Comments on: Oregon Economist: Taxes and the Rainy-Day Fund http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2010/02/oregon-economist-taxes-and-the-rainy-day-fund/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:23:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Matt Evans http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2010/02/oregon-economist-taxes-and-the-rainy-day-fund/comment-page-1/#comment-2732 Matt Evans Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:09:35 +0000 http://oregonbusinessreport.com/?p=2629#comment-2732 When it becomes necessary to grow your budget by 7 - 10 percent every year on average in order to pay for increases in employee salary and benefits and other government program growth, no "reform" of the state's tax system can ever be successful. No tax system produces a net gain in revenue of 7 - 10 percent a year, every year, forever for precisely the reasons you state. The economy is dynamic, dollars are fungible and - like taxes - companies and workers don't have to stay where they are today. Measures 66 & 67 - as we've already seen in the latest revenue forecast - are going to produce less than the $733 million in revenue they were expected to when the tax increases were passed. More importantly, in the 2011-13 budget, the Legislature is going to have to come up with about $100 - $140 million in new revenue - plus however much less than $733 million the new taxes produce - to continue paying for whatever it is that 66 & 67 are funding. Oregonians are addicted to government spending and like all addictions it's going to take more and more to satisfy them over time. When it becomes necessary to grow your budget by 7 – 10 percent every year on average in order to pay for increases in employee salary and benefits and other government program growth, no “reform” of the state’s tax system can ever be successful. No tax system produces a net gain in revenue of 7 – 10 percent a year, every year, forever for precisely the reasons you state. The economy is dynamic, dollars are fungible and – like taxes – companies and workers don’t have to stay where they are today.

Measures 66 & 67 – as we’ve already seen in the latest revenue forecast – are going to produce less than the $733 million in revenue they were expected to when the tax increases were passed. More importantly, in the 2011-13 budget, the Legislature is going to have to come up with about $100 – $140 million in new revenue – plus however much less than $733 million the new taxes produce – to continue paying for whatever it is that 66 & 67 are funding.

Oregonians are addicted to government spending and like all addictions it’s going to take more and more to satisfy them over time.

]]> By: Laura Bell http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2010/02/oregon-economist-taxes-and-the-rainy-day-fund/comment-page-1/#comment-2729 Laura Bell Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:17:52 +0000 http://oregonbusinessreport.com/?p=2629#comment-2729 IF this tax hadn't passed, then maybe this inexcusable excuse for a Legislature would have done something...like look at ways to cut the budget and live on what they have. Instead, as always in Oregon, the tax initiatives are played like a violin...always pushing that "our children" will suffer or "the poor" will take hits. It is time to stop the b.s. and get real. This state's budget is a mess and the people we have in the Legislature are keeping it that way. Heaven only knows why. Passing taxes is an easy out...dealing within budget constraints takes real work and I just don't see that these elected officials can do that. It's too hard, it takes too much time and why bother when you have people out there that buy into whatever they are fed. So my question...just where is the money from Measure 66 & 67 going? To the schools? To PERS? To pay for insurance for people that can't afford it? From what I can tell...this may be going to assist PERS. It would be nice to have an accounting of where these funds are going. IF this tax hadn’t passed, then maybe this inexcusable excuse for a Legislature would have done something…like look at ways to cut the budget and live on what they have. Instead, as always in Oregon, the tax initiatives are played like a violin…always pushing that “our children” will suffer or “the poor” will take hits. It is time to stop the b.s. and get real. This state’s budget is a mess and the people we have in the Legislature are keeping it that way. Heaven only knows why. Passing taxes is an easy out…dealing within budget constraints takes real work and I just don’t see that these elected officials can do that. It’s too hard, it takes too much time and why bother when you have people out there that buy into whatever they are fed. So my question…just where is the money from Measure 66 & 67 going? To the schools? To PERS? To pay for insurance for people that can’t afford it? From what I can tell…this may be going to assist PERS. It would be nice to have an accounting of where these funds are going.

]]> By: Marvin McConoughey http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2010/02/oregon-economist-taxes-and-the-rainy-day-fund/comment-page-1/#comment-2727 Marvin McConoughey Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:08:08 +0000 http://oregonbusinessreport.com/?p=2629#comment-2727 It does little good to rail against a tax that you have voted for. It does little good to rail against a tax that you have voted for.

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