Wrangell Sentinel -

Just over 20 years ago, half of the Alaska House of Representatives banded together - Democrats and Republicans, urban and rural - in a concerted push to balance the budget, raise new revenues and put the state on a path to a long-term, fiscally responsible future.

They called themselves the Fiscal Policy Caucus, and even wore lapel pins of an open umbrella to signify that the rainy day had arrived and Alaskans needed to protect themselves from falling oil revenues.

They studied the math, debated the issues, held public meetings across the state, and agreed to a plan that raised new revenue...