Middle & lower-income Alaskans are told that cuts to their PFDs are being used to pay for govt. What they are really being used for is to shield upper-income Alaskans, #OilCos & #NonRez from paying their share of the costs of govt thru taxes. #akleg buff.ly/3x7ksom

PFD cuts are about one thing only: protecting the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos from the costs of #akleg spending.

Rather than spreading the impact broadly, PFD cuts instead focus the burden almost entirely on middle- & lower-income #AKfams. buff.ly/Y8K07jZ

When PFD's are cut, the "free money" doesn't disappear. The benefit just transfers to the bank accounts of #NonRez, #OilCos & upper-income #AKfams.

Who pays for that? Middle- & lower-income #AKfams. #akleg

buff.ly/Y8K07jZ

Some argue that the #akleg should divert money designated for PFD distributions to other "important" uses. If those uses are important, then ALL #AKfams & #NonRez should contribute, rather than taking the money almost entirely from middle- & lower-income #AKfams through PFD cuts.

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Alaska’s Super Socialists Some often refer to Permanent Fund Dividends (PFD) as “socialist” and those who advocate for them as “socialists.” The basis for the claim is that PFDs come from “unearned” Permanent Fund earnings,…

ALL of the #akleg POMV draw is "free money." The PFD largely benefits middle & lower-income #AKfams; the portion used to fund govt (substitute for taxes) largely benefits #NonRez, #OilCos & #UpperIncome. PFDcuts simply shift more "free money" to the latter.

Economically, the "free money" from PF earnings is used either to fund PFDs or to shield #NonRez, #OilCos & the Top20% from taxes to cover add'l govt spending. Those pushing PFD cuts just want to use more as a tax shield for the protected class. #akleg buff.ly/A7Az3TZ

By shifting a significant portion of the burden to #NonRez, replacing PFD cuts with a seasonal sales tax keeps A LOT more money in the pockets of #AKfams. Their reaction separates those #akleg concerned about #AKfams from those concerned about special interests.

The 2016 ISER study estimated #NonRez would pay ~10% of a year round sales taxes. A seasonal sales tax focused on the tourist season should raise that percentage somewhat. We have used 12.5% as a proxy. As we and others dive deeper into the numbers, it could be higher.

3/end

Second question: There isn't a perfect overlap between the #NonRez share of wages and their share of sales. Among other things, #NonRez employees don't tend to purchase goods subject to sales tax at the same percent they represent of wages.

2/3

Our first look at raising $775 million thru a 3% average sales tax v. using PFD cuts. Under a sales tax, 10-15% would be raised from #NonRez, significantly reducing the impact on #AKfams from PFD cuts. #akleg

Focus on this for a moment. Using PFDcuts takes money ONLY from #AKfams to fund govt. Using sales taxes would raise ~15% instead from #NonRez. By using PFDcuts, #AKfams are literally subsidizing #NonRez by enabling them to avoid taxes. #akleg

... 1) middle & lower-income #AKfams on one side, and 2) upper-income, #NonRez & #OilCos on the other. #AKleg PFDcuts just give more and more of the wealth to the second. buff.ly/vyGvbMW

Permanent Fund earnings are the return on Alaska's commonly owned wealth. Current law divides them 50/50 between 1) middle & lower income #AKfams, and 2) the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos. Ignoring that, the #akleg is tilting them more and more to the latter. buff.ly/vyGvbMW

Some self-proclaimed "fiscal conservatives" are, instead, fiscal plutocrats, more interested in using the "free money" from the Permanent Fund to shield the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos from govt costs than fairness for middle & lower-income #WorkingAKfams. #akleg #cronycapitalists

The core of any Alaska fiscal proposal is how it deals with the "free money" from PF earnings. PFD shares below 50/50 disproportionately benefit the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos over MIDDLE & lower-income (80% of) #AKfams. #akleg #plutocratic buff.ly/ZGoc6eJ

There's no "ambiguity" around the PFD statute. It's clear and so is the fact that the #akleg has repeatedly violated it to shield the Top20%, #NonRez & the #OilCos to help pay for the costs of govt. buff.ly/PBCOBEO

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Alaska’s Super Socialists Some often refer to Permanent Fund Dividends (PFD) as “socialist” and those who advocate for them as “socialists.” The basis for the claim is that PFDs come from “unearned” Permanent Fund earnings,…

The battle over the PFD isn't about "free money." It's over WHO gets the benefit of the "free money." Now that they are facing taxes, the Top20%, #OilCos & #NonRez want more of it for themselves by taking it from middle & lower income #AKfams. #akleg

Letter: Time for more taxes? The free ride is over, Alaska.

