Reports & Publications

The list below is ordered by date. Browse the report archive by subject.

2010

Report, September 3, 2010: Gloomy Days, But a Ray of Hope, for Oregon Workers

Fact Sheet, July 12, 2010: The Swing of the Budget Ax: An Outline of Oregon’s Likely Service Cuts Absent Congressional Help

Fact Sheet, June 23, 2010: What’s at Stake for Oregon if Congress Fails to Extend Key Recovery Act Provisions?

Fact Sheet, May 20, 2010: Continue What's Working: Congress Should Extend the TANF ECF to Bolster the Economy and Struggling Families

Fact Sheet, April 29, 2010: Working Poor and Near-Poor Families in Oregon Are Hit Harder by State Income Taxes Than Those in Most Other States (PDF)

Report, April 14, 2010: Tax Day Reality Check: Oregon Revenue and Spending Have Remained Stable

Issue Brief, March 18, 2010: Five Effective Economic Recovery Tools: Federal Recovery Act’s major direct assistance programs prove their worth

2009

Issue Brief, October 12, 2009: A Step Toward Balance: Measures 66 and 67 move Oregon closer to a tax system based on ability to pay

Report, September 4, 2009: Labor Day Woes and Wishes: Reviewing recession's impact on workers and policies for greater shared prosperity

Issue Brief, June 11, 2009: Will Poor, Working Families Be Roadkill? The Jobs and Transportation Act’s Regressive Tax and Fee Increases Will Set Back Low-Income Working Families With Children Unless the Legislature Enacts a Modest EITC Expansion

Fact Sheet, June 10, 2009: Misplaced Priorities: Should protecting frail seniors trump subsidizing well-off seniors' medical and dental costs?

Fact Sheet, June 9, 2009: Raise Revenue or Deepen the Pain: The Legislature must enact HB 2649 and HB 3405 to avoid further harming Oregonians, particularly the most vulnerable

Issue Brief, May 21, 2009: Oregon Should Follow the Feds in Not Taxing Some Unemployment Benefits

Fact Sheet, May 12, 2009: Your Constituents Utilize the EITC: Improving It Should Be Part of Any Revenue Package

Issue Brief, April 9, 2009: It Shouldn't Matter Who Paid for Screening: SB 891 fixes an eligibility rule that blocks Oregon women from treatment for breast and cervical cancer

Issue Brief, April 9, 2009: SB 892 Aims to Save Women's Lives: Oregon could triple the number of women screened for breast and cervical cancer but needs an appropriation to meet this modest goal

Issue Brief, March 25, 2009: Who's Losing Out From RALs? Low-income working households are the largest group that would benefit from HB 3163 refund anticipation loan reform

Fact Sheet, March 23, 2009: HB 3140 Suspends Outmoded Waiting Period to Collect Unemployment Benefits

Fact Sheet, March 23, 2009: HB 3045 Addresses the Special Hardship Unemployment Imposes on Families With Kids

Fact Sheet, February 27, 2009: How Will the Federal Recovery Package Help Struggling Oregonians and the State's Economy?

Fact Sheet, February 18, 2009: SB 461 Helps Low-income Workers Gain Job Skills, Strengthens Oregon’s Workforce

Fact Sheet, February 18, 2009: SB 462 Helps Low-Income Workers Qualify for Unemployment Benefits, Oregon Qualify for Federal Funds

Fact Sheet, February 18, 2009: SB 463 Ends Rule Barring Many Part-time Workers From Collecting Unemployment Benefits

Fact Sheet, February 3, 2009: How Much Does Oregon Stand to Gain From the House Economic Stimulus Package?

