Posted on 11/05/2008 5:04:39 PM PST by KerryOnNoMore
In Alaska, residents pay no income tax or state sales tax. They receive a yearly dividend check from a $30 billion state investment account built largely from royalties on its oil. Palin raised taxes on big oil last year. With oil prices soaring this year, she was able to increase the checks by $1,200 to help residents hit by higher home fuel and gas costs. Thus every eligible man, woman and child got a record $3,269 this fall.
She also suspended the 8-cent tax on gas.
"We can afford to share resource wealth with Alaskans and to temporarily suspend the state fuel tax," she said at the time.
Much as Obama explains his tax hike on the rich as a way to help people who are struggling, Palin's statement talked about the energy costs burdening Alaskans:
"While the unique fiscal circumstances the state finds itself in at the end of this fiscal year warrant a special one-time payment to share some of the state's wealth, the payment comes at a time when Alaskans are facing rising energy prices. High prices for oil are a double-edged sword for Alaskans. While public coffers fill, prices for heating fuel and gasoline have skyrocketed over the last six months and are now running into the $5- to $9-a-gallon range for heating fuel and gasoline across several areas of the state."
In an interview with The New Yorker last summer Palin explained that she would make demands of a new gas pipeline "to maximize benefits for Alaskans":
"And Alaska we're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Wrong, this fund is bankrupt!!
It’s in the Constitution. Former Governor Jay Hammond came of with the Permanent Fund idea.
The hand out are a new distributions of wealth scam she put in place. The old fund is broke. People in Alaska think the lower forty eight owns them a government and handouts.
Wrong!!!!
Google is your friend and keeps one from making silly statements.
This isn’t taking private money from one person and giving it to someone else. It’s money the state makes from allowing it’s resources to be tapped, to the benefit of the whole country. That money is then paid out to residents to help defray the cost of living there. Remember everything has to be shipped a long way, and the cost of living is high. Alaska pays people to live there, partly because underpopulation is a potential problem.
hahahahaha, your fear of Governor Palin is palpable, and telling.
we're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources.
There, you obviously missed the key statement.......
Which third party scam are you working for?
The truth, try it you may like it.
AK has to maximize the benefits of its resouces for the benefit of the people who own the resources. That’s how they chose to do it when Hammond set up the PFD.
Ah, a Barrclown. Figured.
Yes it is, the current program, institute by her, is a tax on the oil paid by the people who buy the oil. The fund set up by the government during the building of the pipe line is long gone.
The Alaskan residents are the royalty owners, owners of the mineral rights, not the state, hence, they share in the royalties generated by the sale of those mineral rights.
I don’t see how that’s a reponse to what I posted. You have an issue with the Alaska State Constitution. Take it up with the people who drafted it.
it’s no different than if you rented out a room of your house and shared the rental income with each member of your family.
it is in no way even remotely similar to what Nobama will do. in fact, it is the opposite.
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