Gov. Walker visits, recognizes UAF economic club

Governor Walker spoke today at a University of Alaska Fairbanks presentation in regards to the state’s Economy. The student organization “Students Who Enjoy Economic Thinking” or ‘SWEET’, has been recognized by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni as an ‘Oasis of Excellence.’

SWEET has weekly meetings where they discuss a broad range of topics including economics in the oil business. Governor Walker, who was the keynote speaker commented on the economic effects of processing goods out of state.

Walker said, “We’re changing that by bringing down our cost of energy and also bringing down our mind sight. For far too long our mind sight has been, we ship out raw materials and we bring back a finished good. And that’s a colony not an economy. So anytime we ship anything out of Alaska that doesn’t have a bar code on it, then we’re shipping jobs out of Alaska. So it’s a matter of, just a mindset of, how do we bring that cost of energy down and certainly bringing the natural gas off the North Slope in large volumes is certainly a significant step in that direction.”

Because the university no longer has an economics department, ‘SWEET’ members say they are striving to keep economic thinking alive on campus.