Letter to the editor: Lawmakers urged to vote no on tax credit for General Dynamics

As the 128th Maine Legislature considers the merits of L.D. 1781, I urge all legislators to vote no on this $60 million give-away to a company whose revenue for 2017 is projected to be between $31.35 billion and $31.4 billion.

General Dynamics pays its CEO over $20 million a year. It does not need the money. The Maine taxpayers do.

With President Trump’s pledge to spend an additional $54 billion on “defense” spending, the military-industrial sector is in full rally. There is no need whatsoever to grant a 20-year tax credit from a state whose entire budget is about one-quarter of General Dynamics’ annual revenue stream.

This is fiscal insanity, in addition to the moral consideration of feeding an already over-sized industrial sector that builds its wealth on the sales of weapons and arms. Let’s not compound the problem.

Certainly, Bath shipbuilders and their families need good-paying jobs, but paying off General Dynamics at the cost of Maine taxpayers is unfair to the workers and all state residents. I urge our state legislators to oppose L.D. 1781.

Elizabeth Tarasevich

Portland

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