Have you ever wondered just how much money the Alaska Legislature has siphoned off from your family’s annual Permanent Fund Dividend payments? A new calculator makes that easy.
In 2016, Alaska lawmakers began ignoring the statutory formula, which had been used since the 1980s to calculate exactly how much money each Alaska resident should receive from their annual PFD.
The traditional statutory formula calculated the earnings of the Permanent Fund based on an average earnings from the previous five-year period, minus inflation to keep the Fund whole from the ravages of inflation, then split 50/50 between the people and their government. This model – based on earnings – worked well for nearly 35 years before Gov. Bill Walker vetoed a portion of the annual payment in 2016. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld Walker’s decision, claiming that the dividends were subject to the annual appropriations process in the Legislature. Since that time, the statutory PFD payments have been drastically reduced.
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While the legislature could choose to follow the law and appropriate the dividend according to statute and separate it from the budget, they have not done so. Instead, the permanent fund dividend has been subjected to the budget process, where the dividend competes with government spending and often becomes the default deficit reduction solution.
This year, the Democrat-controlled majorities in the State House and Senate have set the PFD at just $1,000, the lowest in history when factoring in inflation.
A new “PFD Doomsday Clock” has now been launched by 907Honest.com, led by political activist Phil Izon, who is working to reform and strengthen Alaska’s election laws.
The new PFD calculator allows users to enter their family size to determine exactly how much the government has withheld from what would have been their traditional statutory PFD payment between the years of 2016 to 2024.
According to the calculator, a family of four has now lost $60,404. Click here to calculate your losses.
26 Comments
State money belongs to the state, not you. Every year we waste time arguing about the dividend. It’s time to end it.
That is incorrect, according to the amendment to the Alaska Constitution in 1976, Article IX, Section 15, the Permanent Fund was established, and “mandates” the Citizens of the state will be allotted a percentage of the fund, as “mandated” by law. https://apfc.org/history/ .. Then , there is this: https://apfc.org/ .. More precise language can be found in the Alaska Constitution.. There are “some” individuals who are not qualified to apply due to certain legal statuses… The bottom line is.. a percentage does belong to the citizens, and if that were not so.. I can assure you that the democrats, and some rinos would confiscate, and drain every penny therein.
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“………according to the amendment to the Alaska Constitution in 1976, Article IX, Section 15, the Permanent Fund was established, and “mandates” the Citizens of the state will be allotted a percentage of the fund, as “mandated” by law……..”
Nowhere in your reference is that stated. Indeed, read Article IX, Section 15 for yourself:https://ltgov.alaska.gov/information/alaskas-constitution/
“……….At least twenty-five per cent of all mineral lease rentals, royalties, royalty sale proceeds, federal mineral revenue sharing payments and bonuses received by the State shall be placed in a permanent fund, the principal of which shall be used only for those income-producing investments specifically designated by law as eligible for permanent fund investments. All income from the permanent fund shall be deposited in the general fund unless otherwise provided by law. [Amended 1976]…….”
Nowhere in Alaska’s Constitution is the PFD “mandated” at all. That is a lie. The Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is an annual payment to Alaska residents funded by investment earnings on mineral royalties. The amount of the dividend is determined by the Alaska Legislature based on a formula, typically incorporating a portion of the Permanent Fund’s net income. A constitutional amendment guaranteeing a specific dividend formula was recently rejected by the Alaska House, meaning the amount of the dividend is still subject to legislative budget decisions. The PFD is just another appropriation, and it will stay that way until it’s exhausted or ended.
Regie Taylor.. It is not a lie.. Read the constitutional text in it’s entirety, and understand what it actually says.. One important text includes this: ” All income from the permanent fund shall be deposited in the general fund unless otherwise provided by law. [Amended 1976]” … “UNLESS otherwise provided by law” That law provides a “Statutory” percentage of disbursement to the citizens.. Even the corrupt legislators admit to this, and some have asked for that “statutory” disbursement be made, only to be ignored… You may find that offensive, but the bottom line is.. No it is not a lie. It is the “law”.
You wrote: “……according to the amendment to the Alaska Constitution in 1976, Article IX, Section 15, the Permanent Fund was established, and “mandates” the Citizens of the state will be allotted a percentage of the fund, as “mandated” by law……..”
There is no “mandate” of any kind to distribute a dividend. Period. The entire dividend program is statutory, and the Supreme Court has ruled that dividends must be appropriated like all other appropriations. Your “statutory” dividend amount was ruled unconstitutional. You’re barking at the moon. It’s over. You’ll get what they appropriate every year, period, whether you like it or not. You can’t whine your way out of this.
I have an upcoming reply.. awaiting approval, but for clarification.. The state does not own “all” of the PFD.
Manny, what’s next? If we quit arguing about the dividend that worked just fine for 35 years before the greedy pillaging idiots stole it in 2016, which only set a precedent for the greedy pillaging idiots who have followed, what then? The greedy pillaging idiots will then whine that we need more of these non-fiscally viable “requirements” then add taxes??? Then increase them regularly to support yet more non-fiscally viable projects? Where does it end. When you have finally spent all others money? You ARE a democrat…
Conjecture is not reality Mark.
Manny you’re out to lunch. You must not be a real Alaskan.
I’ve lived here in Alaska for the last 48 years..
I agree with Loba and Mark comments too.
PA. Alaskans love to conflate Alaskan residence longevity with authority. What about all those Alaskans who have been here longer than you? If you are a new transplant to Alaska or if you’ve been here 48 years AND you support the miasma of Trump, either way, you’re a gullible traitor.
Manny, Yes I’ve lived here the last 48 years, how about you?
Yes I’m A Big Trump supporter, you’re probably a big, brain dead Biden supporter?
