Who pays the bills?

To the editor:

Mayor Larry Devilbiss, again at last night’s Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting you stated that your efforts are an attempt to return the borough to those who pay the bills. Just who are those who you think pay the bills?

A major portion of the borough’s and the school district’s yearly budget is provided by the state of Alaska. Who is the state of Alaska? The Alaska Constitution says that the people of the state are the state. And borough property owners pay the balance of the budget. Just who do you think those property owners are? They are people who pay mortgages, who pay rents and who own land.

Yes, I used the term “people” because corporations and companies do not pay taxes, nor are they listed in the Constitution as members of the state. Customers pay sales taxes. Real estate taxes are paid to corporations through the price of the goods and services they provide to customers, and even corporate income taxes are paid by their customers.

Sir, a basic lesson in economics — there are three basic parts to all economies: capital, natural resources and labor. Labor means people, not corporations, companies or other businesses. Only the conversion of labor into cash income creates a cash flow, which is the way most economists measure an economy.

William H. Bruu

Wasilla