Statement on the December Revenue Forecast by the Oregon Center for Public Policy, SEIU 503, Family Forward Oregon, and Oregon Education Association
Today’s Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast underscores the need for the legislature to close wasteful tax loopholes benefiting corporations and the wealthy, as well as to judiciously tap the state’s reserve funds, in order to avoid cutting the critical services that Oregon families rely on.
Even with the improvement in revenue collections from the last forecast, Oregon still faces a budget shortfall, due in large part to the massive tax breaks favoring corporations and the wealthy enacted in July by Congress and the Trump administration. Because Oregon automatically follows changes in the federal tax code, the state is replicating many of those wasteful tax changes.
Adding insult to injury, to help pay for those massive tax breaks mainly benefiting the wealthy and corporations, the Republican budget bill has set in motion deep cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance. That will make life that much harder for families in Oregon and across the nation, while also shifting billions in new costs for those programs onto the state. That means the state will need more resources to prevent increased hardship for Oregon families.
“Today’s revenue forecast shows Oregon needs to reclaim control of its tax policy by disconnecting from the wasteful tax breaks pushed through by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. Unless the Oregon legislature disconnects from the tax breaks favoring the wealthy and corporations, the state will find it difficult to avoid cutting funding for schools, health care and other services that families depend on.
At a time when so many Oregon families are struggling to put food on the table and cover the rent, and at a time when the fortunes of the wealthy have rarely been so massive, the state legislature needs to do the common-sense thing. It needs to reject the federal policies favoring the wealthy few and act in the interest of Oregon families. By rejecting tax breaks that mainly enrich corporations and the wealthy, lawmakers can recover hundreds of millions of dollars this budget period, helping protect the services Oregon families depend on.
— Alejandro Queral, Executive Director, Oregon Center for Public Policy
“While things keep getting sunnier for big corporations and the ultra-wealthy under this administration, working families are facing stronger headwinds every day. Food prices are rising. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing. Now is not the time to cut the lifelines that are keeping Oregon workers and our families afloat.
Public employees deliver the services we all rely on — providing care for seniors and people with disabilities, providing food assistance to hungry families, and offering a quality education to every child. Without them, more Oregonians will be forced to skip meals, cancel a doctor’s visit, or miss next month’s rent or utility payment. We are counting on lawmakers to rise to the occasion and put working families first.”
— Johnny Earl, President, SEIU 503
“As lawmakers look to fill the budget gap this upcoming session, we urge them to remember this: inaction is a choice, and it has real consequences — for Oregon’s children, families, and communities. Failing to rein in this administration’s tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy means failing Oregon’s most vulnerable children and their families. Kids will go to bed hungry. Parents won’t be able to afford childcare. Seniors will not receive the dignified care they deserve.
We urge lawmakers to rein in the new, indefensible tax breaks for the wealthy and judiciously tap Oregon’s reserves before making any cuts to the critical services upon which our families rely.”
— Marchel Marcos Kaleikini, Political Director, Family Forward Oregon
“Corporations and the wealthy might not feel the painful reality right now, but educators know and see it every day. Oregonians cannot afford to lose educators mid-year right when we are seeing student progress. Oregonians cannot afford double-digit tuition increases. The damage of the federal tax policy of wasteful tax loopholes benefiting corporations and the wealthy is clear.
The legislature must do everything in its power to prevent cuts to education and the programs that ensure Oregonians can eat and go to the doctor. They need to make a plan and we need them to make it now.”
— Enrique Farrera, President, Oregon Education Association
SEIU, OCPP, Family Forward Oregon, and dozens of other organizations across the state are part of the Protect Oregon Now coalition, which is fighting for a fair, future-looking budget that prioritizes working families and protects the critical services they rely on.
