Lifelong Alaskan, husband, father,
co-creator of the Dividend, and candidate for House District 18 in North Anchorage
Government Hill | North Muldoon | JBER | Downtown
Alaska’s economy is in trouble, and the Dividend and Permanent Fund have never been more at risk of going away than it is today. At the same time, our investments in education, health care, and roads are at risk of going unfunded.
We need a comprehensive plan to fix our state’s finances and maintain funding for important state services.
Every year, legislators waste valuable time debating how much the Dividend will be. Alaskans rightly feel the Dividend has become a political tool rather than a sustainable guarantee. We must amend the Alaska Constitution to guarantee the Dividend so that it is both sustainable and rising. As a part of that amendment, we should include a Percent of Market Value (POMV) system formula and set the division of earnings spent between Dividends and public services, with a goal of paying Dividends based on 50% of the Percent of Market Value (POMV) draw/payout. This would ensure that Permanent Fund earnings are spent sustainably and not blown.
Read my op-ed that offers more detailed thoughts on this.
A lot has changed since the 1980s. Alaska’s oil production has fallen by more than 75 percent in the last 35 years. Alaska will continue underfunding critical services like education and infrastructure until we find revenues to replace oil. I support raising taxes on the oil industry by a moderate amount as part of a package to fix the structural deficit. I also support reinstating a fair broad-based tax focusing on high-income residents and non-residents working in our state (such as those individuals making more than $250,000 per year).
The Alaska State Legislature has significantly cut state services since the fiscal crisis began, but there is more work to do to balance the budget. As a legislator, I will continue to search for efficiencies in the budget such as reducing our Corrections budget and putting an end to costly special sessions in Juneau It is also time to consider a tightened spending cap in the Constitution.
The Cliff Groh plan to protect the Permanent Fund
and “Groh” the PFD:
Meet the new House District 18:
Government Hill
JBER
Downtown and Fairview
Northeast Muldoon