Hi Snowshoe, It is difficult for me to keep track of fish in Hong Kong other than the steamed variety, better garnished with ginger, scallion and soya, or, the next best thing, in the state of sushi/sashimi:0)
I have tried to relate the situation in HK on this thread to give folks a sense of what may happen else where and why. ACF accused me of being unduely influenced by my surroundings of deflation, tepid business, blown bubbles, zero % interest income, etc. Maybe, maybe not.
In any case, I am counting on you to give the thread a sense of what is happening in Alaska, as you did not so long ago, about this issue that has made into into mainstream press
news.bbc.co.uk
Tuesday, 29 October, 2002, 13:17 GMT
Shares fall could hit Alaskan lifestyle
The old lifestyle in remote regions is threatened
Cash supplements paid to 600,000 people in Alaska could be in jeopardy because of falling stock markets.
Residents in the remotest, coldest parts of the US state of Alaska survive largely by hunting and fishing.
But in the past 30 years they have also received cash supplements from the Alaskan oil fund.
This has been built up from oil royalties paid to Alaska by multinationals for rights to the state's massive oil reserves.
About 80% of the population live in urban areas
The money has been invested in bonds, property and stocks and the recent dive in some stock values has cut the fund's value by $6bn (£3.9bn).
A $1,500 dividend was paid earlier this month to the men, women and children who live in Alaska but that has left funds low and there have been warnings that next year there might be no dividend at all.
Uncertain future
For families with little guaranteed income, this could spell ruin.
Gregg Erickson, an Alaskan economist based in Juneau, explained that the fund performed exceptionally well in the 1990s and built up huge reserves.
"But those reserves have basically disappeared over the last several years," he told the BBC's World Business Report.
"We now have very little cushion should there be a continuation of the poor investment markets," he said.
The fund has enabled those living in remote areas to maintain a traditional lifestyle of hunting and fishing, so people have not been forced to move to big towns to find work.
Equality
Mr Erickson said it raised important social issues for Alaskans.
"Alaska is the only state in the United States where incomes have become more equal over the last decade."
He said the earnings of the top 20% had got closer to those of the bottom 20%, largely because of the fund.
He maintained that the people in rural Alaska who have chosen to continue this subsistence lifestyle would have a much harder time doing so without assistance from the fund.
"They require ammunition and fuel for their snow machines," he said.
He added that they also required television to keep their children educated. |
