By Robert Shoemake
Southeast Alaska’s natural beauty is astounding, and never more so than during our summer months.
What should be a time to enjoy family, kids and warmer weather; it is different this year.
Many in our region make their living during the summer season. This brings increased importance to having enough employees, financial confidence and supply-chain certainty. We don’t have that in 2022 due mainly to a federal government out of touch with, and adversarial to, Alaska.
Gas prices lead small business owners, fishers, and tour companies to reassess business practices. Add to this the attacks on our energy industry. Many Alaskans wonder what could happen next. Decisions by activist judges and over-reaching federal administrators have impacted our region. The threat of significant changes to mining regulations could affect our mines, threatening jobs, family paychecks, and significant local revenues. The loss of just one mine could devastate us.
We need to take a hard look at our representatives and how they vote. Do they support a strong economy in action as well as in words? Do they vote to confirm support for a strong Alaska economy and workforce? Let them know, and if they don’t listen, then maybe it’s time to find someone who does.
Let’s hope that the federal government changes course quickly and begin to appreciate Alaska’s ability to balance environmental care with responsible development. If it continues down this path, Southeast Alaska’s bright future may be significantly dimmed, which could have catastrophic consequences for many of our neighbors.
• Robert Shoemake is a past candidate for the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly, a small business owner and resides in Juneau. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
