Beretta Leaves Maryland Because Of Stricter Gun Laws

Beretta Leaves Maryland Because of Stricter Gun Laws:

By Dabney Bailey, Thu, April 04, 2013

New legislation is forcing gun manufacturing company Beretta to uproot and take their business elsewhere.

Established in 1526, Beretta holds the distinction of being the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the world. The U.S. factory is located in Accokeek, Maryland, and has been a staple of the local economy for years.

Beretta warned that stricter gun control laws would push the company outside of state lines, but that didn’t stop Maryland legislators. Jeffrey Reh, a spokesman for Beretta who also serves as the President of Stoeger Industries under Beretta, announced that the company would begrudgingly uproot and take its business elsewhere. He said, “We don’t want to do this, we’re not willing to do this, but obviously this legislation has caused us a serious level of concern within our company.”

He added that Beretta paid approximately $31 million in taxes, employs 400 people, and had invested $73 million in the business over the past several decades. Despite being such a prominent player in the local economy, Beretta was unable to prevent legislators from passing tighter gun control laws. Ironically, Beretta manufactures some firearms that are now banned in Maryland.

Republican state Delegate Anthony J. O’Donnell lamented: “Losing [Beretta] would be a big disappointment. Maryland has a reputation for having a horrible business climate, and this would be one more nail in the coffin.”

Legislators had ample warning. Back in the ‘90s, when Maryland beefed up gun control laws, Beretta moved one of its warehouses a short drive away to Virginia.

Beretta’s bold move is regrettable but understandable. Reh told reporters, “Why expand in a place where the people who built the gun couldn’t buy it?”

All of Beretta’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Even as Reh lamented Beretta’s looming departure and emphasized the company’s centrality in the local economy during the hearing, Maryland legislators grilled Reh on self-defense.

One legislator stated: “Other than target shooting, the only other reason [for a semi-automic firearm] would be for self-defense… [Why would you need a] rifle that accommodates 20 rounds semi-automatic for deer hunting? … It’s only very infrequently that someone commits a crime with an assault weapon – why do you need one for self-defense?” source:

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10 Insanely Overpaid Public Employees

Atlantic City has proven to be the land of the riches for some—or at least for cops. According to a report by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation in 2009, 160 retiring police and firefighters received $13.7 million for unused sick leave—that’s in addition to hefty pension plans. Former police chief John Mooney takes the top spot with a pension of $147,016.

Padded pension plans are one thing—secret ones are another. In Georgia, two state pension funds, the Teachers Retirement System and Employees’ Retirement System, are actually prohibited by state law from disclosing pension data for more than 100,000 workers in the public sector. Perhaps the state’s afraid of a little public backlash—according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, of this wealth of retirees, 1,100 get six figures, including one who cashes in a pretty penny—almost $318,000 per year for life.

By BLAIRE BRIODY, The Fiscal Times

When it comes to government employees, there’s plenty of news about laid off social workers in Florida, furloughed forest rangers in Minnesota,  and underpaid teachers everywhere else. Yet even during these hard times, there are thousands of government employees who still earn great, big salaries – many of them hundreds of thousands more than the $400,000 Obama pulls down each year. In 2009, 347 Texas state employees earned more than the president; 53 of them made more than $600,000. In New York, 35 employees were paid over $400k last year. Since 2005, the number of Federal employees earning $150,000 plus has jumped tenfold: going from 12,399 to 171,689. Much of the increase has been in medicine. Doctors at veterans hospitals and prisons averaged $179,500 in 2010, up from $111,000 in 2005.

Photo Gallery: 8 Outrageously Cushy Government Pensions

See our slideshow here on 10 insanely overpaid government employees. We reported all their yearly earnings, which in addition to base salary, includes bonuses, overtime pay, and other pay. The “other pay” can be things like unused sick days--$594,976 worth of them for one California employee – something private sector employees could only dream of. Oh, and did we mention all of them are men?

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