on the stock exchange, right? Or buying a share, right? That's actually the biggest difference between an S-Corp and a C-Corp. And I could see why. I could absolutely see why somebody would rather have an S-Corp. I mean, it's a much more intimate business model.
And thousands or millions of investors out there, you know, you're going to have 100 or less, right? And so, but, you know, Department of Revenue... I'll tell you, when I filed this bill, I had no idea what the numbers are. To me, it's not a numbers thing. It's an even playing field thing. It's a common sense thing. I didn't get any preliminary numbers back from DOR until yesterday, and their estimated guess for fiscal year 26 is $133 million. Yeah. That's real money.
Well, when I spoke to them last night, when I say them, I'm talking about somebody from Hillcorp. Their estimates, so the way the Department of Revenue calculates estimates, they're supposed to obscure people's data. You know, they're supposed to not specifically outlay this is how much it is.
Hellcorp is estimating that their revenue from this would be somewhere just under $100 million is what they're telling me. But when I had this conversation, it was a real conversation because my question to them is, well, how much would this $9.4 million cost you? Because I have asked the same question. And that's when they told me the discrepancy between the Department of Revenue numbers and their numbers. But then they were saying with the expansions that they are expecting a 5% expansion.
this year that they were going to be endeavoring to you know hit that target and they said with an expansion of five percent that would actually bring in a revenue of about 120 million more to the state of alaska i think it was 120 i have to look at my notes i actually took notes while i was talking to them so i guess my question Yeah, my question is this, and I'm going to ask the question, but then we're going to take a break, and then we'll come back and let you answer.
my question is this as we have a conversation about tax structure and we look at what president is trump is doing on the federal level and what the governor is trying to do on the federal level one of the biggest critiques about alaska
has been an unstable tax environment for oil and gas companies that make them not want to invest here. So when we come back, I'd love for you to answer the question, do you think this is going to be... counter to the efforts of trying to expand oil and gas in Alaska that we see President Trump and Governor Dunleavy trying to embark on.
Do you think this will add to that unstable tax environment for oil and gas companies? We're speaking with Senator Rob Yuntz. We're talking about SB 92, which is an oil tax bill that he introduced. So we're going to come back. We'll let him answer and we'll get into more details. Stay with us. Looking at your Alaska for inland locations with the isolated areas managing to climb near 40. For Alaska's weather source, a meteorologist.
Aaron Morrison. You're listening to live, local, and always insightful Morning Drive Radio with Amy Demboski on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Get on the show now by calling 907-522. Welcome back. I have to correct myself. I said in the last segment that a 5% growth with Hillcorp would equate to potentially...
$120 million in production and royalty this year, it would actually be $100 million is what they told me. So I want to correct that. I want to make sure I'm accurate. But we're talking with Senator Rob Yunt, and we're talking about this oil and tax potential S-Corp increase in taxes, which he's saying is a loophole that's been there that wasn't really intended.
You know, the biggest question I keep hearing, all these meetings I keep going to, Senator Young, is how will this bill impact potentially the Trump agenda and the Dunleavy agenda to utilize Alaska for energy dominance? Do you see this as being counter to their efforts? No, not even close. So this is actually the smallest portion of the taxes in Alaska by far is the petroleum corporate income tax. It's been around forever, right?
So when you look at production taxes and oil and gas royalties, they far outweigh this. They far outweigh it. And so, no, I don't. If that was the case... Conoco and Santos are spending billions upon billions of dollars in Alaska right now, both fantastic companies, and so is the S-Corp company, right? But, no, absolutely, I do not buy that at all. We're open for business. We've been open for business, and we're going to remain open for business. So this has nothing to do with that.
It's actually, let me see, let me do some quick math here, three, five. I would, this is close estimate right now, 15 to 20% of the total taxes collected up here are this portion. Right? So of oil revenue. And so I would need a couple minutes and a calculator to do exact. But it is a very small piece of the pie. And it is set up really to give...
the industry a safety net in the event that oil prices drop a bunch. I think we have a great structure. I'm not attacking anybody. I can't believe after reading a statement from the commissioner four years ago that we're even still talking about this. Well, you know, out of every legislator I know, I know you're the one who is not afraid to take on tough topics, no matter how uncomfortable they may be to talk about at times. Like, you're always willing to have the conversation.
actually interested in this year's legislative session because i want to hear both sides i want to hear everybody hash it out debate it out i want to see you know what the pros and cons are i think it'll be an interesting conversation and and i commend you for bringing it up we wouldn't be a country without the first and second amendment right the second defense all the rest but the first in my opinion is
Freedom of speech, I love dissenting opinions. I look at everything. Hillcorp's given me some great things to consider, and I've even made a committee substitute coming forward today because of that. We're here. We're a team. I can't believe that, in my opinion, this shouldn't even be talked about. This is just common sense, creating an even playing field. I don't want a 6'4 boy playing volleyball against my daughters either.