Issue Brief, January 28, 2009: First, Stop Digging: Why the Oregon legislature must end rolling reconnect and decouple from the bonus depreciation business tax break to avoid deepening the state’s fiscal hole

2008

Report, December 16, 2008: Rolling Up Our Sleeves: Building an Oregon That Works for Working Families, State of Working Oregon 2008-2009

Issue Brief, August 26, 2008: No Contest: Why expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit is better for working families and Oregon than the Tax Bracket Increase

Report, August 18, 2008: No Gain, Just Pain: Most Oregonians would not benefit from Measure 59, but they would lose public services

Fact Sheet, March 26, 2008: Expanding the EIC in 2009: Increasing the state Earned Income Credit would add fairness and help low-wage working families and communities across Oregon

Fact Sheet, March 3, 2008: New Medicaid Regulations Will Reduce Federal Health Care Dollars to Oregon

Issue Brief, February 19, 2008: Where Will the Pain Be? OCPP’s subprime maps can help legislators target education about foreclosure scams addressed by HB 3630

Issue Brief, February 13, 2008: Fiscal Danger Ahead: Why Oregon must decouple from the bonus depreciation business tax break to save $100 million and protect public services

Fact Sheet, February 1, 2008: Subprime loans affect families and communities in every corner of Oregon

Issue Brief, January 21, 2008: No Special Treatment: Seven reasons why Oregon should not reduce or eliminate the income tax on capital gains

Issue Brief, January 15, 2008: Food Insecurity & Hunger Statistics by State

Issue Brief, January 8, 2008: How Big an Umbrella Does Oregon Need? Reserves of at Least 15 Percent Were Needed in Two of the Last Three Recessions

2007

Issue Brief, December 14, 2007: Predictably Wrong: Tax Foundation’s Business Climate Index Again Misrepresents the Significance of Oregon’s Low Business Taxes

Report, November 28, 2007: Empty Cupboards, Empty Feelings: Food Insecurity, Depression & Suicide Are Intertwined

Issue Brief, October 26, 2007 (Revised May 1, 2008): The 2007 Kicker: Wrongheaded, Unjust, Costly, and a Federal Tax Increase

Report, October 18, 2007: It Better Only Drizzle: Why the newly created Oregon Rainy Day Fund is inadequate protection against the next economic downturn and how the problem can be fixed

Report, August 31, 2007 (Revised May 1, 2008): An Economy for the Few: Oregon workers are more productive, but households with incomes over $360,000 are getting nearly half the income gains

Issue Brief, July 26, 2007: One in Eight Oregonians Needs Congress to Halt the Erosion in Food Stamps

Issue Brief, June 17, 2007: Punishing Food Stamp Program Sucess: The Bush Administration's Farm Bill would reverse Oregon's progress against hunger

Report, June 26, 2007: Steady As She Goes: State and Local Government Revenues and Spending in Oregon

Issue Brief, June 5, 2007: Doing Well For Themselves, But Not Oregonians: Corporate Profits Are High in Oregon, But Not Corporate Income Taxes

Issue Brief, May 21, 2007: Supporting Kids and Collections: HB 2469-A Allows Children in TANF Families to Receive Some Child Support

Issue Brief, April 25, 2007: For the Health of Kids and the Economy

Fact Sheet, April 23, 2007: The Food Stamp Program in Oregon

Report, April 10, 2007: Undocumented Workers are Taxpayers, Too and also a Spanish version, La Contribución De Los Inmigrantes Indocumentados A La Economía De Oregon

Issue Brief, April 10, 2007: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: How to pay for an improvement in the Earned Income Credit

Report, April 4, 2007: Working, Poor, and Taxed: Improving Oregon’s Earned Income Credit

Issue Brief, March 27, 2007: Who's Getting Stuck with RALs? HB 3076 would help Oregon's low-income families

Issue Brief, March 14, 2007: Opportunities for Improving Oregon’s TANF Program: A checklist comparing HB 2469 and HB 2180 on nine key policy options

Fact Sheet, February 7, 2007: HB 2469: The Best Starting Point for Redesigning Oregon's TANF Program

Issue Brief, January 10, 2007: Drawing the Wrong Conclusion, Again: Tax Foundation Business Climate Index Again Misrepresents the Significance of Oregon’s Low Business Taxes

2006

Report, October 31, 2006: 100 percent phony: Why the “65 percent solution” is a political gimmick that will do nothing to improve student performance in Oregon

Report, September 2, 2006: Who's Getting Ahead? Opportunity in a Growing Economy, State of Working Oregon 2006

Issue Brief, August 25, 2006: Fool's Gold: How Measure 41 would leave seniors and others behind.

