Alaskian Oil

[Iceaxe]

On this day of near record oil prices, I thought I would share this with you - 1/8 of the oil that flows through the Alaska pipeline belongs to the citizens of the state. That oil gets sold and that money funds state government, along with taxes on 7/8 of the oil that belongs to the oil companies. However, some smart politicians decided to save some money for a rainy day when the oil ran out:

The Alaska Permanent Fund reached a new milestone, closing Thursday, July 12th with an unaudited value of $40.155 billion.

"What good news for Friday the 13th, that Alaskans should be lucky to have had the foresight to create a Fund that now tops $40 billion," said Governor Sarah Palin. "We should all be proud of this milestone. I thank the Trustees for their exceptional management of the Fund."

Michael Burns, Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, said "That in spite of a substantial market correction in February and March, the Fund was able to grow by more than $7 billion in just over 12 months. The upward surge in the markets over the last week carried the Fund past this latest benchmark."

Board Chair, Carl Brady, stated "The Permanent Fund received the first deposit of $734,000 in mineral revenues on February 28, 1977. A diversified portfolio of investments has allowed the Fund to grow to $40 billion in just over 30 years, while paying out $13.7 billion in dividends."

The Fund will pay out a dividend this fall that will be close to $1,500 to every man, woman and child in the state and Alaska will still have a nest egg that is worth close to $60,000 each. Not a bad deal.

[sparker1]

I wonder what the Saudis and others have done with their windfall profits from oil. I'll bet the Sheiks have kept most of it.

[scoutabout]

I wonder what the Saudis and others have done with their windfall profits from oil. I'll bet the Sheiks have kept most of it.

All of it.

[nefarious]

I wonder what the Saudis and others have done with their windfall profits from oil. I'll bet the Sheiks have kept most of it.

Yeah. The United Arab Emirates is smarter with its oil money. Every citizen of the UAE is guaranteed free healthcare and education. The money not spent directly on the citizens goes towards massive projects to convert the economy to banking, services, and tourism before the supply of oil runs out.