Every citizen of the state of Alaska enjoys a remittance check from the state government provide from funds the oil companies pay to the state for the resource collected. That was nothing new. Sarah Palin, as she said, increased the amount of that remittance check so that the citizens enjoyed more of the increased revenue that the state was collecting.
It isn't free money per se, as it is a payment. If you have land, in most states, and it is discovered there is oil on it, the oil comapny cuts you in on the profit if they recover it, as the oil is yours. That is law.
