Reply #9: I am a long-time Alaskan -

[northofdenali]

and the pork has definitely been welcome, since we were America's bastard state until the pipeline was built.

The feds own about 1/2 of Alaska's land and waters. We now have a missile "defense" base at Ft. Greely, right outside Delta and only 90 miles from our 2nd largest populated area - the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Alaska, per capita, has more veterans living here than any other state. The feds don't subsidize the PFD; that comes from the state. And by the way, The fund stood at nearly $30 billion as of the end of the 2005 fiscal year, on June 30, 2005. The money for the PFD's are a PERCENTAGE OF THE INTEREST of the fund. Yes, anyone who's been here a year and intends on making this "home" can apply for a PFD, but only 217,000 folks out of all qualified residents applied in 2005. http://www.juneauempire.com/market/2006/sto_20060929019.shtml $30 Billion goes a long way for a state that has a population of about 800,000. We have 2 major Army posts and 2 major Air Force bases. The 172nd Stryker Brigade, who have taken heavy casualties in Iraq, is based in Fairbanks. Let's see, we also have a number of Coast Guard folks, Alaska National Guard, and Alaska Air Guard (who have also been deployed, the first time for our National Guard since WW2), not to mention the Air Force Stations.

I don't think our "rugged individualists" worry much about losing our subsidies. Most of them come in the form of our military, their spouses and kids, spending money with our local merchants.

By the way, except for income tax refunds, most of us don't benefit from the subsidies - unless you're in construction. Life is NOT simple up here. It's 24 below zero today. How about your weather? Try being homeless in Fairbanks in the winter. We have no freeways, and most of our communities are remote - you fly, snowmachine, dogsled, or take a boat to get to them. The federal "pork" helps maintain our roads (there are more miles of road in the City of Los Angeles than there is in our entire state, including the Haul Road to Prudhoe) and allows our remote communities to get their mail and supplies flown or boated in for a reasonable price.

I think, depakid, you should think about your posts before you actually post them, or do some research on those you slam. Yes, there are those that suck at the federal tit - but most of them are large, Outside corporations (think BP, Exxon, Citgo etc.).

Most of us "rugged individualists" here wouldn't live anywhere else, subsidies or no. Our Permanent Fund CAN be used to offset loss of federal subsidies, by a 2/3 majority vote. I would hope, however, that this great state would secede first. Don't think that's only my opinion. You hear it on the streets every day.