A Citizen’s Guide

To the editor:

Any state legislator wishing to be both re-elected and wishing to promote additional taxation on the oil producers in the state should tie his or her proposal to include a fuel dividend to state residents.

Should the Legislature enhance oil company taxes without some direct benefit to the residents, I fear the state budget will just continue to grow with no direct benefit to the residents.

A program of quarterly or semiannual benefits to all Alaska residents over the age of 18 might take some of the bitterness out of us having to heat our homes and fuel our vehicles while listening to oil companies repeatedly report record profits as they tell us they are so broke they cannot continue to plunder the state.

Tom Zalewski

Fairbanks