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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1978)
Tax warriors recall ‘68 battles By KEVIN HARDEN Of the Emerald While Oregon taxpayers grow angry and legislators try to decide what to do about it, candidates for nearly every office in the state are choosing sides on Ballot Measure 6, the 1.5 percent property tax limi tation. The entire state is in an uproar. And it has all happened before. Nearly ten years ago, during the turbulent sixties, a property tax limitation measure very similar to 1978’s Measure 6 was the focus of another political fight-to-the death. That fight left the limitation hanging on for 10 years. Now vot ers are trying to bring that limita tion back to life. Since the November election in IJa*re 6 1968. the property tax problem has been on at least three sepa rate ballots and has been dis guised at least two different times. Voters in 1969 and again in 1972 turned thumbs-down to property tax relief in one form or another. But none of those measures matched the 1968 limitation measure as closely as today's Measure 6, and, say supporters of the limitation 10 years ago, the ef fects of the 1968 measure wouldn't have been as great as they may be this year. The saga of Oregon’s Measure 7 on the 1968 general election bal lot began under similar circum stances as Measure 6. According to Sen. Ed Fadeley, D^Eugene, the drive to place Measure 7 on the 1968 ballot started with several supporters who, like their counterparts today, wanted to attack the federal in come tax system but chose the state property tax system instead. Their decision was based on the fact that they had more access to the state tax system, Fadeley says. They grabbed for the one thing they could be certain to change. That grasp on state government was premature, Fadeley says, because the dollar was worth more 10 years ago. "We didn't have quite the same feeling about inflation taking so much of our money back then," he explains. “The rate of inflation wasn’t as great in 1968 as it is now. But now, if you know the dol lar won’t buy anything anymore, you want to hold on to as much of them as you can.” The 1968 measure, while pro voking the same feelings about a loss of essential civic services and cutbacks to the school budgets around the state, had one advan tage to Measure 6: it was originally written for Oregon tax laws. Measure 6 is written to conform to California tax laws. Had the measure been ap proved, it would have repealed the state’s 6 percent limitation on an nual property taxes, changed that to a one and one-half percent limi tation and would have forced the elimination of some tax exemp tions enjoyed by churches, lodges and other property. All that, one supporter of that measure says, would have been better than what will happen next year if Measure 6 is approved Nov. 7. “No, I don’t believe all the horror stories (about Measure 6),” Ralph Coan, a Portland realtor who sup ported the 1968 tax limitation measure. “They haven’t hap pened in California. And they wouldn't have happened here if our limitation was passed ten years ago." Both the support and the oppos ition to Measure 6 is lining up al most the same way they did in 1968, Coan says. But history may not repeat itself. Although the 1968 measure was defeated by nearly 300,000 votes, Coan predicts Measure 6 to pass “like a breeze.” “Very frankly, I haven't been paying too much attention to what has been going on with this new measure. I hope it passes. It would have passed ten years ago if the people supported it like they are now." The reasoning behind the 1968 measure and Measure 6 are al most identical, Coan says. Ten years ago the angry taxpayers wanted to cut off funds to the state government. That's the only way to stop government overspend ing. “At the time when it failed to pass and the whole thing was over, the general consensus among supporters was that the politicians got the message,” Coan says. But that message, to stop spending taxpayers’ money on unnecessary programs and pro jects, has taken 10 years to get through. It still hasn't been heard by all the legislators in Salem, Coan says. “They haven’t done a damn thing about it and they never will.” Fadeley, however, disagrees. Since the first limitation scare 10 years ago, the Legislature has made progress on property tax re lief, he says. Changes in the way the state school system is financed and di rect relief to homeowners and renters have been the major steps toward tax reform, Fadeley says. The Legislature has increased the amount of money the stata^ pays to local school budgets an^p has implemented the Homeowner and Renter Relief Program as part of a tax reform package over the past 10 years. While those changes may not seem like much to the middle in come taxpayer, who has watched his tax dollars increase by nearly 100 percent since 1968, they are better than what was offered in California, Fadeley says. But Coan disagrees with the re lief offered by the Legislature. The state is still taking too much money from the taxpayers and not giving enough in return, he says. “The only solution is to cut their (the Legislature’s) funds. And if that doesn’t work, you just get some new politicians." bromberg storms into buqene By USA GORLINE Of the Emerald David Bromberg and his band will come to Eugene Friday, to take The Place by musical storm. Long a recipient of well deserved praise from a clan of fol lowers, Bromberg has only re cently emerged from the restric tive bounds of the cult artist and into the mainstream of popular acclaim. He has played behind such performers as Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Mississippi John Hurt, Tom Paxton and Chubby Checker. But the session work was tributary to a long courtship with the New York and small club circuit. In 1970, the Philadelphia native embarked on a solo career that has harvested tangible results. Signed by Columbia, he produced four albums before switching to the Fantasy label, and the subse quent release defied the “inade quacy myth,” associated with smaller labels. “How Late'll Ya Play Till,” cov ers the entire spectrum from folk, country and country-based rock to Birkenstock, 2nd Floor Atrium 1 Oth 8c Olive Mon.-Sat. 11-6 687-0065 blues, jazz and the glorified ballad. The latter has been blended into a humorous music^ concoction that is Bromberg*! trademark. ' His latest endeavor (“Bandit in a Bathing Suit”) pursues this ver satility even further. It includes a disco instrumental, ‘50s style vocal techniques and some chant ing of a religious bent. In concert, Bromberg is indeed a multistyled musical wizard Trading off between electric and acoustic guitars, and equally pro ficient with fiddle or mandolin, he forays comfortably into disco bump or Irish folksong. Despite all Bromberg's acclaim, one might wonder why, as a re viewer put it, "Bromberg’s obvi ously not a household name, ex cept around musician's houses, where he's something of a god. Recognition came late, perhaps because Bromberg fits no particu lar category. Critics describe him as “elec trifying;” as having complete con trol of his audience for an im mediate exchange of creative energy, "spontaneous and totally sincere." He has dedicated his life to music. I've no hobbies beyond playing guitar, fiddle, and mandolin,” Bromberg says. A welcome relief from the common pretentious ness of modern artists. Don't miss what promises to be a memorable experience