Issue Brief, July 21, 2006: A Deficit Reduction Illusion: The Gregg bill would dangerously shift power away from Congress to the President, and would likely do little to reduce the deficit

Issue Brief, June 29, 2006: Measure 48 Quacks Like a TABOR Duck: No matter what its proponents call it, Measure 48 is still a TABOR like the one Colorado voters suspended

Report, June 28, 2006: It Ain't No "Rainy Day Amendment" The Measure 48 TABOR proposal would make recessions worse and undermine any rainy day fund that the Legislature might create

Issue Brief, May 31, 2006: Repeal or Near-Repeal of the Estate Tax Would Substantially Harm Charitable Giving

Issue Brief, May 23, 2006: Permanent Repeal of the Estate Tax Would be Costly: But are alternative reforms more affordable?

Issue Brief, May 3, 2006: The Budget Deficit Gimmick

Report, April 14, 2006: The Great Corporate Tax Shift: Undercutting Oregon’s Economy and Quality of Life

Issue Brief, April 5, 2006: Oregon Stuck in Doonesbury: Economic Growth Will Not Restore Public Services Until 2009-11, Unless Oregon Suspends the Tweedledee and Tweedledum Kickers

Issue Brief, March 28, 2006: Income Tax Kickers Disproportionately Benefit Multistate Corporations and Wealthy Oregonians.

Issue Brief, March 17, 2006: Drawing the Wrong Conclusion: Tax Foundation Business Climate Index Misrepresents the Significance of Oregon's Low Business Taxes.

2005

Issue Brief, December 7, 2005. Federal Budget Proposal Would Hit Oregon Food Stamp Program Particularly Hard, Study Says.

Issue Brief, September 16, 2005. Considerations in Medicaid Cost Sharing Policy.

Report, September 2005. Explaining Variations in State Hunger Rates, by John Tapogna, Allison Suter, Mark Nord, and Michael Leachman. Published in Family Economics and Nutrition Review, a journal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Volume 16, Number 2, pages 12-22. (PDF)

Report, September 12, 2005. The TANF Shell Game: Oregon uses funds for helping poor families be self-sufficient to cover other budget holes.

Report, September 2, 2005. Losing Ground: Workers slipping back as the economy expands.

Fact Sheet, July 20 2005. Medicaid Plays a Crucial Role in the Health of Oregonians.

Issue Brief, July 7, 2005. The R&D Gravy Train: Eleven reasons why Oregon should not further expand the corporate research and development tax credit in HB 3232 or HB 2542.

Issue Brief, July 5, 2005. Albert Einstein Would Oppose Rolling Reconnect: Why HB 2542-A Should be Amended.

Report, Updated July 7, 2005. The QPAI Deduction in HB 2542-A: A tax cut for out-of-state investment and accounting gimmicks.

Report, May 20, 2005. Corporate Tax Dodge:The Decline of the Oregon Corporate Income Tax and the Shift to Individual Taxpayers.

Report, February 25, 2005. Investing in Working Families: Improving Oregon's Earned Income Credit.

2004

Issue Brief, December 27, 2004. Oregon Enters 2005 in the "Doonesbury Decade:" Restoration of Cuts to Public Investments and Public Services Still Years Away. (PDF)

Issue Brief, November 19, 2004. Percentage of all households that are "food insecure with hunger" and "food insecure," by state, 2001-03

Report, September 5, 2004. In the Shadows of the Recovery.

Issue Brief, June 15, 2004. More Money is Needed: Revenue Forecast Shows that Focus on Spending Limits and Tax Reform for Stability are Misplaced. (PDF)

Issue Brief, May 13, 2004. Oregon's Long Climb Back for Jobs. (PDF)

Issue Brief, April 22, 2004. If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It: Oregon's current spending limit ties spending to what Oregonians can afford. (PDF)

Report, April 13, 2004. The Real Squeeze: Taxes Are More Affordable While Other Household Costs Rise, by Jeff Thompson. (PDF)

Fact Sheet, March 16, 2004. Population Plus Inflation Spending Limit Would Cripple State-funded Services. (PDF)

Issue Brief, March 10, 2004. Oregon Not Alone: Bush Tax Cuts Fail to Provide Promised Job Growth in 47 States. (PDF)

Issue Brief, March 3, 2004. What is TABOR? (PDF)

Issue Brief, February 26, 2004. Job Recovery Continues to Elude Oregon. (PDF)

Report, February 23, 2004. Time to Raise the Corporate Minimum Tax: Top execs get pay raises while Oregon gets just $10, by Michael Leachman. (Revision of a report originally released January 30).

