ADVERTISEMENT Tumbling oil prices may dim Sarah Palin's political future John Byrne

Published: Wednesday February 18, 2009





Print This Email This Update at bottom: Palin must pay income taxes on thousands taken for expense money "Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's first two years in office have been called a time of milk and honey, when the resource-rich state was flush with wealth from record oil prices," begins the AP's Rachel D'Oro .



But alas -- like the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who the Republican Party was quick to mock as the socialist strongman of Latin America, Sarah Palin is feeling the wrath of global stock traders' diminished hunger for oil.



Rapid declines in oil prices have punished the budget of the resource-rich state, calling into question Palin's stewardship. Was she really a successful governor or just the beneficiary of overinflated prices?



Writes D'Oro, "That could have political repercussions for the former Republican vice presidential hopeful, who has signaled an interest in a 2012 presidential run but must stay visible in the Lower 48 to be successful.



"Given these bad times, she's going to have a much more difficult time traveling outside Alaska," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, told her. "When times are good, people will let their governor roam. In bad times, citizens expect their governor to stay home and work on solving the problems."



"Oil accounts for as much as 90 percent of state revenues. So the plunge of North Slope crude from an all-time high of $144.59 per barrel last July threatens to give the state an estimated budget shortfall of up to $1.5 billion in the fiscal year that ends June 30."



Alaska residents also receive proceeds from the state's oil sales. Price shrinkages could pose trouble for the popular governor at home as well.



"She's kind of been moved up a couple notches and I could see her leaving the state and getting her profile up even higher on the national political level," Bear Ketzler, city manager of the Yukon River village of Tanana, was quoted as saying. "But I think for her to be electable in four years, Obama would really have to screw up."



Palin must pay income taxes on thousands taken for expense money



It's not just Obama administration nominees who have tax issues.



"Gov. Sarah Palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials," the Anchorage Daily News reports.



The paper adds, "The governor's office wouldn't say this week how much she owes in back taxes for meal money, or whether she intends to continue to receive the per diem allowance. As of December, she was still charging the state for meals and incidentals."



CNN notes, "The Washington Post first reported (link) last September that Palin had billed the state for nearly $17,000 worth of meals and other living expenses while staying in her own home during the first 19 months of her administration, even though the official governors residence is in Juneau."



Sharon Leighow, Palin's spokeswoman, told the paper by e-mail, "The amount of taxes owed is a private matter. If the governor collects future per diem, those documents would be a matter of public record."



"How is it that a person is able to collect a stipend for normally travel-related incidentals while staying at home?" Wonkette mocks. "Through Alaskan magic."









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