Tax day has come and gone, but, as the Legislature prepares for a third special session this year, Oregon still does not have enough money to meet the taxpayers’ demands for good schools, an expanded Oregon Health Plan, better roads and bridges, in-home care for the aged and disabled, and a host of other state services.
Overcoming Tax Myths Key to Oregon’s Future Read More »
The Department of Human Services Helps Few Families
Welfare Home Visits “Flopped” Read More »
In February President Bush unveiled proposals for changing the 1996 welfare reform law, which Congress must reauthorize this year. Included is a proposal to provide up to $300 million for state-based initiatives “focusing on family formation and healthy marriage activities.” While the goal of stable families is laudable, the focus on marriage is misguided. The
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Here’s my Form M32 Read More »
Oregonians in low-wage jobs are paying some of the nation’s highest state income taxes, according to a report released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Oregon Center for Public Policy. The income tax burden borne by families just above the poverty line in Oregon is one of the highest in the nation.
Oregon Taxes Workers Earning Low Wages More Than Most States Read More »
News Release A new report by the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) finds that Oregon’s efforts to end child poverty increasingly depend on how effective the state’s public assistance system is in serving immigrant families. The report focuses particularly on changes needed in the state’s cash assistance and welfare-to-work program known as Temporary Assistance
Welfare For Immigrant Families Key To Reducing Child Poverty In Oregon Read More »
Executive Summary Increasingly, the capacity of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to reduce poverty in Oregon depends on the success of legal immigrant families. The importance of helping immigrants receiving TANF benefits will only increase in the future, if the number of legal immigrants living in Oregon continues to grow as rapidly
Did you know some of your federal tax dollars end up as handouts to Chevron and DuPont, so they can be farmers? It’s true. The federal government’s farm subsidy program sends a lot of cash to big businesses and wealthy landowners and very little to small family farmers.
The Farm Subsidy Scheme Read More »
Like most other states, Oregon is facing a serious budget shortfall. Due to the economic downturn, Oregon expects $720 million less revenue than at the close of the 2001 legislative session. Additional anticipated costs of $130 million raise the General Fund deficit to $850 million, which must be closed by a combination of increasing revenues, using one-time revenue sources, accounting gimmicks, or program cuts.
Things Don’t Look Different Here: Making Sense of Taxes and Spending in Oregon Read More »
A new report released today by the Oregon Center for Public Policy finds that Oregon’s level of government spending per person is close to the national average and has remained constant, relative to income, for the last 20 years.
New Report On Oregon’s Tax and Spending Levels Shows “Things Don’t Look Different Here” Read More »
As Oregonians receive their W-2 forms from their employers and tax forms from the state and federal revenue agencies, marking the beginning of tax season, thousands of Oregon families who worked last year will be eligible for federal and state tax credits that can reduce or eliminate their taxes.
Tax Returns with a Silver Lining? Read More »