Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked the Legislature to prioritize a fair Permanent Fund dividend amount, to place surplus revenues into State savings, and to take action on the People First Initiative bills introduced earlier this session.
“I ask the Legislature to pay every eligible resident a PFD this year of at least $3,700,” said Gov. Dunleavy during a press briefing. “We have this tremendous opportunity to provide a 50/50 PFD while having enough to place into savings. The more money in the hands of Alaskans, the better it will be for everyone. These are dire times for Alaskans who are paying at the pump while the government benefits from high oil prices. We need to be putting the money back in our constituents’ pockets.”
In March, Governor Dunleavy reported a projected $3.4 billion increase to the Spring 2022 Revenue Forecast over this year and the next. According to the Alaska Department of Revenue, the forecast is consistent, and the State is still projecting a multibillion-dollar surplus for 2022 and 2023.
In addition to the PFD, the administration’s priority is to rebuild savings with the surpluses in the range of $11 billion over 10 years, based on a conservative forecast of $70 plus per barrel to 2031.
According to estimates from Bloomberg Economics, the average American household can expect to pay an extra $5,200 this year – $433 per month – compared to last year due to inflation rising at a historic rate during the Biden Administration. The economic policies put in place by the Biden Administration are hitting low-income Alaskans the hardest, where they do not have a cushion of savings to protect them from rising prices.
“We have the resources we need to make this PFD happen, so we wait on the Legislature to make their decision. Rural Alaska is going to see, potentially, $17/gallon of oil in some places. Alaskans should benefit from the State’s resources,” he said.
Dunleavy said that he said the Permanent Fund dividend should be as close to the statutory amount as possible. He acknowledged that his attempt to bring the Permanent Fund dividend formula to a vote of the people of Alaska is not moving in the Legislature.
In this session, Governor Dunleavy has addressed sex trafficking, sex offenses and victim protection with Senate Bills 189, 187 and 188. The bills are part of his People First Initiative, which includes five major intersecting topics: Domestic violence and sexual assault, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons, human/sex trafficking, foster care and homelessness.
Paying a large PFD may prove difficult if Revak has his way and increases the financial burden of the State.
One third of the legislature just ignores our Governor and one half dislikes him so much that they refuse to even consider anything he asks for. Then there’s a third that want to stand by and for their constituents by paying the statutory amount of the PFD.
You assert 5/6 of the legislature either “ignores” or “refuse to consider” (synonymous terms) anything the governor asks for. You then assert 2/6 of the legislature wants to pay the “statutory” dividend he asks for. Your point relies upon 7/6 of the legislature taking non-intersecting positions. Consequently, your point is a logical fallacy. Reference: 4th grade arithmetic.
I think some of the 1/3 who ignore the Governor and some of the 1/2 who dislike him so much they refuse to consider anything he asks for could actually be the same people. So therefore they would not be mutually exclusive. i.e. see Venn Diagrams…
Ohhhhhhhhh he “asked”. Ok well then that will definitely make stunted Stutes stand up and take notice. Nothing gets things done like when Dunleavy “asks” for them. Like when he asked for budget cuts….then caved, or when he asked for the meetings in Wasilla…then caved. Or when he asked for full dividends..well you know the rest.
Go do a better job. Frankly, you can’t. Vote him out and vote in someone better rather than come across like a whiner.
The legislature has the power to override the governor, and does at every turn. Blaming the governor because we have inept criminals in the legislature is like blaming the conductor when the engineer blows up the generator.
If he doesn’t have a veto proof majority on his side then all he can do is ask. With Republican legislators like these, who needs Democrats? They do the work of the left and special interests just as well as the Dems, and they are the best at destroying the handful of decent conservatives who are foolish enough to run, thinking they can make a difference. Until the citizens of the state send legislatures that are not beholden to the left or the special interests, none of this will change. Even then, you have the permanent bureaucracy, the fourth branch, who will just refuse to enact any reforms handed down from the executive, knowing that, another corrupt actor, the judiciary, will have their back and thwart any executive action or legislation that happens to make its way through.
We are in a tough spot.
anyone acting like the (R) doesn’t have an equivalent special interest group is burying their head in the sand. Good or bad this is tragically how power is wielded, lets talk issues and outcomes, we both play politics.
This is called election year pandering.
Lucinda, If that’s what it is then I’m for making every year election year.
Your mindset gives you a trip to Las Vegas or a new TV or a bigger Four Wheeler. Your mindset cuts budgets to State Parks, State Troopers, school lunch vouchers.
you forget waste, fraud and abuse the #1 juneau export.
Sounds like a plan to me. Cut hard and cut deep.
My mindset gives me a new heater for my home. Haven’t had any heat for over a month. The estimate — prior to this huge inflation — was more than 10% of our annual income. We’ve cut and cut and cut, and we can’t cut anymore. This week, I’ll be buying food instead of paying utilities. So don’t tell me I’m taking trips to Vegas or buying TVs (which, btw, I have NEVER bought) and who can afford things like 4-wheelers? School lunches? That’s a federal thing.
