Permanent Fund Dividend on the chopping block

[TexasTowelie]

Lawmaker after lawmaker said the Senate does not relish the idea of touching what has long been a political third rail — the Permanent Fund — but they see no other alternative.

The Alaska Senate has approved a sweeping reformation of the Alaska Permanent Fund that generates billions to fix the state’s budget deficit but halves the Permanent Fund Dividend.

“Alaska has a problem, and that problem is that our revenue doesn’t meet expenses and we’ve been drawing from our savings account for the past five years,” said Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River and co-chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee.

“We don’t have a lot of choices left,” MacKinnon said.

Read more: http://juneauempire.com/news/2017-03-15/pfd-chopping-block