🤦 The usual Top 20% pitch: I'm "ready" for taxes ... but only after we first tax middle and lower-income #AKfams to the max (by eliminating the PFD) before looking for any significant contributions from the Top20%, #NonRez & the #OilCos. #akleg

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Think oil credits are big? There’s another even bigger category The first thing that comes to many, indeed, likely most minds when discussing Alaska tax credits is the per-barrel credits used by the state’s oil producers to reduce their annual production tax…

#AKleg Ds are an interesting bunch. They vote to divert money from middle & lower-income #AKfams so that the Top20%, #OilCos & #NonRez can keep the same amount in their bank accounts.

The biggest under-the-radar #akleg battle is the ongoing tug-of-war over who benefits from "free" #PermFund earnings. Hammond split them 50/50 b/w middle & lower-income #AKfams and the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos. Thru PFDcuts, the benefit is increasingly going to the Top20%, etc. buff.ly/uYlGA6B

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Here’s how - and how much of the - PFD cuts are ending up in the bank accounts of non-residents & oil companies Over the course of the past few months, we have...… Read More

🤔 Some #akleg are OUTRAGED at the potential cut in federal SNAP benefits. Yet, many of the same #akleg had no problem earlier this year withholding nearly $200mill in PFD income due those same beneficiaries and diverting it instead to benefit the state's Top20%, #OilCos & #NonRez.

🤦 Some think the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos are entitled to ALL of the "free" PF earnings by using them as a substitute for their taxes. This is how they respond when others mention the statutory provision distributing a portion to middle & lower-income #AKfams. #akleg

What's the real reason the #akleg is using PFD cuts to close the fiscal gap instead of less regressive, lower-impact taxes? Because it's easier to regressively dump costs on middle- and lower-income #AKfams, than include the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos. buff.ly/QpWmwGh

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Putting all Alaska families first Most oil and gas lawyers who have spent time practicing in the lower 48 don’t find Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) particularly novel.  It follows the same approach as a typical lower 48…

The PFD is a share of Alaska's commonly-owned wealth intended to be distributed equally to its owners. The #akleg is increasingly diverting more and more of it to the benefit of those in the Top20%, #NonRez, #OilCos & other special interests.

Those pushing PFD elimination largely fall into two camps. One is those who think they/the #akleg know better how to spend the money than #AKfams. The second is those in the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos who see using PFD cuts to fund govt as a way of avoiding taxes on them. buff.ly/YvR4kYR

Alaska's decades long gravy train is coming to an end Alaskans have had a helluva run for more than four decades. We haven’t had to pay a state income or sales tax for all that time, and on top of it we’ve gotten a free check from the state every … Read…

🤷 The Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos newest ploy. Try to convince everyone that the PFD is gone anyway, so why bother defending it? #akleg

PFD restoration initiative gains thousands in support A petition demanding restoration to the statutory Permanent Fund Dividend formula has been gaining momentum online — the same year the dividend saw its lowest amount when adjusted for inflation.

🤔 Now over 21,500 signatures. Unlike Rep. Schrage, it seems that many recognize that middle & lower-income #AKfams are already paying a significant tax in the form of PFD cuts, while the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos dodge. #akleg

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: WHICH working-age Alaska families are outmigrating? Earlier this month, the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) issued a press release summarizing its most recent population...… Read More

Some #akleg talk about "controlling spending," but don't create the one incentive that would do it: ensure the Top20%, #OilCos & #NonRez pay some of the costs. Instead, using PFDcuts, they dump the costs on mid & lower-income #AKfams, incentivizing them to leave. #IncentivesMatter

Opinion: I can get things done. Here’s why I’m applying for the job of Alaska governor. I know Alaska, I know state finances, I’ve run big systems and I won’t waste time.

What he did most during his time in the #akleg? Team up with Natasha von Imhof & others to cut the PFD so that the Top20%, #OilCos & #NonRez could dodge paying their fair share of govt spending.

Brad Keithley’s Chart of the Week: Think oil credits are big? There’s another even bigger category The first thing that comes to many, indeed, likely most minds when discussing Alaska tax credits is the per-barrel credits used by the state’s oil producers to reduce their annual production tax…

The "free money" argument used by some to justify PFDcuts is a scam. Cutting PFDs doesn't make the "free money" go away; it just changes its use to a hidden tax credit for the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos. #akleg