UAS Professor Emeritus Clive Thomas to deliver lecture on the politics of cutting Alaska's budget

Seward Lecture: 'The Politics of Cutting the Alaska State Budget: Fallacies and Realities' with guest lecturer Clive S. Thomas Thursday, Sept. 29, 7:30-9 p.m. UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307

A common demand by many Alaskans and some first-time candidates for state office is that the state budget needs to be cut, largely because of wasted money and inefficiencies. This presentation shows that, contrary to common belief, while budgets can be cut in the short term, as they were in the 2016 legislative session, the trend in the long term is for larger budgets. This explanation is based on the realities of what makes up the state budget, constituent pressure on politicians, and the lack of an organized and sustained political force promoting long-term budget reductions.

Clive Thomas, who taught political science in Juneau for 30 years, is editor of a book just published by the University of Alaska Press, Alaska Political and Public Policy: The Dynamics of Beliefs, Institutions, Personalities and Power. He is now a senior fellow at the Foley Institute of Politics at Washington State University.

This event is part of the Seward Lecture Series, hosted by the UAA Political Science Department.

September Archive