Mark Zuckerberg Impressed By Alaska’s Basic Income Program

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg recently went to Alaska as part of his personal goal for 2017 of visiting all 50 US states. Upon leaving, it would seem that the tech figure came away impressed by the social programs that the state has initiated. He was particularly impressed by the Basic Income Program of Alaska, which provided the state’s citizens with annual allowance money.

The tech billionaire wrote about his experience in the frozen lands on his Facebook page, explaining what he and his wife Priscilla Chan had seen and heard during their visit. According to the post, one of the things that really stood out for them was the social safety net that the citizens enjoyed. It was quite the difference compared to most of the southern states.

“Alaska has a form of basic income called the Permanent Fund Dividend,” Zuckerberg explained in his post. “Every year, a portion of the oil revenue the state makes is put into a fund. Rather than having the government spend that money, it is returned to Alaskan residents through a yearly dividend that is normally $1000 or more per person.”

Alaska’s Native Corporations system was also mentioned by the Facebook founder, noting how it provides natives in the states some added benefits.

“In Alaska, native land is owned and developed by private corporations, which are run and owned by Alaska Natives. These corporations also pay out annual dividends to their shareholders, who are largely natives, based on the resources they develop. So if you're an Alaska Native, you would get two dividends: one from your Native Corporation and one from the state Permanent Fund,” the post reads.

This setup makes Alaska’s social system very similar to what other countries are starting to adopt called Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI essentially entails that all citizens receive a fixed amount of money, regardless of their social status or financial situation, Futurism reports. Numerous economists and financial experts are proposing the measure to combat the job losses that automation is expected to cause.