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$1,174: PFD Day PandemoniumNational chain and local stores geared for PFD day! See how some Alaskans are spending this year's PFD.Related Content
Permanent Fund Dividend pandemonium was in full swing Thursday as qualifying Alaskans with direct deposit found themselves $1,174 richer.
At the big box stores and malls, Anchorage residents turned out in droves for ways to spend their PFD dollars. Places like Best Buy, Costco, and stores inside the Fifth Avenue Mall reported an increase in business throughout the day of both small and large purchases. “We know there is going to be a lift in demand, so we work with our home office to get additional product in here,” said JC Penney manager Barbara White. But not everyone was spending. Wells Fargo officials say many came in to set up savings accounts to use the cash later. “If people have kids, if they save part or all of their PFD every year towards college or whatever the goal is, that really adds up. Those who don’t have direct deposit should see a paper PFD check in the mail within the next couple of days,” said Elaine Kroll, disctrict manager at Wells Fargo. |
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JEAN MASSEY said on Friday, Oct 7 at 7:47 AM
HOw many people from the lower 48 come to Alaska just for the once a year FREE money? There should be a grandfather clause.At least five years in Alaska with a JOB! No one on public assistance that is NOT contributing to society and the economy! In
74920758kris said on Friday, Oct 7 at 12:02 PM
I was in the army for 6 years and during that time I didn't receive a check. when I returned I didn't get a check that year because I wasn't here the whole year, it isn't that easy to get the dividend.
74936402JF said on Sunday, Oct 9 at 12:01 AM
Nobody is coming to Alaska just for the PFD. The cost of living here is too high for that. You do have to wait a couple of years anyway. Why do people get so wound up about whether other people have been here long enough, or whether they have a job? Do they think their own share will be bigger if more people are excluded? By the way, unemployed and retired people do contribute to the economy--a lot. People still need to buy food and pay rent.
75002166Anonymous said on Sunday, Oct 9 at 11:07 AM
I agree, NO one lives here for a lousy thousand dollars, and if you think that you do not have a clue!
75018138Just sayin' said on Sunday, Oct 9 at 6:46 PM
I find it amazing that a lot of people that were not born here are allowed to cash in on the state divadend. When the legistative committee or brains allowed such an open door for JUST ANYONE to recieve the divadend that was a BIG MISTAKE. IF everyone else that is NOT originally born in Alaska and has been here all along then getting cut off IF the decision is made to cut back and cut the people that DONT seem to mind anyhow one way or the other should not argue. I see a lot of Samoan people, I am not racist, but it seems that getting the PFD once a year might be a great incentive for many. Maybe what would the survey say? Just sayin'.....
75035353cooljulie said on Sunday, Oct 9 at 9:49 PM
I'm not from Alaska but have lived here many years and have been told (and feel) I am more 'Alaskan' than some people who were born here. Here's my thought on someone moving here for a PFD check- I eat healthy. The cost of produce here is very high compared to the lower 48. I did the math, and the dividend does not even offset the extra amount I pay annually for produce. I could likely say the same for gasoline, rent, insurance..... Alaska is not a cheap place to live, and the dividend is certainly a nice benefit to offset some of those higher costs of living. But the math does not support moving here merely to get a PFD. My decision to move here was based on many things, but the dividend was not a factor. It actually took my first 4 dividends (6 years of residency) to cover the cost of the move itself! I love Alaska and hope to live out the rest of my life here, PFD or not. Does that make me less deserving?
75040508The Bottom Line said on Sunday, Oct 9 at 11:13 PM
The bottom line on the PFD is that the proceeds are from the state. Costs for living does not make it an arguable issue. Moving here as an incentive to cash in does not make it an arguable issue. The decisions that the legislations made in regarding the payment method of delivery does make it an issue. At the time the PFD was first given I had been in elementary school. Now as an adult I wish that whoever was in office at that time made better decisions that considered the economy of Alaska and to protect the citizens of the State and to benefit the people that the state should be obligated to make decisions that are in the people's best interest. If I had been in authority to make decisions I would look at the pie on the table, cut it up, hand it to the ones closest to me, then whatever remains put aside for charity or handouts. There were options and the pie should be divided to the family then the leftovers set aside as charitable state donations for people in need.Bottom line.
75041618Wierd said on Sunday, Oct 9 at 11:18 PM
For some odd reason it seems wierd to see all the foreign people cashing in on the PFD....Asians, Samoans, Phillipino's, Europeans, Africans, and whatever else there is. I am not racist or anthing, but it just seems wierd, like something is wrong with that picture. Then you see people holding up signs on the streets and wonder how much of that piece of pie went to someone else. Wierd.
75041669cooljulie said on Monday, Oct 10 at 12:03 AM
Since PFD's come from oil money, I think we should be far more concerned with how many 'oil money' slope jobs are held by NON-RESIDENTS. How much payroll leaves the state, never to return? Answer- MORE than stays here. The PFD stays here, for the most part, and gets re-circulated in Alaska, benefitting the local economy. The thousands of slopers who live in the lower 48 take their paycheck to the lower 48. They buy cheaper lower 48 gasoline with OUR oil money, while we pay top dollar in the nation for gas from the oil THEY produced. A double loss for Alaskans, unlike the PFD, which is a net gain in more ways than one.
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