Brad Milligin (Letters, Journal, Nov. 7) suggested that the Koch Brothers need to come to Colorado. Had Milligin visited the first page of the Koch Industries website he would have known that the company is and has been operating in Colorado for decades. The Kochs have opened, used for 30 years, and closed a Georgia Pacific plant in Olathe. They have laid, maintained, and sold more than 3,000 miles of pipelines in the state. They have taken over and closed a dozen underperforming coal mines in the state in the past, and currently employ about 500 people in the state (from a high in 1980 of about 2,200) both directly and through subsidiaries.
Koch Industries is given special taxation rights by the state and pays almost no tax directly to the state or anyone else, and often are given special tax credits. Their trucks tear up Colorado roads every day, but special corporate rights give them fuel tax exemption so they don’t ever pay for a pothole to be filled. You pay for them. Waiting for the Kochs to do business in Colorado is a bit like waiting for McDonald’s to open a restaurant in Colorado. Just drive and you will see the scars of Koch upon the land everywhere.
Nels Werner
Cortez