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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (44120)	9/3/2008 12:49:09 PM
From: ManyMoose	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224706

The Permanent Fund Dividend is oil money that Alaska pays to the people. Every legal resident gets a dividend every year, even newborns. It's like a negative tax, and there is no state tax. When you apply for the first time for the dividend you are usually denied, and reinstated when you provide proof you are qualified to receive it. It's administered very scrupulously, as far as I can tell. You have to declare that you intend to stay in Alaska 'indefinitely.' Weather in SE Alaska is moderate, but dominated by overcast and rain. A couple weeks a year it goes below zero.

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (44120)	9/3/2008 1:03:17 PM
From: koan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224706

In the 70's we ad hoc democrats, led by a liberal Republican Governor Jay Hammond (he lived in Naknek with an Eskimo? wife Bella) fought the oil companies and conservatives to establish a permanent fund. The conservative Republican's wanted to spend all the oil money, but Jay and the ad hoc dems (weho controled the house) said no, 25% of all revenue will go into a "Permanent fund" for our children and use it to pay state expenses. It was a hell of a fight, but we won. So Alaska then started putting 25% of all our oil income in a permanent fund. Jay was real smart and set it up brillantly. First he/we made it so legislators could nto touch the principle without a 3/4 vote. Impossible. Secondly, it was set up so that part of the money each year went to the residents as a check. Jay felt by giving the people a check every year the would protect the fund. So every year the first thing that is done with that years earnings from stocks and bonds is the fund is inflation proofed based on the CPI. Then using a five year average checks are cut for every man woman and child in Alaska. The rest is used to fund state government. What is left over goes into the undistributed income account which eventualy usually gets voted into the main fund where it cannto be touched. We have no state taxes and th fund has over 40 billion init now. But other things were done which were brillant e.g. no (well very little) money can be invested IN state. This prevents criminal legislators from stealing the money (whathappend in alberta with their fund). And the invetments are about 40% bonds, 40% stocks and 20% real estate, etc. We now have over 40 billion in our fund and with the high oi prices the fund is growing dramatically. Our checks this year will be about $2,300 for every man woman and child and then the $1,200 on top of that.