Raids – Past and Present

From the beginning of the Fund in 1976, business and government leaders have circled like sharks around the Peoples’ treasure and worked to raid it.

Legislators have cut to the PFD in order to pay for government from 2016 to the present. But that is an unjust, regressive tax only on Alaskans, including children. There are other options to use, but legislators resist using them. Only a PFD constitutional amendment will protect the future for Alaskans today and in the future.

The PFD is called the “Third Rail of AK politics.” It means the PFD issue is so charged that any politician who touches it will suffer politically and the voters will kill a politicians career. Show these politicians the consequences of stealing your PFD. Make it loud and clear in the next election this is 110% true – the PFD Third Rail is dangerous to trespassing politicians. The power of the Third Rail is in your hands, ALASKA VOTERS! Zap the Raiders with your votes. Fire them and end their political careers in the next election!

                      RAID CONTINUES FOR 6 YEARS: SEE TOTAL THEFT BELOW:

 

Governor Bill Walker dropped out of the Governors’ race in Oct. 2o18 – The Third Rail of AK government is energized  – YOUR VOTE MATTERS!

RAID, 2021: Politicians stall with organizing in Juneau for most of the Session! Waste of time and money. Federal COVID funds put a band aid on the fiscal problem so politicians continue ignoring their responsibility to solve Alaska’s fiscal problems. VOTE THEM OUT! More PFD cuts pending….  Constitutional PFD with a fair, conservative formula is the only hope to stop this government raid year after year, and the destruction of our savings, guaranteed!

RAID May, 2018: The Legislature cut the PFD to $1600 ($1100 tax per Alaskan) and set-up a 5.25% POMV in statute to pay for government – with no PFD formula.  No public vote for consent and the Session adjourned after the filing date for a public Referendum vote to repeal this law SB26 in 2018. The public’s rights and the Permanent Fund system are not protected by these politicians.

RAID June, 2017: The Legislature voted to cut the PFD this year by over half to $1100. This cut amounts to a regressive tax levied without public consent. http://www.ktoo.org/2017/07/05/pfd-cut-affects-alaskans-others/

RAID October, 2017: Supreme Court decision approved the Governor’s veto cutting PFDs in half. This action overrides the law and makes the dividend available for appropriation for government. This is the end of the PFD as Alaskans have known it since 1982, their rightful share of resource wealth. The only way to protect the PFD now is in the Alaska Constitution by a vote for an amendment. In the 2018 Session Alaskans are campaigning for a vote on this amendment that must be put on the ballot in 2018 by a 2/3 vote of the Legislature.

http://www.ktva.com/story/36218614/walkers-halving-of-pfd-checks-upheld-by-alaska-supreme-court

http://www.alaskajournal.com/2017-06-20/supreme-court-hears-arguments-pfd-veto-lawsuit#.WZRst1WGPIU

The Governor proposed a Permanent Fund Protection Act that involves capping the PFD and restructuring the Fund to spend earnings for government. Instead of protecting the Fund and PFD this plan can erode both. This restructure plan can damage the Permanent Fund system that has defended the Fund for decades against government spending through the public receiving the PFD share of oil wealth according to the current law. The public guards the Permanent Fund through their PFD stake. “Keep the dividend part of the Alaska Permanent Fund to protect both”

PFD RAID 2016: PFD cut to $1022 in 2016 (an unapproved tax of $1030 per Alaskans). Government and business groups spend over $6 million in ads and lobbyists to grab the People’s money for government – including the Governor’s office, Alaska’s Future group with GCI, and the Rasmuson Foundation. See Alaska’s Future details at www.akfuture.org . They are continued to try their lobby campaign, but they failed to convince Alaskans so Alaska’s Future gave up in 2017! But their lobbyists and Raiding politicians continue…

According to the Alaska Constitution, the Fund and resource wealth belongs to the People not government. Politicians are getting around the law to steal Alaskans’ gold!

In 2018 there are $65 billion reasons for this battle for control of the Peoples’ Fund.. http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Alaska-Permanent-Fund-total-value-exceeds-60-billion-435734013.html

In the past, all Alaska’s Governors have promised to hold a public vote for Fund changes. Governor Walker is the first to break that promise. Alaska Governors Bill Sheffield, Steve Cowper, Wally Hickel, Tony Knowles and Frank Murkowski all proposed cutting dividends. If these plans had succeeded the Fund would not have grown as it has and the economy would have slowed due to PFD cuts.

In 1999, Gov. Knowles pledged he would hold an advisory vote on a budget plan that tapped the Fund earnings to pay for government. He said that since Alaskans approved the Permanent Fund by a public vote, Alaskans have a right to vote on changes to the Fund. In 2016, Gov. Knowles abandoned this good reasoning and now leads the Alaska’s Future group trying to raid the Fund without a public advisory vote.
See Gov. Knowles letter from 1999 at the Save Your PFD site: http://www.web-ak.com/pfd/knowles.html

Much of the deceptive advertising used in 1999 has been repeated again in 2016. Here’s former Senator Rick Halford’s 2016 article explaining the raids he witnessed as an AK State Senator: https://www.adn.com/voices/commentary/2016/06/15/house-should-vote-no-to-protect-permanent-fund-and-dividend/

See the Governors debating the PFD Cap in this video:                                                          Gov Hammond says “No PFD Cap!”