Where you sit depends on where you stand

I'll be the first to concede that the upcoming election is probably a done deal, and that for Alaskans, it is probably far more important that we do our best to ensure that Republican majorities continue in both houses of Congress; however, I have to share a certain feeling of sadness for the future if we are saddled with four (or more) years of business as usual in the White House.

For most Alaskan-Americans, I believe that the incumbency has been an economic disaster. Alaska is a resource rich state, blessed with commodites upon which the nation and the world will depend for eons, be they hydrocarbons or Metallic Minerals, the limits are demonstrably yet to be tested. Everything from billions of tons of coal to (not so) rare earths can be found, recovered and shipped from within our borders in a way that is environmentally sound and people friendly. In truth, Alaska stands out as a shining beacon of what can be done.

Nonetheless, as a co-chairman of the Alaska Miners Association's Federal Oversight Committee, it is impossible to ignore the ever-tightening noose that the federal government has placed around the necks of those who would expand the economic pie.

It is axiomatic, I think, that the entire economic structure of the world depends upon the harvest of nature's bounty. Neither bankers nor bureaucrats, nor doctors or lawyers, nor tradesman or retailers, nor community organizers or preachers contribute a jot to the economy. They all pass money around, scraping a little vigorish off the top and passing the rest off to the next outstretched hand. The myth of "value-added" is a modern construct used primarily to justify the government's take.

Those who exploit Mother Nature's cornucopia, on the other hand, put something into the commonweal for all to share. Every gram of gold, every drop of oil, every kernel of corn, every wiggling fish, every splinter of wood that finds its way into the marketplace contributes to the wealth of the burgeoning world population.

That is not to say that commerce and industry should be unregulated. Sound regulation of the productive sector is a perfectly legitimate function of government; however, it is beyond cavil that the incumbent administration has taken the process to a new level, with thousands of pages of regulatory pronouncements coming over the transom for review, sometimes on a weekly basis. The election of Mrs. Clinton would indubitably ensure the continuance of that trend, especially if the election is close.

She has an unquestioned propensity to feather her nest with "Friends of Hill," and every wild-eyed nut case who was on her list of supporters will expect his or her due.

I carry no brief for the Republican contender. Other presidents may have been said to have lost their moral compass; but, in Mr. Trump's case, it is clear that he has never had one. And that is a shame. Nonetheless, if he were to be elected president, the republic would survive. Politically, our system of checks and balances would make it very hard for him (or anyone else) to change the ship of state's general heading; but what it might do is slow down the rate of involvement of the government in the lives of the citizenry.

With the present executive hell-bent to regulate our lives from cradle to grave, the best hope we have had for stability, has been opposition majorities in both houses of Congress. President Obama, who has felt no need to persuade the Legislative Branch to support his progressive agenda, has taken it upon himself to govern by fiat. The evenly-split Supreme Court, all the while, gets to watch because of Justice (Antonin) Scalia's demise.

The next president will have the opportunity to appoint at least one justice and probably several more. If such new justices are "fellow-travelers," as may be expected, circumvention of Congress not only will become the gold standard of governance, but it also will be endorsed by that last bulwark of freedom. Without putting too fine a point on it, America is at (yet another) crossroad. The stakes are clear, one contender for the White House has an agenda; the other makes council with the "deplorable" class.

If you believe that the ride has been bumpy so far, it is a given that the true hazards for the state, the nation and the world are just around the next corner.