# Do Alaskans really get paid by the Government simply for living there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115 "2003-04-03T02:57:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![InLikeFlynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f19dbf/32.png) [@InLikeFlynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InLikeFlynn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/1 "2003-04-03T02:57:19Z")
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!!! ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/2 "2003-04-03T03:33:28Z")
- - - Well, Alaska has no personal state income tax. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Mike.V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Mike.V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike.V)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/3 "2003-04-03T03:43:49Z")
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](http://www.tax.state.ak.us/Forms/) The rest of the information (and anything else you might want to know) came from [Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend Program](http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/) ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/4 "2003-04-03T03:44:13Z")
[Alaska Permanent Fund](http://www.apfc.org/) > [@](#): > > According to language in the state law which established the Permanent Fund (AS 37.13), the Permanent Fund was created with three purposes: > (1) to provide a means of conserving a portion of the state’s revenue from mineral resources to benefit all generations of Alaskans > (2) to maintain safety of principal while maximizing total return > (3) to be a savings device managed to allow maximum use of disposable income for purposes designated by law. > > … > > Alaska’s constitution states that the legislature decides how Fund income is used. To date, the legislature has done three things with the annual income of the Permanent Fund: > (1) inflation-proofs the Fund’s principal > (2) **pays dividends to qualified applicants** > (3) pays for some Fund-related state expenses and legislative costs > > Through this approach to both spending some Fund income and saving some Fund income, the legislature is benefiting both current and future generations of Alaskans. (Emphasis mine.) Source: [http://www.apfc.org/organization/faq.cfm?s=1](http://www.apfc.org/organization/faq.cfm?s=1) ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/5 "2003-04-03T06:02:57Z")
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) > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by InLikeFlynn_ > > Is this extra loot a bit of incentive to get “cold lovin folk” to move up there to work while freezing their asses off? 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](http://www.sitnews.org/0702news/kruzers/071502_ktn_kruzers.html) its normal people doing average things! In Alaska! We dont need any more folk, thank you very much… ---
**Author:** ![something\_clever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@something\_clever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/something_clever)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/6 "2003-04-03T06:28:19Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/7 "2003-04-03T06:33:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by something clever \* > \*\*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!”\* ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Nickel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@Doc\_Nickel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Nickel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/8 "2003-04-03T08:57:54Z")
I prefer the term _Occupied Canada_. Wait, a _Sun_bird? A _Chrysler_ Charger? Who the hell’s writing these captions? Some Ford nut? ---
**Author:** ![gris\_gris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/439d5e/32.png) [@gris\_gris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gris_gris)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/9 "2003-04-03T11:49:21Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/10 "2003-04-03T12:44:21Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/11 "2003-04-03T14:05:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tony Montana \* > [Look](http://www.sitnews.org/0702news/kruzers/071502_ktn_kruzers.html) its normal people doing average things! In Alaska! Yeah, but that event took place in July, and there’s people wearing COATS, fer cryin’ out loud! brrrrrr … ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/12 "2003-04-03T14:20:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gris gris \* > **Is it also true that you can grow your own pot(with a limit)?** 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 ---
**Author:** ![Dravin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dravin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dravin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/13 "2003-04-03T14:52:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FlyingDragonFan \* > \*\*Yeah, but that event took place in July, and there’s people wearing COATS, fer cryin’ out loud! > > brrrrrr … \*\* 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. ---
**Author:** ![Gelaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Gelaan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gelaan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/14 "2003-04-03T15:01:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I also heard you can carry a pistol without a permit? 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. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/15 "2003-04-04T01:56:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FlyingDragonFan \* > \*\*Yeah, but that event took place in July, and there’s people wearing COATS, fer cryin’ out loud! > > brrrrrr … \*\* Musta been tourists, I saw a few folks without coats _today_… ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/16 "2003-04-04T02:11:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smiling bandit \* > \*\*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. \*\* 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… \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by gris gris_ > > and I also heard you can carry a pistol without a permit? \*\* Yes, so long as its not concealed and no about the pot… ---
**Author:** ![honkytonkwillie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@honkytonkwillie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/honkytonkwillie)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-alaskans-really-get-paid-by-the-government-simply-for-living-there/166115/17 "2003-04-04T10:18:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cliffy \* > \*\*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 \*\* But the State can charge the defendant with violation of State law which (here anyway) is a lot more lenient.