Now, that is not, by no means am I saying that's an analogy that we'd use in regard to this, but even playing fields are important, both in business and in life, right? So that's all this is, and I count pennies. Get used to it. I'm not going to stop counting pennies, I promise you. I had no idea actually what the amount of money was until the estimate came in from Department of Revenue yesterday. But to me, that's not the point.
It's the principle of it, whether it's $3 or $3 million or $130 million. I'm going to count it. I guarantee you. It's not going to stop. Well, I appreciate you calling in this morning. We have a caller that, do you have a second to take a quick call? I think I'm going to try to bring her on because I think she has a question for you or a comment. Yeah, I would.
I would love that, but we do have, I know I'm looking at the calendar, and we've got our first one coming up, our first meeting that we had scheduled last week. But, yes, I do definitely have to, yeah. You got to go. Okay, no worries about it. No, I got time. Okay, okay. I got her then. Karen, you are on with Senator Rob Yance. Go ahead. Good morning, ma'am. How are you? It's just kind of disappointing to see a new senator go to Juneau and the first thing out of the gate is a new tax.
You know, as we see nationally, the money is not going to where it's supposed to. And in the state of Alaska, this is also an issue. You know, there's always a need for more money, and I think just as a citizen of the state for 68 years, I think there's a different way to lead. Yeah, and I really, really, really appreciate your perspective. I do. It means a lot. But I want you to know this. In my opinion, it's maybe May.
Maybe I'm the only person in Alaska that feels this way, right? But this is not a new tax. It's been around longer than I've been alive. It was not intended for this to happen. It was an accident. It was a loophole. There are 60 people here, well, 61 technically, that get to play a role in how we spend our money. And I can guarantee you, I'm never going to think it's fiscally responsible enough. But I'm only one of 60, right?
and then there's one with a veto. And so you can't... I'll tell you this. In private sector, this is a failed business model. If I was running my business this way, I would go out of business. If I treated my sump company differently... That is a failed business model. That's not going to work. If I create an uneven playing field for one of my plumbers or one of my concrete guys over all the rest of them, that's not sustainable, for one. And for two, even though I will...
Almost guarantee I'm never going to fully agree with how we spend all our money in Alaska. I would say spending the money in Alaska in one way or another far outweighs it leaving our state because of an accident. 45, 50 years ago. I very much appreciate your perspective, and I'm grateful you called in.
Karen, thank you so much for the call this morning. Senator Yen, I know as this legislative session goes on, like you said, you're going to have a committee substitute that you'll be introducing today. I know this conversation is going to evolve. There will be more information that comes out. I'm sure, negotiations and discussions and lots and lots of questions. So I hope we can keep having a conversation on this topic. Never forget, life is one big negotiation.
The art of the deal, as Trump would say, right? The art of the deal. Senator Young, thank you so much for calling in today and sharing with us your perspective and some of the thought process behind some of the moves that are being made in Juneau. We will definitely be keeping a very close eye on it, and we'll call you when we have lots of questions. Yes, ma'am. Enjoy your day.
Thank you so much. That's Senator Rabian. He is a Wasilla legislator. He represents the beautiful town of Wasilla. If you'd like to call in, be part of the show. 522-0650. We'll be right back. Your morning cup of Sean. This is the Sean Hannity Morning Minute. They just can't be this stupid. This is now the hill the left in America, the radicalized, extremely radicalized left wants to go.
They want to dig their heels in on all of this reckless abuse, corruption, waste, fraud. And if that's the hill they want to die on, that's fine with me. Because they're not going to win in the end. This is not what our framers and our founders intended in any way, shape, manner or form. Just simply not. It is not what the American people want. And the American people have every right to be very angry. The conservative underground meets later today on The Sean Hannity Show.
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Welcome back. Current time 741. All right. I feel like I need to do like a debrief in that conversation because I never want to invite a guest and like ambush them with all kinds of like.
questions but on this bill i have lots of questions and i'm trying to understand both sides and i i did my best you know i had a great conversation with rob yesterday and then obviously on the air today and I had a good conversation yesterday with somebody from Hillcorp because I want to understand both sides and if I can just summarize the best I can
Senator Yunt believes that there is a loophole in which one S Corp that is up on the North Slope, which is Hill Corp, they get a special advantage that nobody else gets. Effectively, his bill... in his view would correct that it would it would institute effectively a 9.4 percent tax a corporate tax on you know On Hillcorp. Now, the company is not named, but it's clearly designed for this one company. I mean, let's be honest. That's what it looks like.
