Imagine living in a fish bowl. There are big fish and little fish, and the big fish are always hungry. They are looking to gobble up the little fish. You are the little fish, my friend, and if you want to survive being eaten, you’ve got to be smart.
Political science can be defined as the “study of who gets what,” my professor once said. In the immediate case, we are talking about the Permanent Fund dividend. Do you get the dividend or do the big fish get it? The big fish are all the special interests. People who are paid large salaries and great benefits. People in government, people in academia and people in business.
These are the business interests that cut deals in dimly lit rooms, behind closed doors. Might I ask who is lobbying for you, the little fish? Nobody!
I recently read that the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter to the Legislature to lobby against giving the little fish the $3,000 dividend. They want to cut your dividend in half. Plain and simple, that’s a tax. The big fish want to take the food out of your young child’s mouth and use it to pay for state government. And how much do their members pay? Little to nothing.
You see, if their business is organized as a pass-through entity, they pay no income taxes, because income flows through to the individual and we have no individual income tax. Pass-through entities includes business organizations such as sole proprietorships, “S” corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited liability corporations.
I also read about an economist who stated that if Alaskans get the full dividend, it could cause a recession. However, if you give the money to state employees, everything will be fine. And just who employs many economists? Government!
They’ve got it all figured out. Now it’s time for you to figure it out. Be the smart little fish and contact the Legislature. Tell them you are tired of getting ripped off. Tell them it’s time they represented you and not the special interests. It’s time to fry the big fish. Good eating!
Gary Hammond
Fairbanks
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