It boils down to one very simple fact. We are subsidizing the oil industry , and paying that subsidy with the PFD. Government can, and should function without a " Permanent Fund ". The Fund belongs to the people (Residents) of Alaska, and NOT the Alaska State Government that is trying to make laws, rules, and regulations that would allow them access to a very large amount of money. The strategy was , and is, to squander what we have and then go after the PFD. Much like the tax cut for the wealthy, and the benefits cuts in Social Security which also belongs to the Citizens. There is a pattern , and it is to bleed the General public for as much as possible, and then find ways to steal it.