Pocketbook landing
There is nothing I would rather do than fly out of the Bangor airport. However while recently making reservations to Florida I found the airfare out of Bangor almost twice as much as out of Portland.
Well, obviously there was no choice except to travel out of Portland, even with adding the cost of travel to Portland, we were still saving well over $200.00.
In addition to the idea of a BIA reward program, I suggest contacting the airlines, Delta and US Airways and ask why fares can be twice as much out of Bangor as out of Portland. Maybe someone can get them to understand loyalty.
I will still always try to fly in and out of BIA, but not when it doesn’t make sense to the pocketbook.
Kathleen Huff
Guilford
Truth be told
Recently one of our oft-heralded Maine weekly newspapers ran an editorial captioned “Entitlement Reform,” in which the paper took the Democrats to task for their misguided, loathsome, and super-sanguine indulgence of the poor and needy by claiming that our days as a viable society were numbered because entitlement costs were mushrooming out of control, and we were all surely going to Hell in a handbasket.
Entitlement costs, the article writer said, that were little more than 14 percent as a percentage of revenue back in the ’70s, were over 40 percent in 2005 and were headed, Ad Astra, to the stars. Now I am neither red nor blue, Republican nor Democrat, and will vote for whomever I think is good for America. If you have to distort the truth, it follows that you are probably not for your country but for yourself. So, I wrote a letter pointing out the underlying and misleading fallacy of their article, saying, to whit:
If entitlement costs were 10x percent in year A on a tax revenue of 100x, and those costs remained the same in year B but tax revenues decreased to 50x as a result of tax cuts to the super rich ($250,000 plus), then entitlement costs would have increased to 20x — doubled — as a percentage of revenue but in actuality remained the same.
Needless to say, the newspaper didn’t publish my letter. Maybe it’s me who’s missing a few marbles.
Phil Tobin
Ellsworth
Whom do you trust?
Do you trust ConocoPhillips, the 12th largest corporation in the world or the grass-roots movement that is trying to save and preserve this beautiful 950-square-mile Penobscot Bay?
ConocoPhillips denies connection to DCP Midstream, but San Antonio Press has linked ConocoPhillips with DCP Midstream.
The Coast Guard is concerned LPG tankers might be in the channel at the same time that other tankers are coming in to dock. On Sept. 17, 2012 two tankers were awaiting Mack Point docking and another was docked. LPG tankers will highly interrupt normal shipments into Searsport.
Why is ConocoPhillips importing foreign gas when we are exporting our gas?
LPG megatankers will interfere with every walk of life that there is on this bay. They will interfere in every way of life; from roads to fishing/lobstering; boating; ferries; manufacturing; boat building; farming etc.
Every single person in or near Penobscot Bay will be affected. Do you really want to expose your children, family and the entire Penobscot Bay to this danger?
Nancy-Linn Nellis
Stockton Springs
Vote down loan
The $3.6 million bank loan under consideration by the Regional School Unit 19 school board for the Nov. 6 ballot should be voted down by the board or by voters.
The district is overspending its budget, already has a more-than $1 million revenue anticipation loan, has a $1.2 million increase in school taxes in the 2012-13 current budget, has raised school taxes over four years to completely replace reductions in the state subsidy, and increased the budget by $725,000 over last year — all paid for by stressed-out local taxpayers.
The new superintendent and board are starting out on the wrong foot by proposing this loan. RSU 19 should not be going into debt for operating costs and increasing school taxes $4 million to pay for it.
This is dangerous financial mismanagement and will jeopardize businesses like Hartland’s tannery.
Hadley Smith
Palmyra
Big budget debate
In deciding to expand our business recently, my husband and I had a lot to consider: staffing needs, availability of supplies, potential consumer demand, among many others. What played no role in the process was the marginal federal tax rate on net income over $250,000 — first of all, because like 97 percent of all small businesses, we don’t clear that much money in a year; and even if we did, we view taxes as a patriotic duty, not the single expense item that somehow drives all our business decisions.
This is all contrary to what we all too often hear in the public debate about whether to allow Bush-era tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans to expire on schedule at the end of this year. And yet it’s the reality of Maine small business.
What often seems to be forgotten in all the excessive reverence of entrepreneurs is that business owners are citizens, too. We drive on public roads, send our kids to public schools, and in general have an interest in a well-funded public sphere. It’s the healthy interplay of public and private that’s good for both business and society.
