That may be. I'm also pretty ignorant about Alaska's economy and how that dividend impacts low income communities. It just seems petty to yank this money from s

That may be. I'm also pretty ignorant about Alaska's economy and how that dividend impacts low income communities. It just seems petty to yank this money from students at the last minute like this...and, also bad for the future of Alaska. Getting and keeping talent in a state that is dark and frozen for months out of the year is a tough sell. It also seems like it is a more progressive use of money than a universal payment, since it will tend to move money from higher income taxpayers to lower income students so those students are less likely to be saddled with overhwelming debt when they finish school. One thing I do know about the dividend is that it fluctuates wildly. I don't remember the details of why or what math is used to calculate it, but it can be as low as a few hundred dollars or as high as a few thousand dollars. If people are relying on it (as I'm sure some do), that's kind of a capricious randomness, as well.