In 140 B.C., Roman politicians passed the grain dole. This was a way to keep the masses topically satisfied whilst the empire financially crumbled. Bread and Circuses. Incidentally, this is when the Republic began to die.
Those braying for “Full PFD Now” are offering you bread and circuses. There is some uncomfortable math that isn’t part of the slogan and that is “income tax.”
That is what happens right after you get your full PFD now.
FY27 POMV draw is $4 billion. That’s government services AND dividend payout. If we pay out the statutory amount, that’s $2.5 billion. The state budget is $6.3 billion. That’s a $4.8 billion deficit. So, what are you willing to do without? Schools, fire and police, or infrastructure?
Trim the state government? Sure, I support a Sunset Commission and institute an Inspector General’s office to find the fat and cut it. Best case, you can trim 10% from what the governor controls and that wouldn’t move the needle much. Even 25% wouldn’t.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
The rest is on you – $12,000 per voter in income tax the year a statutory PFD is paid out.
It’s a pity the “Full PFD Now” crowd doesn’t clamor as vociferously for resource development, which would actually grow the PFD.
A few weeks ago, a “senior contributor” from another publication criticized a reasonable approach to the PFD issue with a pearl-clutching “Wow” and encouraged those supporting “full PFD now” to write an op-ed explaining why a full PFD is possible and send it to every venue possible.
Still waiting on that.
The permanent fund needs new revenue streams. Alaska is bursting with natural resources. We just need leadership to develop them. There is a path, but it isn’t a word-deep slogan. It’s hard work, building partnerships, setting goals and measuring progress.
In a word, a “plan.”
Find a candidate who has one.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
12 Comments
Hear! Hear!
thank you granny 1
Sorry, but no. Just because Gov. Walker decided to raid the PFD does not mean we have to continue to do so. The State needs to cut back spending accordingly. There is nothing whatsoever that requires us to raid the PFD continually, except the greed and avarice of the legislature. If you don’t have the cash, quit spending it. Period.
Whine all you like about “cutting spending” but we are required to balance the budget in AK and if we cannot do it without ILLEGALLY raiding the PFD, then we are already completely in the wrong.
Stop that crap already.
Just pay us a full PFD. I’ve lived here so long, I remember when the first PFD came out. Then right after that, the school tax and state income tax went away. Now you want to bring back taxes?
Take 40% of the value of the Permanent Fund and place it off limits to the highly paid money managers. Then reinvest this 40% in passively managed mutual funds half in a S&P 500 mutual fund and the other half in a NASDAQ mutual fund for a period of not less than 25 years. You can add more to this percentage, but can’t take it away. That will boost the rate of returns and hopefully the dividends if the legislature would quit taking more than the 50/50 split between State government and Alaska residents. Investment is for the long term, not day to day, week to week, month to month. The Alaska Permanent Fund board members would never vote/allow for this investment scenario in any shape or form, but a man can dream.
If you’re not growing you’re dying. Ambler, ANWR, West Susitna road, Pebble mine. The list of development projects is quite long for Alaska. The roster of completed projects? Not so much.
That’s the credo of a cancer cell.
No, false dichotomy. There is plenty of wasteful spending to cut. Also the POMV draw was a construct designed to steal the PFD and feed it to government (socialism). You could change the way the draw is done, but mostly you need to just stop wasting money. They did it before in the 80s when Alaska had hard times, but since Walker decided that he didn’t want to make cuts we’ve gone down this awful path. If a candidate isn’t for supporting a full PFD they will not get my vote, no matter how low the likelihood of that happening.
So many absolutely delusional folks here thinking that a full PFD can be paid out. Fine then show how you would cut the State budget to do it.
Fair point, Bob.
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We had forensic audits, DOGE, grand jury systems that worked, and elections that were honest. They were effective tools, incentives, for keeping Alaska’s budget under reasonable control.
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Hard to believe we lost these things for absolutely no reason. Maybe it’s coincidence that our Ruling Class seem able to do what they’re doing now, including taking our PFD’s and threatening us with income and sales taxes, without having to worry about angry voters or law enfocement …because we lost the last vestige of control over them?
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So …all we know about state budget is what unelected officials with vested interests in preserving their fiefdoms, and legislators outnumbered nearly 9 to 1 by registered special interest groups tell us . Remember “trust but verify”? Not happening here, remind again why.
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That’s the delusion.
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So does it not seem rational to believe our Ruling Class do what they do, including taking our PFD’s, because, for now at least, they apparently don’t have to worry about votes, cops, or accountants?
It is not about IF the PFD can be paid out in full. It is supposed to be paid out in full for it was created to paid in full every year to all Alaskans whether they are delusional or not! You need to go back to the Lower 48 and go complain with your delusional family and friends!
My Goodness, how did anyone make it in Alaska before the Oil Revenue Rape took over ? Does expansion of the Alaska Economy have to come from the ever growing graft and corruption of the Political Machine ?