Here’s my solution for General Electric, and its long history in the city: do something nice for Bridgeport! From the CT Post:
Ruben Berkowitz said he tries to teach his 3-year-old daughter, Veronica Rose, to do the right thing. So he brought the toddler with him Monday afternoon to join a tax-filing-day protest outside General Electric’s corporate headquarters in Fairfield.
Carrying signs urging the company to pay over $4 billion in federal taxes and chanting, “GE, pay your taxes!” about 50 people took part in the demonstration sponsored by the political action group, MoveOn.org.
“This is an issue my wife and I think is very important,” said Berkowitz, a Trumbull resident. “I think it’s unfair. I try to play by the rules and I try to teach that to my daughter.”
Full story: www.ctpost.com/news/article/Protesters-denounce-GE-as-tax-deadbeat-outside-1342140.php
Any corporation that pays little or no tax is cheating all of us, period.
Kid, I understand your sentiment on taxes. It runs something along the lines of from those who have much, much is expected. But that is not the way tax law works. Not that I am either expertly schooled or experienced in multinational operations or corporate tax law, but might you not want to see what GE has paid in income taxes over the past few years to see what the story is? Perhaps they had losses the tax code allowed them to carry forward, or paid too much taxes in a previous year that wiped out their responsibility this year. And when you say they pay little or no, you were probably talking about INCOME TAXES. What do they pay in PROPERTY TAXES or other special levies made by taxing authorities where they operate or have assets?
But back to your point, there is much to be expected from a major corporation, and their history in Bridgeport creates an expectation for better performance than we have witnessed in recent years. A business solution that uses property to increase property tax revenues, that uses people who pay income taxes, state and Federal, on their incomes, and that is technological, necessary and fights rising energy costs and promotes sustainability would be good for this community. Truly, it is the time “to bring good things to life.”
And to the point of our upcoming elections this year, and how taxes play into that forum: what do you say to an administration that purposely organizes their data and activity to lead people to believe it is hard work and financial brilliance that has produced three years of relative flat property taxes for property owners?
What if you discovered such an administration kept a couple of large invoices stuffed (as quietly as possible) in a place where people are not going to look? As a result they can run on a platform of no tax increase. (But those invoices have to be paid later plus interest and at what expense?!) Would an operating entity that did such a thing be “cheating all of us, period?”
GE didn’t write the tax law they are taking advantage of. Nor did they vote in Congress or the Senate to approve the law.
GE did write the loopholes by getting the lobbyist to write the law. The CEO of GE is in Obama’s hip pocket. Like most bills the Senate nor the House read the bill. GE is a parasite in this State and Country. They keep their profits and new jobs overseas while their debts are in this country.
Awesome interview in CT Post online about Gomes. Think after reading it people will see the people who usually don’t vote are going to vote this year. And it looks like Gomes got a lot of people, way more than this site gives him credit. Those are the people who the polls don’t call.
This is off-topic.
William Donald Schaefer has died. He is the former governor of Maryland, and more importantly, the former mayor of Baltimore. He did what seemed to be impossible: turned a city that was an unmitigated disaster into something that might be saved, will be saved.
Don Schaefer is THE model for a successful American mayor, post-1970. His methods invite criticism, but his policies have been copied in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. There was a little bit of his style–by osmosis if nothing else, in some Bridgeport mayors, post-Mandanici. There was not enough.
Hit the Baltimore Sun web to get a recap of his career. It’s worth it.
Absolutely right on the money. Bridgeport is a microcosm of Baltimore … natural deep-water harbor, former industrial city with factories fleeing overseas, inept city management, perception of being a stepchild of Maryland (i.e. Wash, DC), an airport laying fallow, failing school system, corrupt political system … etc., etc., etc.
Here comes Don Schaefer revitalizing Camden Yards (read Harbor Yard), upgrading the airport (read Sikorsky Airport), making educators accountable (read … get rid of Ramos), upgrading the harbor for shipping (read banana boat and need for dredging), streamlining the government (read cronyism and nepotism in Bridgeport with an overbloated government) … shall I go on?