Issue Brief, January 23, 2004. Oregon's Business Tax Burden: Lowest in the Nation?

2003

Report, December 21, 2003. Preventing Self-Inflicted Wounds: Voting Yes on Measure 30 is Critical for Oregon's Economy, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, December 21, 2003. A Small Price to Pay: Measure 30 Asks Little of Most Oregonians , by Jeff Thompson, Michael Leachman, and Charles Sheketoff.

Issue Brief, December 12, 2003. Continued Misery, Not Recovery: November Employment Figures Show Job Market Still Has a Long Way to Go, by Jeff Thompson. (PDF)

Issue Brief, December 11, 2003. State Health Survey Confirms Oregon's Hunger Problem, by Michael Leachman. (PDF)

Issue Brief, December 11, 2003. One in Five Adults in Households with Hunger Considered Suicide, by Michael Leachman. (PDF)

Issue Brief, December 11, 2003. Young Adults with Children Likely to be in Food Insecure Households, by Michael Leachman. (PDF)

Issue Brief, December 11, 2003. Oregon Latinos More Likely Food Insecure, by Michael Leachman. (PDF)

Issue Brief, December 11, 2003. Work Does Not Promise an Escape from Hunger or Food Insecurity, by Michael Leachman. (PDF)

Issue Brief, November 21, 2003. Still No Job Recovery: "Jobs Gap" Shows Economic News Still Not Good Enough, by Jeff Thompson. (PDF)

Report, November 5, 2003. Looking Forward to Changes in the 'Look Back' Rule: Tens of Thousands of Unemployed Oregonians Will Lose Benefits Unless the 'Look Back' Rule is Eliminated in Federal Extended Benefits Programs, by Jeff Thompson.

Issue Brief, October 31, 2003. Percentage of all households that are "food insecure with hunger" and "food insecure," by state, 2000-02. The most recent USDA statistics on hunger, compiled by Michael Leachman.

Issue Brief, October 29, 2003. No Change for Most Seniors: Legislative Study Shows Most Seniors Pay No Additional Tax from Change in Senior Medical Deduction. (PDF)

Report, Labor Day September 1, 2003. Recovery Lost: Oregon's Faltering Economy Brings More Bad News for Workers.

Issue Brief, July 28, 2003. $15 Means More to Low-Income Families than $145 Means to Phil Knight: Why the personal exemption credit should be phased out, not reduced "across the board".

Issue Brief, July 7, 2003. Addressing the Regressivity of Sales Taxes: Hard to Overcome and Made Worse by Income Tax Cuts. (PDF)

Report, July 1, 2003. On Whose Backs?: Tax Distribution, Income Inequality, and Plans for Raising Revenue.

Issue Brief, June 20, 2003. Finding the Money: Federal Tax Cuts Signal New Tax Revenue Options for Oregon (PDF)

Issue Brief, May 23, 2003 (revised). Robin Hood's Medical Program: Changing Oregon's Priorities to Restore the Medically Needy Program. (PDF)

Issue Brief, May 22, 2003. Economic Recovery Will Not Save Vital Programs: Additional Revenue Needed to Pull Oregon Out of Doonesbury. (PDF)

Report, April 24, 2003. Cooking the Public Debate: The Restaurant Association's Misleading Recipe for the Minimum Wage, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, April 15, 2003. Making Sense of Spending and Taxes in Oregon, by Jeff Thompson.

