Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (13969)	3/29/2012 7:13:44 AM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 85487

Texas Permanent School Fund The PSF was created with a $2,000,000 appropriation by the Texas Legislature (the "Legislature") in 1854 expressly for the benefit of the public schools of Texas. The Constitution of 1876 stipulated that certain lands and all proceeds from the sale of these lands should also constitute the PSF. Additional acts later gave more public domain land and rights to the PSF. In 1953, the U.S. Congress passed the Submerged Lands Act that relinquished to coastal states all rights of the U.S. navigable waters within state boundaries. If the state, by law, had set a larger boundary prior to or at the time of admission tothe Union, or if the boundary had been approved by Congress, then the larger boundary applied. After three years of litigation (1957 – 1960), the U. S. Supreme Court on May 31, 1960, affirmed Texas' historic three marine leagues (10.35 miles) seaward boundary. Texas proved its submerged lands property rights to three leagues into the Gulf of Mexico by citing historic laws and treaties dating back to 1836. All lands lying within that limit belong to the PSF. The proceeds from the sale and the mineral-related rental of these lands including, bonuses, delay rentals and royalty payments, become the corpus of the Fund. tea.state.tx.us One thing unique about Alaska is the Alaska Statehood Act gave it 101M acres, so it has an unusual amount of state land.

To: koan who wrote (13969)	3/29/2012 1:44:26 PM
From: TimF	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 85487

Come on every state has resources. Texas, LA, Oklahoma,California and coal in the east and gold in Nevada. Most states don't get nearly as much money from their natural resources as Alaska does, and most states have a lot more people than Alaska. Maybe North Dakota with its low population and oil and gas boom might be somewhat comparable, but that's new, not a long term feature of the state. We put 50% of all resources in the permanent fund,not just oil. Gold, coal, timber. Everything. Without the oil it wouldn't be such a big deal. Yes a fund can help other states as well, you mention Texas as an oil heavy state and it is, but Texas has three dozen times as many people as Alaska. Cut the permanent fund in to that many pieces and give Alaska just one of them, and how much help would Alaska be getting from the permanent fund? A bit, but it wouldn't be nearly so significant. But here our revenue pays for everything with money left over. Without that fund we would be in big trouble now to! The fund has tax revenue, without the fund structure the state sill would have had all that tax revenue. The fund does stabilize things a bit, it can restrain overspending in good times, and give some money when things are rough, so it is useful, but it is useful mainly as a control on politicians. If they where disciplined you could get by just fine without the fund (but with all the revenue that flows in to the fund). Of course they aren't disciplined so the fund is useful, but since they aren't disciplined that's just one more reason to not give them more power by making government bigger.