The following is a Counterpoint column:
By Lowell J. Rauch
As president of Carolina Camera Center, I feel an obligation to respond to the many individuals who have asked why we are going out of business. The primary reason was based on economics and the realization that Carolina Camera Centers Inc. was not and could not become profitable. The cost of doing business exceeded the potential return on the investments. However, economic factors were not the only reason we closed our doors. There were emotional factors involved as well.
The federal government allows some of our major competitors to sell products in North Carolina without collecting the 7 percent state sales tax. This puts us at a 7 percent price disadvantage. The state and local municipalities have given tax incentives to certain companies that sell the same products we sell, and these actions put us at an even greater price disadvantage. The incentives given to one particular company equate to almost $20,000 per employee. These incentives are funded by future tax revenues supposedly created by the addition of the new jobs. My contention is that major corporations that make millions of dollars in profits should fund their own expansion the same way small businesses do, and that is by working hard and earning profits and paying a fair share of taxes.
It costs larger corporations less per employee for benefits. Health insurance costs became another major factor in the economic equation that influenced our decision to close. Something needs to be done in this country to assure that sick people receive proper medical care and that no one goes hungry.
I think our tax dollars could be used in ways other than supplementing the bottom lines of large corporations. The emotional impact of the state's actions, along with the realization that we were losing money, took all the enjoyment out of working at Carolina Camera. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, it's time to stop doing it.
I want to thank the community for allowing our family and business to serve you over the past 60 years.
The writer is president of Carolina Camera Center and lives in Greensboro.
