Most Pay Little
40%
Percent of Total Taxes/People
35%
30%
25%
Taxes
People
20%
15%
The steeply graduated tax increase
means that the 68 percent of state
taxpayers who earn less than $50,000
will pay only 11 percent of the personal
income tax increase. The elite seven percent
of taxpayers earning more than $100,000
will pay 60 percent of the tax increase.
10%
5%
0%
200+
100 to 200
70 to 100
50 to 70
40 to 50
30 to 40
20 to 30
10 to 20
<10
Income (x $1,000)
Source: Legislative Revenue Office analysis of Measure 30 personal income tax.
Public Safety & Courts - Cut $69 million
Kid jails would lose $9 million, cutting
counseling and treatment programs for delin-
quents. Adult prisons would take a $7 million
hit with reduced treatment for drugs, mental
disorders, anger and sexual deviance. The
state police would lay off half their crime lab
workers and underfunded courts could clog.
Locally, the county jail and parole and
probation would lose $1.8 million.
Pooh-Poohing
State anti-government conservatives,
backed by the Washington, D.C.-based
anti-tax group Citizens for a Sound
Economy, pooh-pooh the predictions of dras-
tic cuts in state services. After Measure 5 and
Measure 28, the cuts weren’t very severe,
they say.
But Measure 30 supporters say the eco-
nomic boom in the 1990s boosted income tax
revenue and disguised the impact of Measure
5 until the recent bust. Measure 28 cuts were
real and 90 districts closed their schools early.
“It’s not a case of crying wolf,” Bryant
says.
Opponents also argue that a recession
isn’t the time to increase taxes and that
Measure 30 will cost jobs. But an economic
analysis by the Oregon Center for Public
Policy (OCPP) shows that killing the meas-
ure will suck $1.9 billion from the state econ-
omy in state spending and lost federal match-
ing dollars, costing thousands of jobs. A sim-
ilar tax increase in the 1980s didn’t keep
Oregon from bouncing back from a reces-
sion, supporters also say.
Measure 30 won’t make Oregon’s already
low business tax burden much higher, ac-
cording to OCPP. On the other hand, if it
doesn’t pass, businesses will be reluctant to
locate in a state with such underfunded
schools.
Supporters also point out that gutting the
Oregon Health Plan will flood local emer-
gency rooms with indigent patients that can’t
be turned away, increasing hospital costs and,
subsequently, private insurance premiums for
most Oregonians.
Measure 30 opponents say government
needs to cut fat rather than raise taxes. But
McKenzie Midwifery &
Women’s Services, P.C.
Pregnancy Care &
Women’s Health Beyond Child Bearing
Your personal providers for Pregnancy Care as well as
Pregnancy Prevention.
• Many contraception methods available.
• Childbirth preparation classes Monday evenings and
video viewings Friday mornings, both open to the public.
Michele K. Bouche, C.N.M. • Kathie S. Hill, C.N.M.
1632 J Street, Springfield • 746-8897
Births attended at McKenzie Willamette Hospital
Visit our website: mckenziemidwifery.com
Call for a courtesy “Get Acquainted” Visit • Se habla Español
UO Youth Enrichment Program
at Amazon Community Center
Announces Winter 2004 programs!
CALL 682-5373 to enroll now!
Classes start January 20 – Ongoing enrollment
Photography • Art • Ceramics • Dance • Music • Computers
NEW classes for 20 month-3 year olds!
Renegade Theatre Spring Break Camp March 22-26
For more information on the UO Youth Enrichment
and Talented and Gifted Programs, call 346-3084
Amazon Community Center • 2700 Hilyard St., Eugene
JANUARY 15, 2004 13