Wrangell Sentinel -

The Permanent Fund dividend ranks among the most divisive issues in Alaska politics, along with such longstanding battles as oil taxes, salmon fisheries catch allocations and subsistence rights. Sadly, the dividend has grown in political importance in recent years, overwhelming all other issues confronting the state.

Candidates scramble to find a dividend flag large enough to wrap around themselves for campaign speeches, reasonable voices get drowned out by chants of “I want my PFD,” and state budget work is held hostage by advocates for a supersized dividend.

The size of the dividend s...