Issue Brief, April 1, 2003. Population Increases and Inflation Are No Fool's Joke: Should Tax Reform in 2003 Be Revenue Neutral?, by Charles Sheketoff. (PDF)

Report, March 17, 2003. The Capital Gains Bird Does Not Fly: The Unmoving Case of Tax Cut Advocates, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, March 11, 2003. For the Greater Good: Why Oregon Should Reform, Not Repeal, the Progressive Estate Tax, by Charles Sheketoff.

Report, February 26, 2003. Growing Again: An Update on Oregon's Recovering Economy, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, February 25, 2003. Making Ends Meet: Improving Oregon's Earned Income Credit, by John Lewis.

Report, February 20, 2003. The Wrong Answer for Oregon's Economy: Cutting Taxes on Capital Gains Income, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, February 14, 2003. Urban Inflation for the Minimum Wage: The Correct Measure for Oregon's Farm Workers, by Jeff Thompson.

2002

Issue Brief, December 23, 2002. Percentage of all households that are "food insecure with hunger" and "food insecure," by state, 1999-01. The most recent USDA statistics on hunger, compiled by Michael Leachman.

Report, December 19, 2002. A Step in the Right Direction: Measure 28 and Oregon's Economy, by Jeff Thompson and Charles Sheketoff. (PDF)

Report, November 14, 2002. Hunger in Your State: A guide for producing state level reports, by Michael Leachman. This pdf file (1.7 Mb) contains the basic data and guidance for producing hunger reports for each state in the nation.

Report, November 6, 2002. Boom, Bust, and Beyond. New Report Highlights Impacts of a Changing Economy on Oregon Workers.

Report, October 24, 2002. Cutting Capital Gains Taxes Will Hurt, Not Help, Oregon's Economy. Cutting Oregon's tax on capital gains income, as proposed by the two major party gubernatorial candidates, will hurt Oregon's economy, by Jeff Thompson. (PDF)

Report, October 22, 2002. Something for Nothing: Seniors and Measure 28, the temporary income tax proposal on the January 28, 2003 special election ballot, by Charles Sheketoff. (PDF)

Report, October 14, 2002. Tax Increase 'Less Than You Think':

The typical taxpayer will pay less than the average, by Charles Sheketoff. (PDF)

Issue Brief, September 13, 2002. Measure 25 and Food Stamps: Increasing the minimum wage will not reduce access to food stamps, by Charles Sheketoff.

Report, June 6, 2002. For Better or Worse: The Governor's Income Tax Proposal and Two Different Alternatives. (PDF)

Report, May 15, 2002. The Worst of all Possible Worlds: Plan raises taxes on low income Oregonians, lowers taxes for the wealthiest, and reduces revenue for education and other state services. (PDF)

Issue Brief, May 3, 2002. TANF Reauthorization: Why the Administration's Welfare Proposal would Hurt Oregon, by Michael Leachman.

Report, April 29, 2002. Oregon's Shrinking Safety Net: Welfare's Decreasing Role in Meeting the Needs of Families With Dependent Children During Recessions, by Michael Leachman and Charles Sheketoff.

Report, February 13, 2002. Improving the TANF Program for Legal Immigrants:
Recommendations based on the Oregon experience, by Michael Leachman, with Amy Stork and Lorey Freeman.

Report, January 30, 2002. Things Don't Look Different Here: Making Sense of Taxes and Spending in Oregon, by Jeff Thompson.

Issue Brief, January 4, 2002. Percentage of all households that are "food insecure with hunger" and "food insecure," by state, 1997-99, by Michael Leachman.

2001

Issue Brief, December 12, 2001. Economic Stimulus in a Recession: What will work and won't work.

Issue Brief, September 26, 2001. The 2001 Kicker. A distributional analysis.

Report, September 3, 2001. What's so Scary about a Recession? A Long-term View of the State of Working Oregon, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, August 28, 2001. What Color is Your Paycheck? Disparities in Annual Pay Between White and Minority Workers Living in Multnomah County, by Michael Leachman, Jeff Thompson, and Richard Goud.

Report, August 2001. Hunger in Oregon, by Michael Leachman. (Not available for download - order for $2).

Report, June 12, 2001. New Data Show that House Bill 2281 Single Sales Factor is No 'Field of Dreams' for Economic Growth, by Jeff Thompson and Charles Sheketoff.

