Hey, I'm pretty new here, just decided to stop lurking and start joining in the fun. Is there anyone else here that lives up here in beautiful Alaska? I'm born and raised in Portland, Oregon, but moved up here about four years ago and it's one of the best decisions I've made. I love this state.
I heard the Alaskan government gives all residents 1,000-2,000 dollars every year. They even give it to babies all you have to do is live they for 1 year. That true?
Yeah, it's called the PFD (permanent fund dividend). What happens is the state takes a cut of the mining/oil/timber profits and invests it in the stock market. Every year, each resident gets a percentage based on the last three years' profits. Sometimes it can be as low as $600, and sometimes, like this year, it can be as much as $2,000. For a lot of us, it simply offsets the high cost of living. I spend a good amount of mine on food for the winter, fixing my car, etc. Parents often put ther childrens' PFDs aside for college. By the time a kid is 18, it can be up to $20,000 in that savings account. It's basically our hush money for corporations raping the land up here.
When I lived in Juneau, I didn't have a problem finding any, but since I've moved to an island with only 2,000 people on it I've been struggling a bit. The whole island is dry right now, I'm guessing because everybody started growing around legalization day and we're still a few weeks away from harvest time. Nobody is doing weed runs down South or up the river to Canada anymore. I'm toying with the idea of taking the ferry to Juneau to buy a pound, just to help my friends and myself out for a month.