But then, you know, to the other point, to Hillcorp's point, and I'm not speaking for them. This is just my understanding of, you know, their perspective, which is, number one, they were enticed to come into the state. When Dan Sullivan actually was DNR commissioner, he can probably be credited.
Senator Dan Sullivan can probably be credited with bringing Hillcorp to the state. Because remember, as BP was selling off their assets, Conoco wasn't interested in buying them. Exxon wasn't interested in buying them. So Sullivan goes out of state, and he's able to find this small producer who says, yeah, we'll come to Alaska. We'll come do it. And it was interesting because when you look at Melanie Point, for example, when BP was in charge of it, I think they were pulling
off about 17,000 barrels a day. And Hill Corp just hit $50,000 a day that they're pulling off the same field. So my point is they're clearly doing something that is very efficient in pulling oil out of the ground. So I think, you know, this is a good operator. This is somebody who's come to Alaska, and they're saying, we believe we can have... 5% growth in our fields which would equate to about a hundred million dollars a year
for the state of Alaska, well, that's roughly, let's just argue for argument's sake, that's roughly about the same amount of revenue if we institute this 9.4% tax. Let's just start for argument's sake. I know Department of Revenue is estimating more, but you know let's see so so you look at that you say okay there you have it and then you look at the actual level playing field and I'm saying that with with air quotes
But if, in fact, you're a small that's competing against a big, and the bigs being like Conoco, Exxon, the bigs up on these oil fields are able to write off, like, Willow, for example, is on federal land. So let's just automatically write all those infrastructure, all that development. Let's write all that off.
Hillcorp can't do that with their stuff. They don't have the same tax write-offs that the bigs have. So by instituting another 9.4% tax on them, is it really creating a level playing field? Or now are you... Disadvantaging a small producer because the way that they've incorporated isn't a multinational company. It's not a C corp. It's not this huge thing with tons of shareholders. It's a small corp.
And you look at it and you say, well, are we really making a fair playing field? And I think those are the two arguments that I see shaping up. And I say this with all legislation. I'm always a no until you can get me to yes. Because you have to convince me, number one, it's necessary, and number two, it's a good idea.
You know, I know Rob Yunt, and I know he's an incredibly thoughtful person, and I know he's a staunch, staunch fiscal conservative. I watched him on the Matsu Burrow. And I also know he's a chess player. Rob Young is not somebody who just is going to do something. There's always a strategy at play. So, you know, I'm sitting back kind of watching. But honestly, Daryl, if I was in the legislature right now, I would be a no.
I would be a no. You haven't gotten me to yes yet. You have to convince me to get to yes. The thing I hate the most is government taxes. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't get value for our resources. Of course we should. And in Alaska, we're talking about royalty payments, right? We're talking about... production taxes But we're also talking about corporate taxes now. And when I look at the landscape of understanding the federal limitations and benefits of C corporations versus S corporations,
I don't know. I think it makes it more enticing, potentially, for Hillcorp to be here and to invest.
I don't know. I just haven't gotten to yes. I haven't gotten to yes yet. It's really hard to move me on tax policy. And I think this is really interesting because most people, myself included, usually quote sit on a fence we're on that balancing on that fence and we're waiting for somebody to push us over the fence one way or push us over the fence the other way with just a little tap I actually like your idea you are firmly on one side of the fence
Pull me up to the top of it and pull me over. Yeah, you've got to actually physically, not a tap, you've got to show me. And then I'm for you. So I actually like your approach to it. I'm starting to rethink my approach of being, you know, look at both sides, look at both sides. And you do look at both sides, don't get me wrong. But you make the side that if you really want to convince me, give me the full reason.
why i like that well here's the thing when it when it comes to taking people's money I don't care if we're talking about a business or we're talking about an individual taxpayer. You have to convince me that every dollar we're spending is already being spent well and that I should take more of somebody else's money. That is how I've always been when I've been in a... elected office. So you have to move me from a no to a yes because I treat your money like it's my money.
And that's why I'm very skeptical when it comes to this. And here's the other thing that really worries me. Right now, we're effectively targeting one, let's call it a loophole, in tax law on the North Slope that impacts one company.
