Agreed that it was stupid to rely to the degree that we did on oil revenues.

But I'm getting really tired of the repeated misrepresentation of our current oil revenue receipts. They no longer provide "90%" of our budget, as we frequently hear, and it certainly is no longer true that "Almost the entire Alaska state budget is based on taxes and royalties from the producers." If it were, this article would never have even been written. And we wouldn't be facing a staggering $3.2 to $3.8 billion budget deficit this coming year.

The fact is that, due to low oil prices and the Conoco legislature, oil revenue is now a minor part of the state budget, and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Something that the oil-company-acolyte legislature and much of the public refuse to acknowledge.

Unfortunately, being in denial of the state's financial health, like being in denial of a cancer diagnosis, will not lead to a healthy outcome for any of us.