Your mindset promotes an omnipotent government upon which we depend for everything. Apparently you never got the world-wide memo that was issued over 100-yrs ago: “communism doesn’t work.”
So you’re against the PFD then?
Not paying the statutory PFD is a public crime against the people. A public crime is when someone on the clock willfully breaks a law impairing constituents while on the clock. It is public because the person impairing is receiving a stipend from the public trust funds and is bound by oath to obey the corporate bylaws and defend and secure the rights of the people. Members of the public are not bound by oaths therefore they are freemen in the private.
^^^ This.
Dunleavy has been trying to get a full or higher PFD each year he’s been in office. It’s not a new thing for his reelection year. The legislature just keeps shutting him down.
Sounds great but wish it was a pay out and liquidate the total amount owed past and present, it would really help us here.
Thank you, Governor Dunleavy, State Legislature needs to be put to task!
Their spending is out of control, when Alaskans are in need of a helping hand….money that should not have to be asked for, but expected.
This is soooo good to see from our Governor. He has done and has tried to do so many good things that the legislature has blocked that I am not hopeful for this to go through, due to our far-left legislature. We NEED to change this configuration in the legislature if we want to make good things happen. IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE, FOR SURE!!!
Pay the PFD based on the statutory formula, and also pay back the amount that was stolen in previous years.
And yes, fuel prices at the pump are (unnecessarily) out of control. It now costs me $160-$190 to fill up my work SUV.
But nothing is going to happen with the PFDs as long as Dunleavy refuses to use the leverage he has at his fingertips, the veto pen, but just continues to cave and sign the budgets that the left leaning legislators pass and send to his desk…..
And you think his vetoes would survive an override? I would have to assume he knows the votes better than anyone and will more than likely not veto anything that will be immediately overturned. I would think some elements in the media, and the legislature would love for that to happen, but I don’t think he’s that stupid to play into that. If he vetoes anything, he’ll have done the math and know that he has the votes. Otherwise, Why make a useless gesture?
Governor Dunleavy did use his veto pen last year, among vetoes he made: – the fund containing the legislators’ Per Diem pay. First time it had been done. Some of the powers that be were foaming at the mouth, but Dunleavy said he did it because the legislature was not doing their jobs. Trouble is, he has to work with these people, so we will see how much that shot across the bow worked. It was pretty drastic and indicated his patience had come to an end.
Hmm, maybe I should start selling gas in rural Alaska too. $17/gal !!!
By the time you get a tanker load flown in you are liable to have $16 and change in it. But go ahead….At those prices if you undercut the other guy by a nickle a gallon you will own the market.
Until we have a constitutional amendment putting teeth into the formula the legislature uses – and the word “SHALL” is used instead of “may” your PFD will be stolen year after year and then eliminated entirely. Said amendment must, if at all possible, include hard jail time for those in violation.
As usual, our legislators are working on a budget that is more than a BILLION dollars higher. SPEND SPEND SPEND SPEND. Meanwhile our food and fuel is up more than 20 %. Im not wanting entitlement. Im looking for restraint and all I see is lawmakers cashing in on the windfall in revenues.
We all know where this is going. And the big party in our dislocated capital will continue. $300 a day and all you can eat and drink, compliments of the people who steal your money(special interests lobbyists). Yep, a snowball chance in hell, and our Governor knows it and has no plan to force the issue, yet will use it for his campaign. We the suckers, or is it rubes.F the f-rs.
Governor Mike, bag the 50/50 – we have a law, the “Statutory Formula”. Cut spending first – the legislature is raising spending faster than costs are going up. Pay the full statutory PFD with all the stolen PFDs reimbursed with interest. Then fill the CBR and other State savings vehicles. After those and only after talk to us about additional government spending and programs IF there is anything left over. Projected funding must be secured for any new spending or programs without stealing PFDs or new taxes. Stop the Steal.
Yep. Spend it while you got it! Doofusses! Buy them votes. Yee Hah! Restraint is definitely in order.
And don’t come for me with an income tax when you blow through it. Pay attention to the stock market and bond yields. Have a nice day.
Dunleavy lost this battle in Wasilla 4 years ago. Peeing himself and caving to the legislature has consequences.
Do not forget who screwed this up China Walker, Giesel, Stedman, and Von I am in charge, remember them at the Poles, We the people are hurting, Is our legislator so out of touch, or so rich they do not see what the average Alaskan is going threw .
Absolutely love this governor.
By my reckoning, the legislature owes me for the years; 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
In 2016, the dividend was $2,085 but we received only $1,022, short $1,063.
In 2017, the dividend was $2,458 but we received only $1,100, short $1,358
In 2018, the dividend was $2,924 but we received only $1,600, short $1,324
In 2019, the dividend was $2,884 but we received only $1,606, short $1,278
In 2020, the dividend was $2,895 but we received only $992, short $1,903
In 2021, the dividend was $4,200 but we received only $1,114, short $3,086
To spare you the math, that’s a $10,012 owed each Alaskan who owned a share of the AK Fund and was legally entitled to an annual dividend.
