Delta Air Lines treated so badly by 2015 state legislature – we all should worry (Atlanta: credit card, home)

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by magnetar

Focusing on "One idiotic legislator" and "$20 million" is kind of missing the point; which is that it is audaciously irresponsible and shortsighted of the state's legislature to begin imposing punitive taxes on one of the state's largest employers because they don't like the fact that the CEO did his job when he was the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. Republican legislators are taxing their political opponents out of spite.

^^^^ THIS.

magnetar is right on and makes an excellent point with this comment.

Though, the supermajority Republican legislature did not just take the fuel tax exemption away from Delta to spite Delta's outspoken CEO Richard Anderson.

The supermajority Republican legislature also took the fuel tax exemption away from Delta out of a sense of desperation to send a message to Anderson and other business leaders to quiet down and back off.

The Republican supermajority wants the business community to stop so loudly and publicly demanding that the legislature raise revenues to fix transportation with increases in taxes and fees....Demands that alienate a Republican political base that hates tax and fee revenue increases and growth in government for any reason, even for something as necessary as long-overdue fixes to the state's ailing transportation network.

The Republican supermajority also wants the business community to stop speaking out so loudly and publicly against some of the red meat legislation that the GOP often uses to placate their base (like the current RFRA bill, or last year's gun bill, etc).

The political base of the Republican Party has been getting harder and harder to placate in recent years, particularly because of lingering anger over the expansion of government that happened during George W. Bush's presidency and because of increasing anger over the election and re-election of Barack Obama as President.

Here in Georgia, despite the legislative supermajorities and the possession of all statewide offices, there is an increasing amount of uneasiness within the Georgia Republican Party over accelerating demographic changes that are quickly pushing the state towards 'majority-minority' status where racial and ethnic minorities will make up a majority of Georgia's population.

With the political base of the GOP becoming increasingly difficult to please, many within the state's Republican leadership are increasingly worried that the increasingly frustrated socially conservative base of the party will start sitting out statewide elections leaving the party susceptible to either a wave election or the type of upset election that swept the GOP into long-term power in 2002.

The Georgia GOP is not just worried about being swept out of power in either an upset and/or a wave election but is also worried that such an election loss would cause the party to collapse in a way that is similar to or even worse than the way that the long-dominant Democratic Party of Georgia (which dominated state politics for over 130 years) collapsed in the early and mid-2000's.

The Georgia GOP suffered at the short end of overwhelming Democratic majorities for over 130 years....And Republican leadership and many long-time GOP legislators who served during the era when Georgia was completely dominated by Democrats are deathly afraid that the continuing deepening ideological divide in the party between moderates and social conservatives along with accelerating demographic changes in key Republican strongholds in outer-suburban Atlanta will return the GOP to super-minority status in the not-too-distant future.

The GOP's desire to keep social conservatives from leaving the party are the main motivation for the passage of red-meat legislation like the Illegal Immigration bill in 2011, the anti-abortion bills in 2012, the Gun Rights Expansion bill in 2014 and the spirited attempted passage into law a RFRA without anti-discrimination language in 2014 and 2015.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by magnetar

Focusing on "One idiotic legislator" and "$20 million" is kind of missing the point; which is that it is audaciously irresponsible and shortsighted of the state's legislature to begin imposing punitive taxes on one of the state's largest employers..

I get the sentiment, but wasn't this tax suspended when Delta was emerging from bankruptcy? It's not like this is some new thing we've just decided to start taking on. They got a "lifeline" when dealing with some serious financial issues . . . it's unreasonable for them to expect that to continue in perpetuity. The logic used to stop giving them the credit might be punitive, but the taxes themselves not so much.

[AnsleyPark]

Doesn't this tax go directly to the airport? If so, I bet the city may considered ring other fees to offset it. I don't think the tax is very important to Delta. I think it was the words and sentiment of Ehrhart.

[jsvh]

Many of y'all don't get it. It's not about the dollar amount. It's about the message they are sending.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Many of y'all don't get it. It's not about the dollar amount. It's about the message they are sending.

I think the message is don't try to throw your weight around, the legislators have some weight too.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by bu2

I think the message is don't try to throw your weight around, the legislators have some weight too.

Yep, and trying trying tell your largest employer to just "shut up and take it" is not a wise message to send.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Many of y'all don't get it. It's not about the dollar amount. It's about the message they are sending.

Thank you; I don't understand how people are too shortsighted to see this. Delta doesn't care about $20 million. I guarantee you that they, and every other business, care that the legislature has decided to start using the threat of punitive legislation to silence political opposition.

If the Democrats still controlled the lege, and they had just done this to a gun club or something, republicans would be completely losing their minds they'd be so angry about it.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by SAAN

Delta is going to pack up its bags and move to Cobb County where most of its ticket buyers live.

Best post on the thread.

[ATL Golfer]

Delta can shove it as far as I'm concerned.

The industry as a whole is a borderline monopoly and price fixing.

I just wish I bought their stock two yrs ago.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

Delta can shove it as far as I'm concerned.

The industry as a whole is a borderline monopoly and price fixing.

I just wish I bought their stock two yrs ago.

Delta is in a near monopoly position and wants us to subsidize them. I find their anti-competitive behavior in Paulding outrageous. And I can't believe we are still almost giving away terminal space compared to other airports. The cities Delta dominates tend to have the highest relative fares-cities like Atlanta and Cincinnati.

Politicians really do need to put these arrogant near monopolies in their place. United threatened to pull flights out of Houston if they allowed Southwest to fly internationally (to the Carribean) out of Houston's 2nd airport. Houston stood up to them.

Corporate leaders need to stick to relevant topics when speaking for their company.

I don't think any of you were on here supporting Mr. Cathey when he spoke as a private citizen about gay marriage.