CUTTING TREES
NO SOLUTION
TO SLUMP
INCOME TAX LESSON:
TAX THE RICH
The vote on an income tax for schools last month and a vote on an income
tax for the county jail four years ago had a very similar outcome, and perhaps
similar lesson for future income tax measures.
The school measure failed in Eugene with 38 percent voting “yes” and the jail
measure failed with 37 percent in Eugene voting “yes.” The similar outcomes for
income taxes dedicated to two very different purposes appear to indicate that, no
matter what, income taxes with a broad impact on the middle class will fail in
Eugene.
The jails and schools measures were both similar income taxes with a broad
impact on the middle class. Both taxes exempted the poor. The jail tax had an
average estimated impact of $224 per household, the school tax had an average
impact of about $120.
The jail tax enjoyed a $100,000 campaign in support of its passage with
another $250,000 in an “informational” campaign by the county plus dozens of
supportive news articles and editorials in The Register-Guard. The schools
measure faced a $109,000 campaign in opposition plus articles and editorials in
The Register-Guard in opposition.
Both the schools and jail measures had their strongest support in south
Eugene and their strongest opposition in north Eugene (see chart). But the
difference with the schools measure was more pronounced in about half the city.
In east Eugene (Council Ward 3) near the UO and in central Eugene (Ward 1) the
school measure had 14 percent more support than the jail measure. In
conservative north Eugene (Wards 4 and 5), the jail measure had 7 to 10 percent
more support than the school measure.
But the defeat of broad income taxes in Eugene doesn’t mean that voters in
the city wouldn’t pass a populist income tax on the rich. State Measure 66, an
income tax increase on households above $250,000, passed by a 72 percent vote
in Eugene last year. The measure showed a similar pattern of having its greatest
support in south Eugene and weakest support in north Eugene. But still, it passed
with more than 60 percent “yes” in every ward and more than 80 percent support
in south Eugene. The measure passed despite a $5 million opposition campaign.
State tax data show a strong concentration of taxable wealth in local upper
income brackets. If the Eugene City Council had chosen to refer a tax increase
limited to households above $100,000, the school tax could have generated
roughly three-fourths of the revenue while only impacting one-sixth as many
voters.
— Alan Pittman
ACTIVIST ALERT
• Lane County Commissioner Rob Handy is
hosting three community outreach gatherings
Saturday, June 11, in the Bethel/Danebo, River Road,
and Whiteaker neighborhoods. The first is from 9 to
10:30 am at Starbucks inside Alberton’s at 4740 Royal
Ave. Next is from 11 am to 12:30 pm at Countryside
Pizza at 645 River Road. The last is from 1:30 to 3 pm
at New Day Bakery at 449 Blair Blvd.
• World Naked Bike Ride Day is Saturday, June 11,
and Eugene cyclists will join thousands of other cyclists
around the world to celebrate the human body and the
bicycle. Participants will meet near Skinner Butte Park
at the corner of Cheshire and Lawrence at 4 pm. The
8
JUNE 9, 2011
EUGENE WEEKLY
County funds might be in a slump and
the economy is hurting, but it’s not because
the Pacific Northwest isn’t logging its
forests. Conservationists say that logging
is not the answer to the Northwest’s
economic woes.
The Pacific Northwest Research Station
announced May 21 that for the first quarter
of 2011, West Coast softwood timber
exports were up 50.5 percent from the first
quarter of 2010, according to Debra Warren,
a research economist with the station.
The data from the Pacific Northwest
Research Station shows that log exports
from Oregon and Washington totaled
379.5 million board feet. Logs and lumber
went primarily to China and Japan as well
as to Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea.
The Bureau of Land Management
exceeded its volume of trees offered for
sale in Oregon and California in 2010.
According to agency data, the BLM was
congressionally financed to offer 184
million board feet of wood, and it offered
for sale 192 million board feet.
Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild says for
perspective that 1 million board feet is
equal to 200 log truck loads of wood, and
192 million board feet is equal to 400
miles of log trucks parked end-to-end.
Heiken says the connection that many
politicians make between increasing
logging and putting money in county
coffers is incorrect. “Nothing the BLM is
doing puts money into the county’s
coffers,” he says.
Heiken says, “If timber payments did
fund the counties, even modest increases
in the possible money they could get from
timber sales is very small.” He adds, “The
county funding does not come from timber
sales; it hasn’t for 20 years.”
“There’s no way,” Heiken says, “we’re
going back to the clearcutting of the late
route will be determined at that point and will begin at
4:30 pm. For more information, email tiedyeguy@
hotmail.com or visit www.worldnakedbikeride.org
• National spokesman David Cobb of the Move to
Amend coalition will be in Eugene at 10 am Sunday,
June 12, at the LCC Longhouse to give a training on
“Opposing Corporate Rule.” A prerequisite of the
training is watching eight half-hour videos produced
by the Community Environmental Law Defense Fund’s
Democracy School. Find links to the CELDF at www.
wethepeopleeugene.org or call 225-2946. See EW
story March 10 about David Cobb at http://wkly.ws/12g
and for a copy of the Move to Amend petition, email
david@duhc.org or visit http://movetoamend.org
’80s, driving salmon to extinction and
making the public upset.”
He says, “If the goal of increased logging
is seen as a way to create jobs, I would
advise them to look elsewhere for the best
economic development opportunities.”
Heiken says that the housing market is
in a depression with recovery expected to
be slow, and that the timber industry is a
shrinking fraction of Oregon’s economy,
because for 20 years other sectors of its
economy have been growing relatively
faster. In terms of job creation, the logging
industry has replaced workers with
machines, he says.
For the full report on log and lumber
exports, go to http://wkly.ws/12i
— Camilla Mortensen
CITY TO
REMOVE BIKE
LANE NEAR UO
The city plans to begin a project next
week near the UO that will remove a
heavily used bike lane and cycletrack on
13th but add a two-way bike lane and
crossing north on Alder Street.
The addition of the two-way bike lane
on Alder north from 13th with a new
traffic light at Franklin Boulevard has been
long sought by cyclists seeking a
connection to the riverfront path system.
But the removal of the existing cycletrack
on 13th has been controversial.
UO bike coordinator Ted Sweeney
wrote on the GEARs Google Group last
year that he was concerned that the design
would force traffic into head-on collisions.
“I am having visions of students shooting
suddenly into the westbound bike lane and
causing accidents,” Sweeney wrote.
The city’s design for 13th prioritizes
parking cars in the crowded area over
dedicated space to increase pedestrian and
bicyclist safety. The plan would remove a
line of parked cars separating the cycletrack
on 13th from traffic and remove a bike
lane going the other way on the other side
of the street. Instead, the city would move
all parking to the south side of the street in
back-in diagonal stalls, eliminate the
eastbound bike lane and instead paint
“sharrow” markings on the street to
encourage drivers to share the traffic lane
with people on bikes.
City bike planner David Roth, who left
the city recently for another job, bristled at
criticism of his plan and argued that the
• Oregon Wild will host “Conservation Through
Exploration” with Trip Jennings of EP Films from 6 to
7:30 pm Wednesday, June 15, at Davis’ Restaurant, 94
W. Broadway in downtown Eugene. Rob Klavins will
also to talk about Oregon Wild’s outdoor program,
which encourages exploration of Oregon’s forests,
streams and wild lands. See www.OregonWild.org
• Public comment on the proposed 2011
Management Plan for the Elliott State Forest began
June 1 and ends Aug. 29. The draft maps and plans are
online at http://wkly.ws/12j and comments may be
addressed to the State Forests Planning Specialist,
ODF, 2600 State St., Salem 97310, or emailed to
ODFStateForestsComments@odf.state.or.us
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