Report, June 1, 2001. House Bill 2281B and the Single Sales Factor: An Expensive, Ineffective, and Unnecessary Effort to Change the Business Climate, by Jeff Thompson and Charles Sheketoff.

Report, May 21, 2001. Dim and Dimmer: Forecasts of State Revenues and Federal Discretionary Spending in Oregon, by Charles Sheketoff and Jeff Thompson.

Report, April 15, 2001. Clearing the Air on Tax Day: Assessing the Tax Burden in Oregon, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, April 9, 2001. Empty Promises and False Hopes: The Reality of Capital Gains Tax Cuts in Oregon, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, March 16, 2001. Restoring Food Stamp Benefits to Immigrants and Refugees in Oregon, by Michael Leachman

Report, March 12, 2001. Getting the Raise They Deserved: The Success of Oregon's Minimum Wage and the Need for Reform, by Jeff Thompson and Charles Sheketoff

Report, March 1, 2001. Addressing the High Cost of Child Care: House Bill 2716, Making the Working Family Child Care Credit Refundable, by Charles Sheketoff and John Lewis.

2000

Report, October 16, 2000. How Would Expanding Oregon's Deduction for Federal Income Taxes Paid Affect Elderly Oregonians? A Distributional Analysis of Ballot Measures 88 and 91.

Report, September 2000. Prosperity in Perspective: The State of Working Oregon 2000, by Jeff Thompson and Michael Leachman.

Report, February 2000. Helping Rural Oregonians Avoid Hunger: Eliminating the Three Month Food Stamp Time Limit in 30 Oregon Counties, by Michael Leachman and Charles Sheketoff.

1999

Report, November 30, 1999. How Many Hungry Oregonians? Measuring Food Insecurity and Hunger, by Michael Leachman.

Report, September 4, 1999. When Prosperity Passes By: Middle-Income Oregonians, Tax Cuts, and the Economic Prosperity of the Late 1990s, by Jeff Thompson and Charles Sheketoff.

Report, June 16, 1999. An Analysis of SB 535's Proposed Corporate and Personal Income Tax Capital Gains Tax Cut, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for the OCPP.

Report, June 15, 1999. The Impact of Reducing Basic Oregon Health Plan Eligibility to 80 Percent of Poverty.

Report, June 2, 1999. Oregon's Increasing Minimum Wage Brings Raises to Former Welfare Recipients and Other Low-Wage Workers Without Job Losses, by Jeff Thompson.

Report, May 1999. <The Consequences of Increasing Oregon’s Income Tax Deduction for Federal Income Taxes Paid (PDF) by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for the Oregon Center for Public Policy.

Report, May 1999. Helping the Top: SB 537-A Provides An Upper Middle Class Tax Cut, by OCPP and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Report, April 1999. Tax Credits and Maintenance-of-Effort, by Charles Sheketoff.

Report, March 1999. Welfare Data, A Look At The Numbers.

Report, March 1999. Fixing Oregon's Low Income Tax Credits: Should They be Made Refundable?, by Charles Sheketoff and John Lewis. (This is an extensive revision to our December 1998 publication, Why Make the Oregon Working Family and Earned Income Credits Refundable.)

Report, March 1999. The Effects of the Minimum Wage Increase on the Restaurant Industry, by Jeff Thompson and Anna Braun.

1998

Report, December 9, 1998. Why Make the Oregon Working Family and Earned Income Credits Refundable.

Report, November 1998. Budgetary and Spending Implications of a Food Stamp Outreach Program, by ECONorthwest for the Oregon Center for Public Policy. (See the Press Release).

Report, August 23, 1998. Comparing Spendable Income, Welfare vs.Work. A paper submitted to the Governor's Economic Disincentive Subcommittee on July 27, 1998. Revised August 23, 1998.

Report, August 1998. Comparing Recent Declines in Oregon's Cash Assistance Caseload with Trends in the Poverty Population, by ECONorthwest for the OCPP.

1997

Report, October 1997. Emergency Board Reserves for Federal Welfare Reform.  

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