I think there potentially could be legal issues relating to targeting one company. Their name isn't in it, but it's obvious which company it is. That's why I've been saying Hillcorp all morning, because I know which company it is. So I think that's a problem. But number two, when you expand... taxation in this arena to S-Corps. How long do you think it will be before the Democrats and Kathy Giesel
famously has been quoted to me by many people wanting to go after other escorts. If that is the case, yeah, see, ding, ding, ding. You know, it's... The argument could be made, this could be a slippery slope. And these are the arguments that Senator Yunt will need to overcome in order to pull his Republican colleagues over.
to his side. I'm telling you right now, my senator, Senator Hughes, who's also from the Valley, zero chance she's going to be voting for this, as is. So this is my point. This is the conversation that Senator Young is having. And look, the guy has a He's willing to come and talk about his ideas, talk about the issues as he identifies them, and says, hey, let's work on a solution. So I applaud him for that. But it's not just, like, it's not me he has to convince. He has to convince.
convince Republican lawmakers who are like me who think like me to vote for his bill and then he has to convince a governor not to veto it and I think that right there is kind of the backstop because at this point i can't imagine dunleavy letting this one go I just can't imagine it, especially as pro-oil and gas development and as hard as Senator Sullivan worked when he was DNR commissioner to get Hillcorp up here.
The consistency in the tax policy is one that you will hear this over and over again where people will feel like this is going to undermine the Trump agenda. I feel like those conversations we had with Senator Young will unfold in the legislature. And I can't wait to hear the conversation as it develops because he is an incredibly smart guy.
He is a fiscal conservative. So we'll see. We'll see what this turns into. But right now, I would be very surprised if this legislation actually makes it to law. But we'll see. We'll see. All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with your calls. Looking at your Alaska total traffic. cameras on this Wednesday morning. Steady traffic now. 30s for inland locations with the isolated areas managing to climb near 40. For Alaska's weather source, I'm Meteorologist.
Aaron Morrison. Welcome back to live, local, and insightful Morning Drive Radio on NewsRadio 650 KENI. Welcome back. Current time is 7.54. We're going to go straight to the phones and Bud is with us. Good morning, sir. Good morning, Miss Amy. Good morning, Daryl. I hope I didn't miss Bruce this morning. I really look forward to his calls. The guy is full of knowledge, and he lives in my area, so I want to start getting...
more involved in some of these meetings he's going to. But what I was talking to Darrell about is I think, you know, I respect Senator Young. He is, he's my senator.
I think what we need to do, I'm going to bring up a word that a lot of people have probably forgotten, a company called BP. So I think what we need to do is we need to work with the Trump administration on fixing our federal... inconsistency with oil companies in this state because i think that's what drives more oil companies away makes them more hesitant to uh to invest i think we need to get our federal help
The Trump administration get our federal order with taxes and all the breaks and everything else to give more consistency to oil companies before we start targeting small companies that have come to this state and have really, you know. have really invested in this state and really have a steadfast place in this state. That's just my opinion.
Well, Bud, I think you are on to something. And I think it's, let's expand that idea. I think it's beyond tax code. I think it's also environmental permitting. I think it's lawfare against these companies. Look, when it takes potentially, you know,
15, 20 years to get a permit. Look what the Biden administration did to Hillcorp right before they left the door. They revoked one of their permits, right? So they spend millions and millions of dollars in order to get these permits to be able to develop. And then through bureaucratic means, the federal government, you know, pulls the rug out from an underarm, so to speak.
I think on every facet, whether it's tax code, environmental permitting and regulations, and I think lawfare against these companies, I think the federal government could step in and put safeguards in place to prevent against lawfare. I think they could streamline the permitting process, and I think they could simplify the tax code, and all of those things would help.
And I appreciate Senator Young's courage coming on and facing and standing up for what he believes. And in fairness to him, I will do more research on this. So thank you for your time. Thank you so much, bud. I appreciate your call. Well, Daryl, that is the result I was hoping for. I was hoping to be able to have a real discussion.
about an issue that, you know, is going to be uncomfortable for everybody to talk about, but it's an opportunity for us to learn, right? It's an opportunity. And like I said, change minds. Win us over with your argument. And I think that's what civil discourse is all about. And I appreciate we do have a big listenership from Senator Young's district. So I appreciate everybody's engagement on the topic. This is one that we will be talking about.
I'm sure a lot throughout this legislative session. All right. Well, that does it for Daryl and I today. Up next, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, followed by Sean Hannity at 11. And of course, the great Mike Piccaro from four to six today. Daryl and I will be back. you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. until then stay safe god bless
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