In 1867, the purchase of Alaska was ridiculed as "Seward's Folly." Russia had been trying to unload it on some unsuspecting buyer, and Canada was nowhere near far enough west as to make it worthwhile to them. Now, a hundred and fifty years later, was Seward right? Nope, not really. Sure, the gold rushes and oil and population growth have resulted in tax revenue, but according to a new report out of the University of Iowa, the U.S. Government has, since we got Alaska, spent way more on Alaska than we've gotten out of it. Palin cracks aside, it's good to know that we're not getting our money's worth for Alaska - but, really, tax money isn't a profit-gaining prospect for a country. If anything, the report should be a gauge for correcting spending imbalances, rather than calling a whole state a failure; Seward wouldn't approve.
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