Extractive industry helps many
AN OPINION piece Feb. 26, “Time is now for all to act on climate” by Nena Benavidez, community organizer for Café Acción, stated extractive industries exist “only for the accumulation of wealth of a few out-of-state CEOs.” Not true. Since the author resides in Silver City and “comes from a long tradition of mines,” I will use the copper mines near Silver City as examples of how Silver City’s copper mines, which are an extractive industry, benefit Silver City, Grant County and New Mexico . ...
According to the Seidman Research Institute of Arizona State University, in 2019 ... the Silver City mines that year alone paid about $128 million in compensation, $4.5 million in business taxes and $5.5 million for goods and services in Grant County . ... Across the entire state, these same types of purchases and payments made directly by the mines came to about $241 million . ... Aside from paychecks for employees, the company pays payroll taxes, excise taxes, severance taxes, state taxes, makes ad valorem payments, funds pension plans and/ or makes contributory payments to individual retirement accounts, offers company-provided medical coverage, and more. Also, mines play an important role in paying down school bonds that fund the bricks and mortar used in public school construction in the county.
Third, many or most of these extractive industries are publicly traded, which means they have shareholders, for whom the CEO and other officers and even the employees work. These officers and the company have a fiduciary responsibility to these shareholders. And the shareholders expect and deserve a return on their investment. Shareholders do not invest in the company simply for it to reward the CEO, as was alleged.
Last, who are these shareholders? In the case of the mines near Silver City, most of the shares in the company are owned by institutions, including pension funds and mutual funds. It would not even be legal for these extractive industries to benefit only “a few out-of-state CEOs.” Communities, employees, businesses, schools and others benefit from the activities, purchases and payments made by these extractive industries.