Talked about this plenty of times with a buddy. We came to the following conclusion.
End the PFD. Take whatever amount is in the fund (minus applicable moving expenses) on the day it ends and divide it by the number of people willing to take the offer. Make the following offer to legal residents of the state on the day it ends...
You can have your portion of the entire PFD, paid in a lump sum, for each member of your family, along with moving expenses for the family, if you leave the state permanently. If you ever return (no limitation), you have to pay it all back. Call it the permanent family departure.
Those who decline the offer and remain in the state get nothing except the satisfaction of 90% of the people leaving, never to come back. Perhaps a bit of a restart.
Obviously I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d gladly give up all future PFD’s for me and my family if it meant having a substantial portion of the folks in Anchorage moving to the lower 48, never to return.
