While I do think we are long overdue to redefine what things (and people, and ideas) are worth, as I feel we pay entirely the wrong people for the wrong services, I would like to mention a lesson from my own experience.

As an Alaskan resident since 1983, I have received an annual dividend from our Permanent Fund accrued interest, along with every other person who can prove a year of residency. And I can tell you that while definitely appreciated, this “free” money has led to many having a sense of entitlement. Now that there is no more economic boom and there could be a greater good that fund could provide, we have become attached and expectant, often forgetting what it is: a gift and a privilege, not a right.