MNeagle
29th August 2010, 07:33 PM
(CNN) – Alaska's political leadership has spent decades touting its ability to bring federal dollars back from Washington. But the man who may have unseated incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in last week's primary says forget the cash - he'd rather have real estate.
U.S. government is "going bankrupt," and needs to transfer its responsibilities and power "back to the states and the people," Fairbanks attorney and GOP activist Joe Miller told CBS' "Face the Nation." He said Alaska would take less money from Washington in exchange for land from the federal government, which owns about two-thirds of the state.
"It's our position that as the money is restricted, the lands are transferred. So that's the plan that we want to implement," he said. Alaska would then use its "extraordinary" resource base to create jobs, he said.
Remote, thinly populated Alaska received $1.84 in federal money for every $1 paid in taxes in 2005, the third-highest ratio among U.S. states, according to the Washington-based, non-partisan Tax Foundation.
Full story
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/29/alaska-senate-hopeful-wants-land-not-cash/
U.S. government is "going bankrupt," and needs to transfer its responsibilities and power "back to the states and the people," Fairbanks attorney and GOP activist Joe Miller told CBS' "Face the Nation." He said Alaska would take less money from Washington in exchange for land from the federal government, which owns about two-thirds of the state.
"It's our position that as the money is restricted, the lands are transferred. So that's the plan that we want to implement," he said. Alaska would then use its "extraordinary" resource base to create jobs, he said.
Remote, thinly populated Alaska received $1.84 in federal money for every $1 paid in taxes in 2005, the third-highest ratio among U.S. states, according to the Washington-based, non-partisan Tax Foundation.
Full story
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/29/alaska-senate-hopeful-wants-land-not-cash/