Oil companies & their bought legislators have used fraud, lies, & intimidation to seize Alaska by the throat. Governor Walker is caught between Scylla and Charybdis; he's just trying to keep the state afloat. In this current situation, as Shannyn writes, Alaskans will shift over $1,000 each directly into the pockets of oil company executives. It's a maddening situation. The new legislature must eliminate the oil tax credits, restore a reasonable level of taxation on oil production, put in place a combination of progressive, regresssive, & neutral taxes & finally get the state on a sustainable financial footing. The PFD can and should be protected, but this state certainly will be weaned off oil as our sole source of funding for essential state services, regardless of whether that's what we want.