I think our two U.S. senators tend to understand this. Sen. Collins is to be commended for bucking her party this summer and voting against an irresponsible tax bill. I trust she and Sen. Snowe will follow a similarly balanced approach in the big budget debate that will follow the fall
elections.
Cary Hanson
Bucksport
Tax code sides
Isn’t it ironic that when Mitt Romney uses all the tax breaks carved out of our tax code by his lobbyist he is considered a smart businessman? Wise men nod their heads in agreement when Romney says, “I pay my taxes and not a penny more,” but the person who pays no federal income taxes because they use the tax breaks allotted them in the same tax code is considered a leech.
Kind of like when the big oil companies are given tax “subsidies,” but if my great aunt gets heating assistance its considered “welfare.” One is democracy at it’s finest, while the other is called socialism, depending on which side of the tax code you fall.
Bridget McIntosh
Perham
Bridget McIntosh–I usually love irony but the abuse of our tax codes by the wealthy is the single largest factor for our shrinking public services and growing national debt. The fact that most of these ultra rich are pro endless war and consider themselves patriots while destroying our economy for the sake of fattening their own larders is beyond irony, it is deplorable, it’s un-American.
You could take all of the wealth of the rich and the federal deficit will barely budge The national debt will continue to grow. The problem really isn’t the revenue side of the federal budget. It’s the excessive, uncontrolled spending.
I’m trying to understand what you mean by “shrinking public services.” We’ve added more people to the food stamp program and the unemployed have figured out that they can get more money on disability than on unemployment. Public services are not shrinking, they are growing.
Mitt Romney’s 2011 tax return showed that he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1%. My income puts me in the middle class catagory and my 2011 effective tax rate was 13.3%. The ultra rich do get special privileges thanks to congress tweeking the tax code over the past 50 years. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to close the tax loopholes thus raising the taxable income of the rich. Romney also donated over $4 milliion to charity compared to the $400 that VP Biden donated.
Our growing national debt is not because we tax too little, it’s because we spend too much. If we taxed the top 5% at 100% of their income we would still run a deficit. It takes a lot to make up $1,300,000,000,000 in borrowed money.
No, it’s both. We spend too much and we tax too little. Only the Democrats are admitting that that is the reality of our situation. The last time we had a surplus, taxation was higher and spending was lower. That’s fact, you can’t get around it.
Democrats have proposed cuts and increases in revenue by at 2.5 to 1 margin. That’s not radical or insane, that’s what got us to a surplus last time. Republicans on the other hand? Well Romney has promised ending unspecific loopholes and deductions along with cuts to things like PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts (which all amounts to pocket change essentially), which will magically balance the budget, including the massive spending increases for Defense. Does that sound reality based?
I think you need to be honest with yourself and ask who is pushing a plan that is possible and who is just pushing a plan that will be popular (and not yield actual results).
Briget, What is amazing is that he backs the military but they also pay no federal taxes while on deployment.
I find it ironic that Romney and Republicans are constantly talking about how ineffective government is and that’s why we should get out of healthcare and cut stuff like PBS — but at the same time, we should increase Defense spending immensely, like somehow Defense isn’t a government program. Can you imagine their response when you point out that they’re talking about the military when they say how awful our government is? Their response when you point out that those serving and veterans are part of that 47% of people they smear?
Defense of our country IS one of the Constitutional responsibilities of the federal government. It IS “enumerated” in the Constitution. Owning or subsidizing a television network is nowhere to be found in the Constitution.
Doesn’t matter. We spend 1 billion on PBS and we spend 1 trillion on Defense. Where is the requirement that we go further and further into debt in order to give hand outs to Defense contractors? Further and further into debt to police the world?
Yeah but we spend more on defense that the rest of the world’s nations combined. Defense spending should be drastically cut.
Kathleen Huff, i’ve wondered why ticket prices are so high at BIA myself. Taxpayers subsidize the airport. Shouldn’t consumers get something in return? Even the Trenton airport was, and maybe still is, offering affordable r/t tickets to NYC this year. We don’t even have train service to Boston. It’s as if we’re living in the 19th Century.
Nineteenth century? Please… there was no i95, no cars, no buses, etc. Be thankful you don’t have to take a horse and buggy to boston. We’ve got it pretty sweet, even with no trains
Right you are! I should have written 100 years ago instead of implying 112 years ago. But I won’t say you’re nitpicking, because then people would think I don’t like nitpickers, which is, of course, beside the point.
