Roger Marks’ commentary of Oct. 4 was spot on. Equating reductions of the Permanent Fund dividend to a tax is a metaphor only.
Brad Keithley’s commentary of Oct. 2 actually did a disservice to Alaskans in perpetuating the myth that Permanent Fund distributions belong to individual Alaskans. As his authority, he cited several economists but failed to cite the one that counts, the Alaska Supreme Court.
Permanent Fund earnings belong to the state of Alaska.
All government programs compete with one another for limited government resources, the PFD program among them. There may be better ways to allocate those resources to the programs or people that need them the most, as pointed out recently by Harold Johnston. The current PFD program is certainly not one of them.
If you want to believe that a reduction in your dividend is a tax on your income, fine. Then demand that your legislators tax someone else instead of you. There are good alternatives, such as oil taxes or income taxes, but apparently, other representatives must be elected in order to get them approved.
In the meantime, your dividend program, like it or not, must compete with other government programs for limited state resources.
— Steve Hartung
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.