Verizon's Woes

My gosh, even though they're taxed at a rate that would leave a deeply impoverished family jealous, Verizon just isn't raking in enough dough.

Verizon Communications Inc. is trying to shed requirements that the telecom giant give its competitors network access at reduced rates in Greater Boston and other markets on the Eastern Seaboard.... "The effect of granting these positions would be to usurp congressionally enacted statutes in a sweeping manner," US Representative Edward Markey said at an FCC oversight hearing last month. "I have great concerns about the effect on competition and consumers that these petitions pose."

So, let's tally this up. Even though cable companies have to pay property taxes on the lines they co-own, along with Verizon, the giant phone company doesn't. That would invade too steeply into their profit margin, so we can't let towns collect some fair property taxes - even though towns across the state are closing schools down and struggling to meet the bottom line. It's time to just say no to these huge corporations - they have too many breaks, while the rest of society struggles to get by. Enough is enough.