Local "Liberty" Hero Linda Bean Proposes New Tax on Lobsters
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Bean also floated the idea of adding a tax on Canadian lobsters, which she said can be sold for less because the Canadian industry receives government subsidies. That idea appears to face long odds, given that the North American Free Trade Agreement says Canadian products are duty-free.
Hathaway is another political hack, sort of reminds me of King. As far a I am concerned the lobster promotional council is a waste of our license fees, we are not any better with them than without them. I do not think Linda Bean is starving, her lobsterman maybe , but not her.
Lack of processors is not the problem, we are just catching a record amount of lobster.
This is coming from a woman whose family business imports cheap clothing from overseas?
Islander
Being in the business ,can you tell me what the reasons for so much processing in Canada is ?
I find it strange that one of the processors in Maine is in Richmond !
Lobsters, logs, potatoes, petroleum; when we deal with Canada,, we always seem to get screwed.
One of the reasons the processors are in Canada is because of steady amount of product and not as many NIMBYS from away like we have here.. When we are done catching shedders, Canada will start catching. You cannot process hard shells since they have more value as live lobsters to be shipped overseas. This is nothing new, we have shipped lobsters to Canada for processing for years, what is different is the amount we are catching. As for having a plant in Richmond look no further than than govt grants etc.
As for having a plant in Richmond look no further than than govt grants etc.
Big, empty building needing tenants + Seth Berry as Rep + grant money = Shucks moving to Richmond, which, while not landlocked, is not on the coast.
......"This is coming from a woman whose family business imports cheap clothing from overseas?".......
This is pretty good, coming from a member of the family that has made millions of dollars they might not have made, by peddling container after container of that cheap Chinese junk, masquerading as the same quality that LL Bean used to sell.
Typical lefties, talk out of both sides of their mouth at the same time!
WC
Apollo, Linda Bean is more of a Republican than you will ever be. You probably don't like her because of her support of Ron Paul.
She believes in free enterprise, she sees the damage that NAFTA and CAFTA and the likes are doing. She wants a level playing field. She does a lot for the lobsterman, like selling the fuel and bait at cost. She raises money both in state and out of state for Republican candidates. She is not a RINO and she is not left wing.
This is pretty good, coming from a member of the family that has made millions of dollars they might not have made, by peddling container after container of that cheap Chinese junk, masquerading as the same quality that LL Bean used to sell.
So WC, are you against free enterprise? LL Bean is filling a demand. If there wasn't such a demand for cheap Chinese junk, then LL Bean wouldn't be selling it. At least Linda is using the money for good causes.
Being a lobsterman I will say that Linda Bean is no more a friend to the lobstermen than any other dealer. Our dealer provides bait as well as fuel at cost, although she has endless money made from cheap imports, so whether she makes money or not is not a big deal, sort of like an expensive hobby. But she has the name to get the product out there and that is a plus, but she is not paying us anymore than any other dealer and she won't if she wants to the business to survive after she is done with it.
With the record low lobster prices, has Bean reduced the price in her restaurants yet?
Why don't you call her Apollo? It is funny how we hate business people when we feel they are not sharing enough. Bean is a business woman with bills of her own. She has bills to pay, payroll to meet, how about you Apollo?
The boat price may be "cheap" but if you are catching 1,000lb/day at say $2/lb 3-4days a week it is a huge paycheck she still has to pay, where do you think that money comes from? It is not cheap to be a dealer, permits, license fees, huge fuel and energy bills. Love her or hate her Bean is just another dealer, albeit one with a bigger name recognition than most. I wonder where all the lobstermen who were selling their lobsters on RT1 went? It is not easy being a dealer, how would you like to try and sell 20,000/lbs per day every day along with all the other dealers in the state, there are just so many people who eat lobster, ( I am not one of them). I would be willing to bet that if Bean needs product to keep her operation going she will import Canadian lobsters just like all the other dealers do, especially in the spring.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/04/19/news/hancock/live-lobster-sued-for...
Protectionism is never a good idea. And it is rather hard to be for "free enterprise" but against "free trade". I have to say I am quite surprised with this from Linda Bean.
I don't think even Olympia Snowe would have proposed a new tax like Bean just did.
One thing for sure , with his situation we cannot be far off from a potato sitiuation w/ in the next couple of years !!
Is the reduction foreign exports also contributing. Wasn't it last year that exports were down?
......"So WC, are you against free enterprise?"......
NO, But I am against talking out of both sides of your mouth at the same time.
