BIW Tax Scam

Thanks to Gary Anderson for his informative and perceptive editorial, “Here We Go Again,” detailing the history of corporate welfare in the form of tax relief received by General Dynamics and BIW and paid for by the taxpayers of Maine. They are now requesting another sixty million dollars of tax breaks. As Mr. Anderson points out, the tax breaks for General Dynamics and other military industrial corporations are not a matter of competition or of securing the jobs for BIW workers. It is a matter of corporate greed — maximizing profits to enrich wealthy shareholders and corporate executives. The CEO of General Dynamics reportedly received twenty-one million dollars in personal compensation! As Mr. Anderson underscores in his essay, the unpaid tax bills of General Dynamics and BIW are paid by the hard working people of Maine.

The old scare tactics of possible lost jobs rings hollow, and the BIW public relations campaign is meant to manipulate public opinion. General Dynamics is rolling in dough, as the $9.4billion in stock buybacks indicates. The citizens of Maine need to be aware of the BIW tax scam and demand that our legislators safeguard our best interests as taxpayers.

We have just witnessed the passing of a tax bill in Washington that is the biggest tax scam ever perpetrated against the American people by those representing the greediest, wealthiest individuals and corporations in the country. It is a bill based on deceit, deals cut behind closed doors, with last minute loopholes scribbled into the margins. The middle class will see their deductions tightened and our taxes will go up, while the wealthiest among us and the most powerful corporations will receive huge deductions. As a result much needed social programs will be cut and millions of people will suffer hardships. General Dynamics will receive even more tax relief as a result of this bill, and they must accept their share of responsibility for the impending hardships. Once again they stand, with corporate hands extended, demanding more! As William Lazanick, an economist at UMass Lowell states, “We are being taken for fools.”

Bernard Bomba,
Bath

47 Years of Progress Under the EPA

Saturday, Dec. 2, marked the 47th anniversary of the US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA has a long history of policies which benefit the state of Maine.

The Casco Bay shows some of the most visible impacts of the EPA in Maine. Though the bay today is a site for both recreation and fishing, bringing in 1.5 percent of Maine’s entire GDP, it was heavily contaminated as recently as the 1970s. EPA’s monitoring of major waters that feed the bay, including Sebago Lake and the Royal River, has improved ecology and cleared the bay waters of lead, mercury, and other heavy metals. Most notably, the Clean Water Act, promoted by Maine’s own former Senator Muskie, stopped unfiltered dumping into rivers. EPA’s Superfund program has also prevented toxic sites from leaking into the bay. As any visitor or resident of the bay can see, the ecosystem has rebounded.

Though much of EPA’s most significant policies were introduced in the 1970s and ’80s, the agency continues to improve the environment even today. Through monitoring, it holds the Bay and other waters to reasonable, life-preserving standards. As recently as 2016, a major reform of EPA’s toxic substances policy has kept the agency at pace with the higher environmental expectations of Americans. Cheers to many more years, EPA!

Will Parker,
Environment Maine,
Brunswick