{"id":325,"date":"2026-06-05T22:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=325"},"modified":"2026-06-05T22:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:39:02","slug":"best-solution-to-alaskas-pfd-gorilla-is-to-end-the-program-with-10k-payout-walker-argues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=325","title":{"rendered":"Best solution to Alaska\u2019s PFD \u2018gorilla\u2019 is to end the program with $10K payout, Walker argues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Former Gov. Bill Walker, running to again be Alaska\u2019s top elected official, would like to end the Permanent Fund dividend program with a one-time $10,000 payment to each eligible Alaskan.<\/p>\n

Read more New Alaska cruise ship hosts marine mammal observer to better prevent whale strikes<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in this to solve significant issues,\u201d Walker said in a phone interview Friday. \u201cBusiness as usual just isn’t going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaska has faced a structural deficit \u2014 that is, more expenses than revenue \u2014 for years. A sharp decline in oil prices in the mid-2010s, during Walker\u2019s first term in office, led him to take the unprecedented step of vetoing part of the Permanent Fund dividend in 2016. Ever since, lawmakers have spent much of their energy each year wrangling over the amount of the dividend.<\/p>\n

Though Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed a dividend in line with a 1980s statute in each of his annual budget proposals, lawmakers consistently approved far smaller payouts \u2014 $1,000 last year, and $1,200 this year \u2014 with legislators on both sides of the aisle saying the dividend formula is no longer realistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dividend discussion has been the 600-pound gorilla in the room,\u201d said Randy Hoffbeck, Walker\u2019s former revenue commissioner and running mate.<\/p>\n

With the existing formula calling for \u201cfinancially impossible\u201d dividends, there are two choices, Hoffbeck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can cage the gorilla with a new formula that better reflects our current economic situation and our fiscal situation, or we can actually remove the gorilla from the room,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Walker envisions asking Alaskans to endorse the idea with a question on the application for the 2027 Permanent Fund dividend, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it’s overwhelmingly, \u2018Yes, we like it,\u2019 then we would proceed to the Legislature with legislation,\u201d Walker said. \u201cIf it’s not, then we will continue with, probably, looking at a formulaic modification in some way that reflects our current fiscal situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaskans would be free to spread the payment over multiple years to avoid a large tax bill, Walker said. And it would be a one-time offer in an effort to avoid people moving to Alaska on a short-term basis to cash in.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf we paid it out in 2027, people would already have to be here to be eligible,\u201d Hoffbeck said.<\/p>\n

Ending the dividend with a one-time $10,000 payment would certainly \u201cstress\u201d the fund, he said. With more than 618,000 applicants for the 2025 dividend, the plan would cost about $6.2 billion.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s roughly what would be left in the Permanent Fund\u2019s earnings reserve account, which can be spent with a majority vote of the Legislature and the consent of the governor, after transfers for dividends, government services and inflation-proofing this year and next year, according to figures from the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.<\/u>, which manages the state\u2019s $89 billion nest egg.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe $10,000 isn’t a random number,\u201d Hoffbeck said. \u201cIt’s a calculated number on what is possible with the current earnings reserve balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it would go a long way toward erasing the structural deficit, Hoffbeck said. He estimated that beginning in 2028, ending the deficit would free up about $1 billion in revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though it has a depressing effect on the (annual 5% draw), it’s more than offset from the benefits of not having to pay the dividend,\u201d Hoffbeck said.<\/p>\n

Walker\u2019s proposal drew criticism from some of his competitors in the governor\u2019s race. Democrat Tom Begich called the plan \u201cfiscally irresponsible\u201d and \u201cfantastical,\u201d comparing it to Dunleavy\u2019s unfulfilled campaign promise to deliver full dividends. It\u2019s the Legislature, not the governor, that sets the maximum amount of the dividend each year, Begich said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may have underfunded education in this state, but Alaskans aren’t stupid,\u201d Begich said.<\/p>\n

Walker and Hoffbeck rejected the criticism, insisting the key difference is that their proposal would provide a one-time payment. They said they\u2019d work with the Legislature to push the proposal through if elected.<\/p>\n

Read more Alaska blood bank sees worst shortage in years<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Gov. Bill Walker and running mate Randy Hoffbeck say ending the dividend with a $10,000 payment would go a long way towards solving the state’s structural deficit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBest solution to Alaska\u2019s PFD \u2018gorilla\u2019 is to end the program with $10K payout, Walker argues - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best solution to Alaska\u2019s PFD \u2018gorilla\u2019 is to end the program with $10K payout, Walker argues - Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Gov. 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