This was a windfall tax, not improving the “streets” in the tundra. Sure it is....It's correct name is a production tax. It rises and falls based on the price of the underlying commodity which is owned by the people of AK. It becomes a "windfall profit" tax if the oil companies owned the resources and the government was simply taking more tax as the price of the underlying oil rose. Since the oil companies do not own the oil in AK and instead the people own it per their Constitution. The oil companies simply own the rights to drill it, produce it and sell it. The value that the state sells its oil to the oil companies increases as the price increases. Of course liberals call it a "windfall profit" tax because they do not understand private property rights. Newsflash. ALL resources on state lands in AK are owned by the people of AK per its Constitution. As such the government of AK is duty bound to get top dollar for those resources.
“Growth in government is bad.”
Yes, growth in government is bad. The Contract with America said the same thing.
“you think the government the size of the 1840 congress could govern this country today?”
A Federal government that size would be about right.