Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall. The unique benefit is a blessing and a curse

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Nearly every Alaskan will receive a $1,312 check starting this week, their annual share from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil fund. Some use the money for extras like tropical vacations but others -- particularly in high-cost rural Alaska where jobs and housing are limited – rely on it for home heating fuel or snow machines that are critical for transportation.

But the unique-to-Alaska benefit has become a blessing and a curse in a state that for decades has ridden the boom-bust cycle of oil, and it now competes for funding with services like public education, health care programs and public safety as lawmakers tap into the earnings to help fund the state budget. Squabbling over the oil checks' size has resulted in legislative paralysis, and a Senate proposal aimed at resolving the dividend debate this year fizzled with no agreement.

As Alaska struggles to attract workers and stem a years-long trend of people moving away, some residents are wondering how the dividend fits into the future of a state with no income tax or statewide sales tax.

“You cannot grow anything without investing in it … and we’re not investing money in education, our university system, childcare. We’re not investing in the very core services that are going to help grow our state,” said Caroline Storm, who heads an education advocacy group and said her stepchildren left Alaska after high school because they didn't see opportunities for themselves.