I’m pretty sure I could get to Boston faster by Burro than by bus, that is if Burros were allowed on I-95. Plus the letter was about why are air ticket prices so high at BIA.
There was overnight liner service from numerous places on the Maine coast (Bangor included) to Boston Daily at the turn of the century. The steamship lines delivered fresh produce, eggs, & meat from North Haven and other coastal communities to Boston daily.
The real issue is apples and oranges.
While you can fly non-stop from BGR to NYC, you cannot fly non-stop from BHB to NYC. All Bar Harbor flights go to BOS. A four-week advanced purchased ticket will run $355 from BGR (non-stop) and $455 from BHB (2-stops).
BHB is subsidized thru the Essential Air Service (EAS) contract. Bangor is not eligible for these subsidies.
As far as taxpayers subsidizing the airport? Users subsidize BGR. We pay a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) on all tickets. The Bangor airport is one of the largest and most profitable landlords in the city. You would be hard pressed to find another government agency that is nearly self-sufficient.
Nancy,
I’m afraid you are grasping at very thin straws. As the Captain of a 400′ trailing suction hopper dredge I work in close proximity to LNG & LPG tankers all the time. The USCG sets up a temporary safety zone (usually 1000 yards) for their transit, and escorts them in & out. This same precaution is taken for Cruise Ships, as they are a much more vulnerable, high value target than a tanker. When we are working in the channel & an LPG/LNG ship passes, we get out of the channel for the 15 min it takes for them to transit. We then resume operations, with little downtime, and little loss of revenue.
As far as your concern of traffic jams on our waterways, every sizeable port in the US has a VTS (Vessel Traffic System) in place. It is much like an air traffic controller for the waterways. Ships check into the system, and are advised of traffic in the system, and given instruction if required to hold station or go to anchor. Once there is sufficient ship traffic on the Penobscot Bay, then we too will have a VTS system. This is not the wild west, the foriegn ships plying the Penobscot Bay have trained US pilots on board, and the US ships have licensed US Mariners in command of them.
K. Huff, P. Tobin, C. Hanson, B. McIntosh; good letters.
Guess I am not in sync with B. McIntosh letter, and also her use of “its” and “it’s.”
If the biggest thing you can find to criticize about Ms. McIntosh’s letter is a missing apostrophe, you lose.
Though I do not agree with you often I do find it kind of petty to p@#$ and moan about somebodies grammar .
I agree with Hadley Smith.
Phil Tobin – Yes, you do have a few marbles missing. You forgot to add the new entitlement programs and the millions that have been added to the entitlement lists. By the way, revenue to the government is still doing fine; it’s the overspending of those in charge that are the problem And entitlements are a BIG part of the mess.
Candy Hansen – If you view taxes as a patriotic duty, then shouldn’t you also view responsible spending of those tax dollar as a patriotic duty? If so, then you should be extremely disappointed in those in charge of those patriotic dollars. They’re spending us out of existence, and by your letter, I’ll bet you’re going to do your part to vote them in for another 4 years. It’s time to wake up and be a real patriot and vote for America first.
I am voting for America first, that is why I will be voting for Obama instead of a man who sends jobs overseas and hides money off shore.
Obama has sent more jobs out of the country than Romney ever did. And if he gets 4 more years, he’ll send millions more out of the country.
Your answer reminds me of a man that was interviewed before the latest Presidential debate. He has been looking for a job for the last 3 years, but will vote for Obama unless Romney convinces him that he can get him a job. That’s just ignorance on parade. If he can’t find a job with Obama in office, then why would he want him in for 4 more years.
2016. You should go see it. Or are you afraid to know the truth about the man you so blindly support?
I have yet to hear any Democrat in DC say they are spending too much.
Flat tax is the answer, everybody pays the same percentage.Whether you make 10 million or 10 dollars.
We are voting on two different tax plans in November. One is the Minimize Income Tax Totally for the Rich – referred to as MITT R. Its title is self-evident. Someone else will have to pick up the slack.
The other is called the Fair And Responsible Tax System or FARTS for short. FARTS is not pleasant and often comes out of nowhere. FARTS is shared by all – no one is immune. Most of all – FARTS just stinks and there is nothing you can do about it.