WC
Linda Bean is a real Conservative who hates taxes and big government but, what to do when American employees are being put out of work because Canadian fisherman sell their product at a lower price than Americans can sell it at because the Canadian government is giving the Canadian fishermen taxpayers extra money so they can undercut American fisherman...turn the other cheek?
Four options...
1. Tax the incoming product to make the cost of sales equal.
2. Pay the American fishermen a handout so they can reduce their prices
3. Tell the fishermen to find a free market based way to reduce their costs...knowing full well that our government's policies are driving up the cost of bait and fuel every day that passes.
4. Ask the public to Boycott Canadian lobster products.
There is no good way to resolve this.
I would say LL Bean began importing before there was a "demand", I haven't shopped there in years, definite lack of quality.
Posted: August 11
Updated: Today at 12:06 AM
From caught to bought, all about lobster economics
By Jessica Hall jhall@pressherald.com
Staff Writer
Once caught, a lobster can change hands five to seven times before it reaches a diner's plate.
....snip
Tension between Maine and Canada rose as Canadian lobstermen, upset over low prices caused by a glut of U.S. lobster being sent to Canadian processing plants, blocked shipments and forced several plants to close down.
...snip
.... an enormous, multibillion-dollar economy is built around.... $2 a pound at the dock. Where does all that money come from?
......."I would say LL Bean began importing before there was a "demand", I haven't shopped there in years, definite lack of quality"........
And they were motivated only by the pursuit of greater profits........and not the least bit by the loss of millions of American jobs in the manufacturing business in the USA.
Why should some of them suddenly "find religion" and think this "importing" ought to be taxed?
Where were their concerns when our manufacturing jobs went down the toilet?
Talk about hypocrites!
WC
I would say LL Bean began importing before there was a "demand",
If there wasn't a demand, they wouldn't have imported. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Woodcanoe, I would say that one gets import tax religion very quickly when you see that your government and a foreign government are putting you out of business. If the Canadian is subsidizing their lobster fisherman for the purpose of undercutting American fishermen, something needs to be done.
What is your solution?
I would say that it might be reasonable to do what we could to bring American jobs back to America.
All I am saying here is that it seems hypocritical to see someone whose family profited from "outsourcing" their supply, while knowing full well that it was putting thousands of Americans out of good jobs, now to be crying about saving American jobs!
If you are going to advocate for "free trade" then it works both ways doesn't it?
Apollo said, "I don't think even Olympia Snowe would have proposed a new tax like Bean just did."
Probably right. Shes likely readying her self for the Democratic National Convention and has no time to propose anything.
Apollo, I think that if we could see a sidebyside comparison of you and Ms. Bean and your agreement with the state GOP platform wed find out that you are actually outside the party in your strange and deluded thinking while Ms. Bean is actually the "real" Republican.
It seems that the logic here is getting muddled. It is probably accurate to say that Bean outsourced some or all of its production in order to stay competitive with the Asians and others who have very low labor costs. The alternative is to keep their prices high and slowly lose the business and lay of all the employees. This is much different from trying to fight a foreign government who is subsidizing an industry which is in competition with you. To extend the situation to a far fetched scenario, lets say that Canada wants to corner the world market on Lobsters and subsidizes its fisherman 99% of the cost of capture plus a profit so the Canadian fishermen are able to sell their lobsters for 5 cents per pound. Should nothing be done here? That is what is going on. The subsidy is not 99% but the principal remains the same. Free trade presupposes that it is business vs business not business+government vs business.
I've been in Richmond twice this year, and the building I thought Shucks had set up in was dead empty from the look of it.
Maybe they're somewhere else in town.
AS I posted in another thread,it would be nice to see everything produced here , however , if it makes business sense to make things there that is a fact of life most businesses were ill prepared to deal with in reality.
Now if LL has a shirt made in China w/ material they provide and manufactured to their specifications saying the quality is lower might be a false impression.
Does anyone feel the same about a craftsmen drill ( made by Ryobi)?
Is the name the problem or her success ?
Do you think Bean might already be subsidized via a TIF? She is free to pay whatever she wants for the product, since lobsters are so cheap she should have no problem competing with the higher priced Canadian product. It makes little difference if our lobsters are processed here or there we get paid the same, she may make more with a subsidy but we will not and I do not want a subsidy since it is a slippery slope.
And for BobS, LLBean went foreign before there was a demand.
Well is she , aTIF or not?
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Hathaway told The Associated Press that Maine processors need more marketing to draw more customers.
Great! Then I'd suggest to Mr. Hathaway that he should immediately increase his company's marketing budget. Your tax dollars and mine should not go toward promoting or in any other way subsidizing a private business. And that includes tax breaks.