[Lee Stewart]

Every October, all residents of Alaska – from teachers and construction owners to retail clerks and business owners – find a check from the state in their mailboxes. The money doesn’t come because they overpaid their taxes or worked for the government. They get the check simply because they live in Alaska.

In one of America’s most libertarian states, people are benefiting from what is essentially a universal basic income. In 1976, Alaska Gov. Jay Hammond, a liberal Republican, established the Alaska Permanent Fund, putting a percentage of all state oil revenues into a fund, which buys stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets. Money made on these investments is distributed to every man, woman and child in Alaska in the form of an annual dividend, which since 1982 has ranged between $1,000 and $3,000.