Free Money up North: Under Palin Each Alaskan Draws Thousands from the State Oil Account While Federal Earmarks Flood in

More from the Seattle Times:

Palin's requests to Congress [for millions in earmarks] came at a time of huge federal deficits, while Alaska state revenue was soaring due to rising oil prices and a major tax increase on oil production that Palin signed into law in late 2007.

As a result, Alaska this year was in such a money-flushed condition — with no state income tax or sales tax and total state revenues of $10 billion, double the previous year's — that Palin gained legislative approval for $1,200 cash payments to every Alaskan.

In addition, each Alaska resident gets an annual dividend check, about $2,000 this year, from Alaska's oil-wealth savings account, known as the Permanent Fund, now fattened to more than $35 billion.

The state also has been able to tap into a gusher of federal money as its Republican congressional delegation rose in seniority and clout.

The rest of America is literally subsidizing Governor Sarah Palin to pay each Alaskan thousands of dollars per year (it's no wonder her popularity is up at 80%) without having to worry about raising taxes for infrastructure. We are the saps paying for her infrastructure and insuring that she stays in good with Alaskans and looks good as John McCain's VP pick.

And the thing is, conservatives lop off any mention of earmarks when they speak glowingly of Sarah Palin as if she's actually some kind of whiz-bang budget manager and not simply building her career on the largess of taxpayers in the other 49 states. They say, "Look what she's doing without taxes!" But that's another lie. She's doing it with taxes. She's doing it exclusively with somebody else's taxes.

That's another thing to think about when you're pumping gas: how you are helping to subsidize annual dividend checks of $2,000 to every single Alaskan.