Measure 41 on the November 2006 ballot offers fool’s gold to Oregonians. The measure would make Oregon’s tax system more complicated and cause cuts in public services Oregonians rely upon, such as schools, the Oregon Health Plan, senior assistance programs, and public safety initiatives.

Oregon’s TABOR proposal – Measure 48 – would place an arbitrary spending growth scheme in Oregon’s constitution. Although proponents refer to it as the “rainy day amendment,” Measure 48 does not create a rainy day fund.

Last month, the Senate Budget Committee adopted legislation that purportedly would reduce the nation’s deficit. The Stop Over-Spending Act, (S. 3521), dubbed the “SOS Act” by its primary sponsor Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), may be considered by the full Senate soon.

Oregon competes with many other states to roll out the best red carpet for desirable companies to locate or expand here.

Out-of-state political activists are financing a ballot initiative for this November that would place an arbitrary spending growth formula in Oregon’s constitution. This initiative – Measure 48 – contains the three key features that make Colorado’s TABOR the most restrictive limit in the country to date: it is a constitutional amendment; it limits budget growth to a population growth plus inflation formula; and it requires a vote of the people to override.

A new report finds that Initiative Petition 6, a “taxpayer bill of rights” or TABOR measure, would make recessions worse in Oregon.

With school districts continuing to struggle to meet basic needs, higher education eating a bigger share of the budget of Oregon families, and hundreds of thousands of Oregonians lacking health insurance, the forecasted kickers provide over a billion reasons why Oregon should suspend both of the kickers and instead invest in Oregon by saving for a rainy day.

Repealing the federal estate tax, or substantially cutting the top estate tax rate, would negatively affect charitable giving, harming vital services in Oregon that rely upon voluntary contributions, including health care, health research, higher education, and human services.

Last fall, Congress funded the infamous Bridge to Nowhere, connecting an Alaska town of 8,000 with an island of fewer than 50 people with a bridge that was higher than the Brooklyn Bridge.