One can argue that the Alaska state government should not be in the business of business - however it is.  That involvement is very much bi-partisan.  Those workers currently building that extravagant interchange at Muldoon and the Glenn Highway can be considered to be state employees almost in the same sense as a legislative staffer.   This state government is very much in the business of picking winners and losers with its loan and tax incentives.  Worse (to me anyway) is that they now actually want to become an equity partner in an enterprise (AKLNG).  That is the reality we face so both the Governor and the Legislators fear the consequences of what happened in the 80's when state spending was cut dramatically.  They did learn just how dependent this relatively small population is on state spending.  Unfortunately after high oil prices saved them they threw most of the lessons learned out the window.  Now they (and we) must learn those bitter lesson once again.