Taxpayers bear cost of corporate tax breaks

To the Editor;

I see that Lowe’s is looking for tax breaks for its stores in Maine as the Bangor Daily News reported Jan. 21. Of course, the communities where Lowe’s stores are located might see their municipal budgets squeezed, and property taxes might have to go up as a result.

But wait, if Lowe’s gets its tax breaks, the Lowe’s executives and lawyers in charge of this tax-reduction scheme might each get a bonus. Maybe they can spend that money in Maine and it will “trickle down” to the rest of us.

Don’t worry about the fact that Lowe’s taxes go down and yours might go up as a result. That’s capitalism at its best. “Privatize the profits, socialize the expenses,” as they say in the corporate world. You don’t get a tax break, but large corporations routinely do.

So if you’re concerned about “socialism,” don’t worry about welfare or other assistance for Maine’s poor. That’s chicken feed. Worry about our perverted capitalism, which has turned into socialism for big business, at a cost of billions, which trickles down to all of us.

David P. Frasz
Dover-Foxcroft