I’m with you, Lennie. Corporate redemption is in order for GE. The first thing they should do, which would be a win-win for GE and Bridgeport, would be the reuse of their 77 acres on Boston Avenue for the location of their recently announced plans to build the “largest solar panel manufacturing plant in the US.”
Bridgeport played a large role in the growth and development of GE, and is well positioned to help to ensure their technological preeminence in the new industrial revolution … All of the ingredients to ensure GE’s success are here–a workforce of all education/training levels (from manual laborers to skilled tradespeople/technicians/engineers); world-class institutions of higher education (technological, business management) (UNH just started a solar panel testing lab), as well as a system of vo-tech schools and community colleges; ready access to a huge domestic market for alternative-energy products; a supportive industrial base–local machine tool/metalworking sector, et al.; a location–77 acres–that can tailored to fit any reuse description, which they already own and is already properly zoned and served by essential infrastructure (within bicycling distance of their world headquarters …).
Come on GE; DO THE RIGHT THING!!!
Truly, there is no sane reason to ignore their Bridgeport options–except for the little “deals” made with the BRBC and current/recent administrations and regional political leadership …
Jeff,
I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble but we don’t have the skilled tradesmen, engineers, technicians, or the skilled labor. When the factories fled BPT we suffered the “brain drain” effect. Machinists, tool & die makers, left our area looking to find employment in their trade. This is another double-edged sword hanging over our heads. We would need to have some opportunities to draw them back to our economically ravaged city. We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.
Bridgeport can be great again
Gomes and MJF 2011
THE DOLLAR OWES ALLEGIANCE TO NO FLAG!
At one point in time GE was a good corporate presence in the city. They provided hundreds of jobs and paid a lot of taxes to the city.
GE for the past 60-plus years has provide 3 baseball fields that housed Park City Little league and teams for 13 through 16 year olds.
GE somewhere along the line lost their way, I think it started with Jack Welch and definitely got worse under their present leader Jeff Immelt. GE has become a greedy screw-America type company. They have shipped a majority of their manufacturing overseas and basically should be called a Chinese Corporation. Immelt has basically run GE into the ground. They also own NBC and MSNBC or at least they did when last I checked.
I would love to see GE build their new factory here. Do I think it will happen? NO!!! GE has no corporate conscience.
Start with upgrading Sikorsky Airport. GE currently houses over 45 aircraft at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY (over 1 hour away from Fairfield by car). They would love to have Sikorsky Airport for their base of operations (and that would create jobs in this area), but the FAA decertified the airport after a light fixed wing aircraft overshot the runway about 15 years ago. The need to upgrade the runways and re-certify Sikorsky Airport would be an economic engine that would create a domino effect for Bridgeport and Stratford. Unfortunately the NIMBY’s in Stratford who moved to the Lordship area, knowing there was an active airport there, don’t want Sikorsky Airport to exist because their property values would remain depressed (they bought in cheaply). If the airport didn’t exist their property values (even in this economy) would soar.
Page 5 of today’s Rag/Post has the Gomes interview. Polls don’t reach our Hollow. Our votes count, and Gomes will change Bridgeport for the better. We went to the polls for Obama and we will go to the polls Sept. 13th and vote Gomes.
Gomes is reaching the people.
Foley and McMahon proved money can’t buy the big seat.
Grassroots and message.
Gomes/MJF for BPT.
I see where the state is looking to give us $690K for a feasibility study on the 2 downtown theaters. Hasn’t this been done once before? I say do the study and if nothing comes of it take the damn buildings down as they are an eyesore.
Whatever becomes of this building it is going to cost millions to update. With that being the case we should insure the building is used to its max, in other words more than 2 or 3 times a week.
The state should look into making this building a high school for the performing arts and make it a regional school. There are a lot of talented kids out there who have no place to develop their talents. Such a school would fit in downtown.
A lot of good ideas floating to the top of this particular dialogue. More constructive than bickering. It goes without saying everyone cares deeply about our town, and that’s really cool.