Insanity: Oregonians Vote for Tax Increases on Businesses in the Middle of a Recession

What were Oregonians thinking? Do they want higher unemployment and less revenue to their state? Do they want employers and the “rich” to leave in droves? I guess they do.

Oregonian: Oregon voters bucked decades of anti-tax and anti-Salem sentiment Tuesday, raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to prevent further erosion of public schools and other state services.

The tax measures passed easily, with late returns showing a 54 percent to 46 percent ratio. Measure 66 raises taxes on households with taxable income above $250,000, and Measure 67 sets higher minimum taxes on corporations and increases the tax rate on upper-level profits.

The results triggered waves of relief from educators and legislative leaders, who were facing an estimated $727 million shortfall in the current two-year budget if the measures failed.

“We’re absolutely ecstatic,” said Hanna Vandering, a physical education teacher from Beaverton and vice president of the statewide teachers union. “What Oregonians said today is they believe in public education and vital services.”

The double-barreled victory is the first voter-approved statewide income tax increase since the 1930s. Other states, facing similar budget woes, are watching the outcome closely because Oregon, after all, is a state that capped property taxes and locked a surplus tax rebate program into the constitution. …

Back to the 30′s. Of course those who get their pay, benefits and pensions from the taxpayers are ecstatic, but what about the folks who rely on those evil corporations for employment? And you’ll never guess who was behind this measure – the unions! What a surprise. Oregonians just screwed themselves out of financial prosperity.

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