Nearly every Alaskan will receive a $1,312 check starting this week, their annual share from the earnings of the state's nest-egg oil fund.
Nearly every Alaskan will receive a $1,312 check starting this week, their annual share from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil fund. Some use the Permanent Fund dividend money for extras like tropical vacations but others — particularly in high-cost rural Alaska where jobs and housing are limited — rely on it for home heating fuel or snow machines that are critical for transportation.
This year, the state Legislature approved a one-time, $175 million funding boost for schools in response to pleas from administrators who said they were being forced to cut programs or increase class sizes. But Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy cut the funding in half. The fund is enshrined in the state constitution, which stipulates that at least 25% of mineral lease rentals, royalties and other income related to oil and mineral development go into the fund. The fund's principal is constitutionally protected but its earnings are spendable. The dividend is not in the constitution.
As lawmakers weigh the dividend's future, Erickson favors “something that’s reasonable, not too small and not too big. We don’t want too big to wipe it out. We want to make it consistent to where it’ll last longer, and a fair amount. Anything we’re happy for, anything helps.”For years, until 2015, the amount of investment earnings allocated to dividends was based on a rolling average of the fund's performance, and the announcement of the yearly amount often was aired on live TV.
Moderating oil prices and lower revenue projections led to lower dividends this fall — but lawmakers promised a bonus check of up to $500 next year if oil prices exceed forecasts.
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Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall. The unique benefit is a blessing and a curseNearly every Alaskan will receive a check for $1,312 this week, the annual dividend from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil-wealth fund.
Read more »
Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall. The unique benefit is a blessing and a curseNearly every Alaskan will receive a check for $1,312 this week, the annual dividend from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil-wealth fund.
Read more »
Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall. The unique benefit is a blessing and a curseNearly every Alaskan will receive a check for $1,312 this week, the annual dividend from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil-wealth fund.
Read more »
Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall. The unique benefit is a blessing and a curseNearly every Alaskan will receive a check for $1,312 this week, the annual dividend from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil-wealth fund. Some take tropical vacations and others spend it on necessities. But the dividend has become a mixed blessing in a state that for decades has ridden oil's boom-bust cycle. The dividend now competes for funding with services like public education, health care programs and public safety. Lawmaker disagreement over the checks' size has stymied action on other issues as Alaska struggles to attract workers and stem a trend of people leaving the state. Some residents are questioning the dividend's role in a state with no income or statewide sales tax.
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Nearly every Alaskan gets $1,312 oil check this fall — but it's both a blessing and a curseAlaska's annual dividend now competes for funding with services like public education, health care programs and public safety.
Read more »
Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall — but it's both a blessing and a curseAlaska's annual dividend now competes for funding with services like public education, health care programs and public safety.
Read more »