First, this isn’t really universal income - it’s a payout of state revenue surpluses, not intended as a replacement for working income. It’s a highly unusual quirk of a very conservative fiscal system, not a paradigm of socialism.
Second, it’s not much money. In the first year, it was $1000. It was about $500 for many years after that, and then it started to climb a bit. Sarah Palin did some voodoo economics to double the amount and I think at one point it was over $2000 annually, which for a family of four might have come close to $10,000. But keep in mind AK has one of the highest cost of living in the US - about 25% higher than the national average. So even $2000 isn’t going to make a big dent.
Finally, when the oil runs out, so does the AKPFD. It’ll only exist while the state is flush with oil, feeding a fund that will pay for government (maybe) when the oil runs out without having to impose additional taxes.
-AK expat (who was “in” when AKPFD first cut $1000 checks)
