Contributed by Jessica Wright
Lately I have been writing articles about the PFD with my different angles try to have my points cross. However, after the “Save the State” slogan came out, I realize some people just don’t get it, so today I decide to illustrate my points by using “The Golden Goose” analogy that even little kids can understand.
Most people have heard the story of “The Golden Goose.” If you haven’t, your parents probably didn’t read you bedtime stories, of which I feel sorry for you. The story of “The Golden Goose” is this: A young lad got a magical golden goose. The goose laid a golden egg every day. He and his widow mother were able to sell the golden egg to buy food and things they needed and eventually they became well-to-do. One day, they thought: Why wait for the goose to lay an egg a day? Why not kill the goose and get all the eggs at once? Of course, once they killed the goose that they couldn’t get any golden eggs anymore.
Some people might think these people are foolish. Well, they are not the only people that think that way. Right now, some people in our state are for wanting government service by allowing the government to take our PFD. They might be able to keep their benefits for a while, but after our government gets their hands on our 50% share, they are going to spend the money on their endless programs and give us what’s left over instead of paying the full statutory 50% dividend share. When the funds are exhausted, our state will likely to be broke, and state income tax and other taxes will likely follow. Finland, for example, went bankrupt early this year because they embraced the socialists and were drown by the social programs. We are going to be next if we don’t break up the so called non-profit organizations and government bureaucracy growing in our state. That’s why Governor Jay Hammond in his infinite wisdom set up a 50-50 formula to prevent the ever-growing government spending and corruption.
Some argue if they don’t give in and let the legislature take their 50% PFD share, they might not be able to keep their current benefits. In this case, I would advise you to think in the long term. Do you want to keep the goose and have a golden egg daily or do you just want to kill the goose? Keep in mind, once our PFD is gone, it’s like losing our inheritance, it will take decades to rebuild the wealth. The choice we make today will impact not just us, but generations to come. You don’t want your grandchildren to ask you, “Grandpa (Grandma), how come you didn’t do anything to protect the PFD when you had a chance?” If we don’t alter the traditional formula and keep it earning for both the state and the people, then it will continue to pay in perpetuity. We must not listen to the fake news and the corrupted politicians, but any changes to the formula needs to have a vote of the people of which we all hold common shares and interest in our PFD corporation which will always pay dividends.
In addition, “Save the State” is like “Save the Salmon” slogan. It has little to do with saving the state, but it has lots to do with government control. Do you want to give up your PFD so your government can spend for you? By the way, due to the economic boom in the Trump Administration, we can predict a much larger dividends amount due to the high return rate (10.74%): $3K in 2019, $4k in 2020, and maybe we will see $5k or 6K in the future. That’s $30K for a family of five, but we are not going to see this kind of money because with the current legislature is capping the PFD’s earning and capping our PFD payment unless we repeal SB26, which requires overhaul of AKLEG by electing a great number of Conservatives who will stand by our values and protect our PFD. Alaskans, you have a choice to make: poverty by letting the government control your PFD or prosperity by keeping the traditional statutory PFD 50-50 formula?
The moral of the story is: be disciplined, try not to get more than one golden egg a day, and never, never ever hand over your golden goose to the government because they are going to kill it. The end!
