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I believe that you are either full of it, or uninformed. Please allow me to tech you something about the PDF. This fund was created by a group of Alaskans, and the money comes from taxes imposed on the oil business of Alaska. So, the State of Alaska can take the money and waste it on nothing important, but if they do so, every member of the legislature would be voted out in a short order, because the money belongs to the people of Alaska, not the government of Alaska.
So, the MEANS OF PRODUCTION (70% of Alaska's economy) are OWNED by the people of Alaska. My friends, that = socialism. Actually, that's more like communism.
I also wrote back in mid-September that Alaska's government spends 3x the national average per citizen:
Is true.. any public property is PUBLIC.
That doesnt mean the US is socialist because it has public property, any government needs property to run.
but Alaska is running private oil companies on its public property and taking the proceeds for its citizens. Are the citizens individually owners in the oil companies and get money directly from the companies in the form of dividends that they pay tax on or do they get a state check? Maybe that would clear this up a bit as far as the RDP goes?
I have no ax to grind with RDP but, I do have a question. Is the RDP paid per person or per household? If it is indeed per person, than someone with a family is actually getting a decent amount to offset the higher prices of living In Alaska. It would be a decent incentive for a young family to consider if they did have an opportunity for employment and relocation.
My SiL recieves a state check as does her husband as part of the profits of a trust fund set up to invest the state royalties for the oil business. She says most checks, which are issued in February, are spent on a two week vacation on Maui.
My SiL recieves a state check as does her husband as part of the profits of a trust fund set up to invest the state royalties for the oil business. She says most checks, which are issued in February, are spent on a two week vacation on Maui.
So it is not like all the individual citiizens are private owners, it is like the state owns the stock and they give out the money? And that is all cool, but the tax thing is a different matter. Now if the company were to fold, or not make profits, say because the state did not build a pipeline for it, would the state lose the money and stop paying the checks?
I have no ax to grind with RDP but, I do have a question. Is the RDP paid per person or per household? If it is indeed per person, than someone with a family is actually getting a decent amount to offset the higher prices of living In Alaska. It would be a decent incentive for a young family to consider if they did have an opportunity for employment and relocation.
I honestly think that unfortunately, it is an incentive (it's paid per person). And that's part of the reason they made some stricter regulations concerning residency. I'm assuming that by RDP you mean PFD, by the way. I remember years ago when it first came out, a family of 13 moved into our area, got the "check", and went back to the lower 48. At that time the residency requirements were only six months and they weren't nearly as stringent about checking the facts of people's residency as they are these days.
It's never a guaranteed amount though, so a young family would have to take that into consideration. And it's really a shame that more families don't just put the money into a college account for their children.
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Now if the company were to fold, or not make profits, say because the state did not build a pipeline for it, would the state lose the money and stop paying the checks?
Sure; there have been some years when it's been basically nothing.
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My SiL recieves a state check as does her husband as part of the profits of a trust fund set up to invest the state royalties for the oil business. She says most checks, which are issued in February, are spent on a two week vacation on Maui.
The dividend checks are issued in the fall and not in February.
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Great thread.Thanks!!!!"Alaska,The Welfare State"....that should be their slogan....Get the bumper sticker machine fired up...Alaskans LOVE their bumper stickers.
I used to give you rep points pretty often; I'll save them for someone else now.
Someone like Ray might know if the windfall tax revenues went into the Permanent Fund account or into the General Fund. The $1200 energy credit was a one time thing, by the way, and except in very poor households, it will probably offset anything people might get from the Federal Energy assistance program.
Whether you want to call it capitalism or socialism (it has aspects of both), the permanent fund was a smart business move.
About the founder of the AIP--these are his exact words regarding America:
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"The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government,"
What he hated was the federal government and not "America".
Last edited by Metlakatla; 10-22-2008 at 12:45 PM..
It's a federal program where people can get assistance with their energy bills.
Office of Community Services - Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) Program (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/ - broken link)
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