Nearly every Alaskan received a windfall of more than $3,000 on Tuesday, the day the state began distributing payments from the Alaskan investment fund, which has been fed with money from Alaska’s oil wealth. the entity.
The payment, whose official name is the Alaska Permanent Fund (PFD for its initials in English), amounted to 2,622 dollars, the highest amount in history. Alaska lawmakers added $662 as a one-time benefit to help residents with high energy costs.
Direct deposits began arriving in bank accounts on Tuesday, and for those who opted for a check, they will receive it later.
Residents use the money in a variety of ways, whether it’s to buy big TVs, cars or something else, to vacation, or to save or invest in college funds. In rural Alaska, the money can help offset huge fuel and food costs, such as $14 for a 12-pack of soda, $4 for a bunch of celery, and $3 for a small container of greek yogurt.
“We are experiencing record inflation that we haven’t seen since the first PFD was paid for in 1982,” Governor Mike Dunleavy said in a video. “Alaskans have been bearing the brunt of this inflation from the gas station to the grocery store, and this year’s PFD will provide some much-needed relief as we head into winter.”
The payments couldn’t be more timely for residents of the state’s vast western coast, which was hit last weekend by the remnants of Typhoon Merbok. Damage to homes and infrastructure was widespread along 1,609 kilometers (1,000 miles) of coastline.
Payment for the oil wealth, which some in Alaska consider a right, is usually derived from the earnings of the fund’s investment account. The diversified fund was created during the construction of the Alaska transatlantic pipeline in the 1970s and is now worth $73.6 billion.