Letter to the Editor: Corporate giveaway to General Dynamics

General Dynamics, the parent company of Bath Iron Works, is asking for a "welfare" check from the State of Maine--to the tune of a $60 Million dollar tax break! The boldness of this is amazing to me--this same company paid its CEO, Phebe Novakovic, $21 Million dollars --($ 5 million of which was bonuses) last year. And General Dynamics has spent $9.4 Billion between 2013-2016 buying back its own stock--thus keeping its stock values up, and clearly indicating it does not need our hard earned money!

It is a matter of priorities. All Mainers know that we need money for our schools, roads, bridges and social services, and that the new tax plan will reduce the federal contributions to our state for these purposes. We have a lot to do to take care of our communities. An editorial in a recent edition of The Republican Journal made an excellent point about the devastating consequences of a state that relies on its shellfish industry putting no money into research concerning the acidification of the ocean, and its effect on our coastal industry. 

Let's put our money where it is needed by all Mainers. General Dynamics, like most weapons corporations, get the vast majority of their operating funds from the federal treasury, our taxes, from the start. Please write to your state representatives to oppose this corporate welfare giveaway as soon as possible , as the bill to give away our hard earned money is being introduced shortly in Augusta. They obviously do not need our money, our own communities do!

Meredith Bruskin lives in Swanville.