They Shoot Mooses Don't They?

On this headline I make no apologies to the Jane Fonda movie about shooting horses and before I get correcting email I recognize the plural of moose is not meese or mooses. I watched Huckleberry Hound cartoons as a kid so I'm in the know thanks to Mr. Jinks. This is really more about economic differences than a 70's movie about a 20's dance marathon.

Think of it as the Last Tangle in Paradise.

The rate of exchange in Alaska was a surprise. Of course, Alaska is part of the United States, so they are on the dollar standard. But the rate of exchange for a dollar for say a gallon of milk is disproportionate. A gallon of milk is $6 in Juneau and a McDonald's meal is $10.

I would opt for the milk but then I'm more a Burger King guy.

Our bus tour guide was named Cordova and she did a great job translating what life is like in Alaska as compared to our Nashville Cat experience. Even though Juneau is the state capital, nobody thought to build an actual road into the place. So anything they get comes by barge or plane from Seattle.

This makes prices higher than the frequently overcast skies.

Cordova said her family purchases some fruits and vegetables at the local grocery but try to grow as much as they can. They also supplement their diet with focused family fishing and hunting. She related her family tries to shoot a moose per season. They keep half and share the other half with family. The meat from one moose will keep them eating in high cotton for the winter. I'm not sure that southernized description works in a cottonless land but high on the hog didn't fit either since they have to get their bacon at the grocery. Pigs don't seem to be alpine animals.

She also explained how the oil industry's collapse has taken Alaska's annual budget from $4 billion to $2 million. Yes, that's a "B" to an "M". Things are so tough in Alaska the governor had to cancel his annual ball and Cordova has no place to wear the dress she bought.

Things are not quite so bleak as she shared back in the 60s Alaska's smart government ministers took the dividends from the oil industry and invested them in Wall Street. The result has been a new gold rush each October when the state check comes into every native born Alaskan's pocket. The checks ranged from $500 to several thousand dollars per.

I think back to what Tennessee did with the tobacco settlement windfall and it's obvious Alaska had some long range thinkers we didn't.

But now a referendum was held in response to the government shortfall and Alaskan's approved taking some of the principal from their oil money and letting the state have a crack.

Cordova is admittedly apprehensive about letting the government in on the investment bonanza. Governments have a way of disappearing money given them.

Let's hope Cordova doesn't have to hope for a second moose to make ends meet. Maybe the governor will sponsor a dance marathon to raise money and Cordova will have a place to wear her pretty dress.