$3269

PFD. BFD. The benefits of being an Alaskan stretch far beyond a low sun-induced skin cancer risk, the surprise hot Governor/Vice-Presidential candidate, and bears roaming our city streets. Today a large portion of the state received their Permanent Fund Dividend check in direct deposit form. Now, knowing that my parents read this blog from time to time, I won't say that I am bitter that I had to put mine into the ol' college savings account every year, but think where I could have been if I had been able to purchase a 4 wheeler or a trip to Hawaii instead. What good has my "education" done for me? Now, much like alcoholism and child abuse repeat in a sad, sad cycle, I will force my own children to place their free money into an account that will likely never amount to anything. At least when they turn 18, or if I die, they can spend it on something fun. Now that I'm a grown up, I think I'll spend mine on something much more responsible. I'm getting a motorcycle...with a sidecar. Sweet.

If you haven't heard of the free money they give away in Alaska, it basically boils down to this: 1) Oil companies drill for oil. 2)Oil companies make billions of dollars on oil. 3)The State of Alaska charges royalties on Big Oil's production. 4)Some dude invests the money in an offshore account, municipal bond, coffee shack, or some other wise investment. 5)The man then divides a small portion of the interest between all Alaskans. 6)This somehow amounts to billions of dollars.

Now (here's the commentary part), we have no state income tax or state sales tax, and much of our state budget also comes off of this same income process. Now although I am not a Republican and am not hugely in favor or government excess, couldn't we do some better things with this money than hand it out for a shopping spree? How about schools? Alaska used to have some of the best schools in the nation, with the best teacher salaries. This is no longer the case. How about services for the disabled? (Sarah Palin is a big proponent of this on the national stage, too bad she never mentioned it here at home. Don't get me wrong, I kind of liked her as Governor, but her new national persona is much different than who she was back home). How about infrastructure or maybe, just maybe we should plan for the future when we don't have giant piles of oil money laying around the house. Just a thought. (Not to go down the ANWR road, but even if we did open it, we are 10-15 years away from production and it will never sustain our national consumption of oil. Seriously, it is a drop in the proverbial bucket of oil, when will people realize that? It will be opened, it is just a matter of time, but it will never be the savior for which we have been prepared.)

Enough of the rant already. Need to go out and buy something.