Exactly! With that, I could buy a new home for my heater and eat food, too.
I was blinded by a Murky ad in the middle of reading the article. C’mon Suzanne, asking for donations is better than making a bargain with RINO losers
Nancy and I love MRAK, and the fact that Suzanne let’s all political persuasions post on the comment section. We plan on being right here through 2022, when Kelly T finally takes the crown. Thank you, Suzanne, for all you do!
I don’t hold Suzanne’s taking on paying ads, against her, because she needs a revenue stream to keep this site going.
Judging by the amount of stories she puts on here, she is one of the hardest working people in the state.
I seriously do not know how she does it, she must be working 20 hours a day.
I try to my part, and send her money when I can, always wishing it was more.
I do not know how strapped for cash I would have to be to take money from people who I despise. I heard Dan Fagan’s defense of it many times, but he is but an employee. As a small business owner, I reserve the right to not do business with people I don’t care for. And I often exercise it. I am sending another donation so you can make the choices. Just remember the bakery and the cake. I might end up in jail for my decisions, but three hots and a cot is better than giving in to madness. God bless America.
I will never understand why conservatives in Alaska glommed on to the pfd. with oil on the decline our state will be forced to enact taxes. at that point we will be fighting between a sales tax and an income tax. I believe we should give up the PFD entirely in exchange for a constitutional amendment barring an income tax. or in 10 to 20 years you will be clutching at a pathetically small PFD while paying out 5% income taxes.
Incorrect on so many fronts.
Dividend is a self explanatory term. It is money owed, not given. We are shareholders in the state and are legally due to profits owed us.
Do you, assuming you are still working, do it for free? Or do you collect a check every two weeks?
The law is clear. Pay us first then the state must live within the means of what’s left. It’s the job of the state to grow responsibly- if at all.
Did you buy a house or car based on every cent you made, or buy one based on the money you had available after servicing your debts first?
An income tax and a statutory PFD are not linked. A simple solution is for the state to live within its means. Stop growing, stop the state government employees union, cut jobs if necessary. Like the private sector does.
Capitalism is a wonderful thing.
The real crime in public education is the amount of people unable to think
Masked,
Well said .
Kenneth R wells for governor say I. On it mr wells thank you.
And then complain when taxes are on the table? It’s either or, not a complicated thing.
I agree with Kenneth Wells that $10,012 for every Alaskan sounds good. Alaskans can put the money to use better than any politician can, ever!
Let’s face it, the legislature has too much control over the initiative process when it can block anything that it even thinks might cut its abilities to let the people vote on how it spends their money. Gov. Dunleavy has had initiatives blocked for at least two years that would have settled the PFD problem, and also allowed Alaskans to vote on whether they wanted new taxes or tax increases. Little support from the public has only armed the legislature more. A lot of the legislature apparently still owes their allegiances to former Gov. Bill Walker, and have done their best over the term of the current governor to stifle anything he proposes. Evidence Bryce Edgmon as a co-chairman of the Walker campaign. Time for people to wake up and support the change Dunleavy was trying to bring unless Alaskans want their state to fall into the dead Blue pattern.
Blockade the blockheads. Most Alaskans will never have mineral rights attached. They have not been paid prior to this taking which is 1) disobeying the US Constitution 2) disobeying federal CFR 49 which spells out ANY taking of ANY property right cannot be done without appraisal at market value, meaningful negotiations documented to federal standards, agreement and most important PAYMENT before the taking. Without a sheriff to enforce the US Constitutional rights of property owners you have travesties which is all this fake pseudo state is. Democrats are devolving to a communist manifesto in lieu of the US Constitution and the republic. Only the severely mentally ill and ignorant can bear this.
Henceforth my ballot will be “NO” for any question concerning funding for ANYTHING, and my candidate of choice for all seats or positions will be a write-in candidate named “Full PFD”.
You are the very definition of dum b and selfish.
Ode to the democrat: The coffers overflow and the legislature and their special interests are drunk with money, their room is spinning and wanton waste is written in the books with a meager pittance for the peasants, shovel that cash snake tongued democrat, shovel fast.
A more eloquent post I have never read.
Have you/we had enough of these tyrants yet? IT IS TIME to take a stand, on every street corner with signs.
It is TIME to call these “Reps” and FILL THEIR PHONES.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes;
It’s called “pissing up a waterfall”. You try and tray and try, but it in the end you get just get soaked.
Was only going to break it down into 2 groups but then decided I was leaving out the Good Guys. But I am glad I didn’t change the fractions. Was wondering how long it would take for someone to notice and feel superior while doing so,
I’ve tried voting for good people and ideas, and against the bad same for years. It didn’t seem to work. I’ll try this awhile without apology. But thanks for noticin’.
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