Do Alaskans really get paid by the Government simply for living there?

I’ve heard it enough times to believe it’s true but I want the Straight Dope on the issue!
I heard the money comes from the states oil revenue. Is this extra loot a bit of incentive to get “cold lovin folk” to move up there to work while freezing their asses off?

Is all this really true?

How much loot do they receive per year?

Do you need to be employed?

How old do you need to be to cash in?

Does your income range effect the amount of compensation you receive?

Are Alaskans also exempt from paying a state sales tax?

If all this is true I just might… Yeah right!!!

      • Well, Alaska has no personal state income tax.
        ~

Yes it is true. It’s called the Permanent Fund Dividend.

This year it was $1,540.76. The highest it’s ever been is $1963.86 in 2000.

No, just a resident of Alaska (even if you are a permanent or conditional alien) for 185 days a year or more (some reasons for absence excusable).

18, but parent/guardians can file for children, and 18 year olds can file for dividends they never received.

No, income does not affect the dividend.

There is no statewide sales tax cite

The rest of the information (and anything else you might want to know) came from Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend Program

Alaska Permanent Fund

(Emphasis mine.) Source: http://www.apfc.org/organization/faq.cfm?s=1

Also you need to be a resident for 2 yrs.

If you spent any amount of time in jail, you dont get that years dividend. (at least thats what happened to a friend)

Point of fact: It snows more and gets colder in Buffalo NY than it does in my town.(Which is situated in Southern-southeast Alaska) Look its normal people doing average things! In Alaska!

We dont need any more folk, thank you very much…

wow… tony i looked over that site and barely saw any snow… i also barely saw any sunshine… 95% rainy / gloomy skies… are you sure you dont live in seattle?

Heh, I grew up in seattle. The weather is not all that different there.
I worked with a guy last year (who came up from Oregon) who quipped:* “This isn’t Alaska, its northern freakin’ Washington!”*

I prefer the term Occupied Canada.

Wait, a Sunbird? A Chrysler Charger? Who the hell’s writing these captions? Some Ford nut?

Is it also true that you can grow your own pot(with a limit)?
and I also heard you can carry a pistol without a permit?

Well, I think the latter is true. There’s so much territory, quite a few folks carry one in case they meet an angry bear! Maybe not in town, though.

I just heard this somewhere, don’t know if its true.

Yeah, but that event took place in July, and there’s people wearing COATS, fer cryin’ out loud!

brrrrrr …

The federal government had declared marijuana illegal. Alaska (or California, or any other state) can pass legislation claiming to legalize pot all it wants – it’s still illegal anywhere in the U.S.

–Cliffy

I recall camping at Lake George a couple years ago; it hit 45F* in July, though that was weird, as usually you’ve got good 70s to 80s weather by that time.

But then the weather has been screwy the last couple of years there, warm winters and cooler summers. Personally I’d take the -50F cold snaps in late December for swimming weather in July.

  • Assuming the thermometer nailed to a tree was reading correctly.

Actually, you can carry a pistol without a permit in a great many states. You can certainly do so in Wisconsin, where I live now, and in Missouri, where I went to college. Such states are called “open carry” states.

You can’t carry concealed weapons without a permit in any state except Vermont, I believe.

Also, about Alaska, note that although there is no statewide sales or income tax, many Alaska municipalities do have sales taxes, and they can be quite steep. Anchorage and Fairbanks don’t, at least for now.

Musta been tourists, I saw a few folks without coats today

Every year bears walk within 10 feet of the GF’s bedroom window.

One year we saw a sow and three cubs…

They usually spook & run…

**

**

Yes, so long as its not concealed and no about the pot…

But the State can charge the defendant with violation of State law which (here anyway) is a lot more lenient.