Full Story 1
"In 2000, Sarah Palin, as mayor of the Alaskan town of Wasilla, hired a Washington lobbyist to secure federal earmarks for her community.
This is not totally atypical in her state. Alaska’s government receives more money per capita in federal earmark money than any other state, despite being the only state in the union with no income tax and no sales tax. They fund their government primarily with petroleum money, and recently distributed oil profits to its citizens in the form of rebate checks. "
Full Story 2
"The governor didn't show the same discipline with the operating budget, though. She let that $6.6 billion of spending slide through unscathed (the largest in Alaskas history), even though months earlier she said she'd seek $150 million in budget cuts." __________________
