The Weekly Top 3

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 16, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss where we believe oil prices are likely headed and how Alaska could reduce the fiscal roller coaster the state’s current budget approach creates (2:09); 2) we discuss one issue that we believe should be at the heart of the coming education...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 9, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss the issues surrounding the state’s threat to terminate the Cosmopolitan leases (2:01); 2) we explain why we believe a recent op-ed about state child care support fails to address the equally important question of #WhoPays for the support (...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of June 2, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why the Permanent Fund Corporation’s April results demonstrate our point about its deficient returns (2:03); 2) in the wake of the visit from three of its cabinet officials, we examine the potential impact of the Trump Admin’s focus on Ala...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of May 26, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we walk through the sources and uses of funds in the FY26 budget, and examine who is bearing the burden created by using PFD cuts to provide nearly a third of the revenues (2:14); 2) we explain how a recent op-ed from Anna MacKinnon on the ...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of May 19, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why this year’s PFD cut — which is the 10th in a row and the largest yet — is, like the others before it, nothing more than a bailout paid for by middle & lower-income Alaska families of the Top20%, non-residents, and the oil companies...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of May 12, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why Alaska’s current fiscal dilemma reminds us of a game of chicken and what it will take to resolve it (2:04); 2) we discuss what role the Governor should play in resolving the dilemma and why Governor Dunleavy’s actions are lacking (18:3...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of May 5, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss what’s going on with oil prices: what’s driving the price drop, how low could they go and how long could the price drop last (2:17); 2) we discuss the failure of those who voted for HB 57 (the permanent K-12 funding increase) to realistical...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 28, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain how a recent op-ed by Larry Persily essentially lays out the same fiscal approach as the Legislature’s 2021 Fiscal Policy Working Group, and discuss how to implement both (2:13); 2) we discuss the impact of the Senate’s vote yesterday pe...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 21, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss what the latest projections from the Permanent Fund Corporation are telling us about where the Permanent Fund is headed on its current course (2:02); 2) we examine the opportunity to make some small headway in generating substitute reven...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of April 14, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain the difference between an accounting balanced budget and a distributionally balanced budget and why the Legislature is continually failing to produce the latter (2:06); 2) we discuss former Sen. Joe Paskvan’s excellent op-ed in a recent ...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of March 24, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why the proposal to combine the Permanent Fund corpus and earnings reserve both puts the corpus at risk and undermines significant performance incentives for the Permanent Fund Corporation (2:14); 2) we explain how Rep. DeLena Johnson an...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of March 17, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain how the Permanent Fund Corporation is leaving substantial amounts of money on the table (1:59); 2) we look at what both the left and right are missing about the Hilcorp loophole (19:54); and 3) we discuss how the Senate is bein...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of March 10, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we review a recent, balanced look by the Alaska Beacon’s James Brooks at Alaska’s budget situation and the battle over #WhoPays (2:03); 2) we discuss the full on raid on the Permanent Fund corpus by the Senate Majority and how it’s being fueled by ...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of March 3, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain why we believe Alaska oil tax reform is not only justified, but needed (2:06); 2) we discuss the fiscal irresponsibility of how both increased K-12 spending as well as defined benefits are being pursued (19:25); and 3) we explain how the ...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of February 24, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss the Senate Finance Committee’s proposed SB109, which, if enacted, would be the largest permanent individual tax increase in Alaska’s history (2:09); 2) we explain why the source of the state’s fiscal problem isn’t either too much spen...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of February 17, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we discuss the needed conversation about Alaska’s fiscal situation that the Senate Majority and Senator Yundt from the minority have started (2:08); 2) we explain why the Permanent Fund's failed investment in Peter Pan Seafoods is only the ...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 - our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets - for the week of February 10, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) we explain what a difference a week made as we sort through recent developments on the Cook Inlet import projects (2:04), 2) we discuss our thoughts on President Trump's comments on Japan and #AKLNG (19:02), and 3) we discuss the ...

Looking down the road, HB69 has a $1bn price tag; with the #akleg backing out of the Cook Inlet, it’s now up to the RCA to protect Alaskans & what the 2026 #AKgov candidates need to start focusing on now

The Weekly Top 3 is a regular weekly segment on The Michael Dukes Show. The Show broadcasts on Facebook and YouTubeLive as well as via streaming audio from the Show’s website weekdays from 6–8am. We join Michael weekly in the fi...

Welcome to The Weekly Top 3 — our look at the top 3 things on our mind here at Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets — for the week of January 27, 2025.

This week, our top 3 issues are these: 1) Senator Dunbar asks the right question about ENSTAR’s most recent Cook Inlet proposal, and by the way, where are Chugach, MEA … and Marathon (2:11), 2) Alaska is already sitting in a massive fiscal hole, but rather than working to repair it, the ...