Eventhough this is an old thread many of the arguments don't change.
Gunsmiths everywhere know lever actions inside and out.
A marlin or even a winchester can still be had for around $200 in used good shape. Ammo is your only added expense because you don't need 12 30 round magazines stashed away in a closet for when they ban standard mags again.
They throw the brass into one pile about 6 feet away instead of into a parabolic arc somewhere between here and the next time zone - this is a real asset to anyone who wants to shoot much with rising ammo costs because reloading saves $$$.
I have found that I can acutally hit stuff with them, which is more than I can say for most AK's I've shot (AR's and FAL's have also shot well for me though).
Ammo is available and is likely to stay that way. You don't need to stash 7000 rounds for them because of a fear that imported ammo will stop coming in - several domestic manufacturers produce ammo for them every day.
The .30-30 is a well proven and reasonably versatile cartridge.
A .30-30 Marlin is on my wish list right now - I plan to work a trade for one in the next couple weeks.
This also brings up the man vs. rifle mentality.
I have seen my dad hit running deer through the neck with one shot from his old 99 Savage. In spite of all the rounds I have fired in practice with all the guns I have owned, I still don't think I could do that with any of the semiauto rifles I have owned. In a head to head fight against a guy with an AK, the guy with the AK would probably lose to my dad.