Alaska has been in the news a lot lately. Now I knew that every Alaskan resident receives a dividend from the state's oil enriched budget surplus. But some of the facts are staggering... EVERY one of the residents of Alaska receives $3269.00 a year...simply for living in Alaska.
The state has over $5 billion in savings and a permanent fund now worth $35 billion.
When you consider that dozens of states (including the one in which I reside...Texas...and the two others I grew up in...Kansas and Oklahoma) have been facing serious budget crunches, the fact that Alaska has so much in reserve is sickening. When states across the nation cannot properly fund their education systems and pay their teacher's a decent salary due to serious fiscal problems...Alaska's billions cause me to take a second look.
Yet the federal government continues to subsidize Alaska's existence. Why? Why do American taxpayers still pay a dime to help Alaska? Why does Alaska (including Sarah Palin) continue to beg the American people for federal earmarks? No Child Left Behind has yet to be funded and I have received one 3% raise in four years as a teacher in Texas...yet my tax dollars continue to help Alaska enrich itself. Why is Juneau asking for anything when they have billions in the bank? They may have quashed the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" but they still kept the $247 million. If they have so much in savings...then why am I paying Alaska a dime of my hard-earned money?