And yes those other Alaskans that have lived here longer than myself.
Yes they get a PFD just like the rest of us.
And yes you’re still out to lunch.
“…….. I’ve lived here the last 48 years……..”
Hmmmmmm……..coincides with the oil starting to flow to Valdez. You arrived just as the state income party started, and you appear to still be intoxicated. That hangover is going to hurt………..
You sure about that..? Jay Hammond set up the PFD because he knew that politicians could not be trusted. Jay knew that politicians would blow money like drunken sailors on liberty. Jay knew that corrupt politicians would line their pockets with Alaskan’s money (our money) if given a chance. Jay also knew that when politicians ran out of that huge pot of money, they would want more money in the form of income taxes. Cheechako much..?
The PFD has declined because the Alaska Legislature passed SB21 in 2013, which restructured Alaska’s oil tax policy by lowering tax rates and introducing per-barrel tax credits. Alaska now gives more away to the oil corporations in tax credits than it does in collecting revenue from them. It’s the people’s oil; SB21 needs to be repealed if we are ever to restore PFDs.
How much have Alaskans lost since the PFD began distribution? Want an idea of lost opportunity?:
The current corpus is @ $83 billion.
Over $21 billion has been distributed over the 45 year PFD program history. That money is gone, gone, and gone into the retail industry and winter vacation industry, not infrastructure.
Imagine another $21 billion (plus compounded earnings) in the corpus today.
There’s your waste…………
We as Alaskan can spend OUR money how we see fit.
Yes on vacations, snow machines, down payment on something etc.
Remember, it was, set up for ALL Alaskans.
Not to be spent by some woke loser legislators
“……..We as Alaskan can spend OUR money how we see fit……….”
Yup. And We Alaskans can advocate for an end to free money as WE see fit……..and it’s certainly fit. Because the Permanent Fund WAS NOT set up to be a welfare funding device. It was set up as a future state government funding device. Read it and weep:
https://ltgov.alaska.gov/information/alaskas-constitution/
“……..At least twenty-five per cent of all mineral lease rentals, royalties, royalty sale proceeds, federal mineral revenue sharing payments and bonuses received by the State shall be placed in a permanent fund, the principal of which shall be used only for those income-producing investments specifically designated by law as eligible for permanent fund investments. All income from the permanent fund shall be deposited in the general fund unless otherwise provided by law. [Amended 1976]………”
Regie.. I recommend that you go back, and carefully read the whole texts, and documents as it relates to the PFD, and the variables of disbursements.. But, no.. What I said is not a lie… You are misinformed.. “Also in 1980, the Legislature approved the Permanent Fund Dividend program. The first dividend check of $1,000 was distributed two years later. “” Is your first name Manny ?
“………in 1980, the Legislature approved the Permanent Fund Dividend program………”
Correct. The PFD is legislated law, not a constitutional amendment. And the first dividend wasn’t distributed until 1982 because of the Zobel suit. Moreover, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled in Wielechowski v. Alaska (2016) that the PFD is just another appropriation subject to the legislative process like any other. That decision killed the “statutory” PFD formula, and the previous attempt at creating a constitutional PFD amount was decidedly killed by the Legislature before that. You’re crying over spilled milk. The PFD amount crying is nothing more than noise designed to make the budget process that much more painful, and you’re just another sponge destined to grow in increasing pain. The real battle has begun, and you don’t even know it yet. That battle is how to institute statewide taxes (income and/or sales) while continuing to pay out a dividend. Good luck with that one. This will make “subsistence” look like a stroll through the park, but without federal power involved. You folks will try to make the dividend smell like welfare for “the poor” but that will fail miserably in court. You will waste a good part of your life fighting for a free handout of decreasing value until reality finally arrives. It will suck being you. My name is Reggie, not Manny, and get ready for an increasing number of potential taxpayers who will reject your socialist demands as they face taxation while the taxing authority mails out checks for “the poor” to spend on garbage.
Manny, you must be one of those “outsiders” that thinks Alaska “pays” people to live here. Go back where you came from if you can’t understand the word “dividend!” My investment means My dividend.
Mary, Alaska DOES pay residents to be here. It’s pure socialism. It’s the definition of an unearned handout. I’ll bet you would deny benefits to a homeless guy who doesn’t work, but you’ll get all mama bear about the freebie.
Manny, You don’t know what you’re taking about. Yes the homeless guy gets a permanent fund check too.
I guess you never figured out costs added to goods and services due to shipping. Shipping costs that would’ve been decreased if congress had honored the Statehood Act and revoked the Jones Act for Alaska. A cheechako that does not know the past, has no future and no will to fight. The road goes north, turns left and goes through Canada; or you could be a wimp and simply hop on a airplane.
“……..A cheechako that does not know the past, has no future and no will to fight……….”
Speaking of knowing the past and will to fight, why don’t you explain why the U.S. no longer has its former world prominence in ship building and merchant marine industry, which is what the Jones Act was intended to address? If we can’t build and man ships like we used to (history), we have a grim future, and regardless of “will” won’t be able to fight. The bottom line is that if you’re here for a PFD check, you’re more weight than pull. We need Rosie the Riveter, not Wilma the Welfare Queen.
One of my most recent triumphs was end-arounds to get items shipped here despite stupid regulations, not the flags flown on ships. you know all the “hazmat” stuff? Ammo, paint, solvents, etc? Even stuff with no hazmat at all, but which has an empty fuel tank. Bulky items. Stuff that producers just don’t want to deal with the government too get to me. I now pay a freight forwarder to fill out the hazmat papers and ship from Puget Sound. It’s a totally BS expense, but I can get stuff. And the only beneficiary is the American freight forwarder…….