O i FOBER30, 1996 • T
P agi B4
h I
PORTI W D O h s IRVFR
Election '96
There is no free lunch
bv L ewis T aylor
The sponsors o f Measure 47 are
eon artists, pure and simple. They
are prom ising something for noth­
in g -v o te fo r this measure and pay
less property taxes but s till receive
the same services. Schools w o n ’ t
suffer, they say: somebody w ill pay
the bi II but they never say fo r certain
how it w ill happen. There is little
difference between this con and the
one in which some guy says give me
$ 1,000 cash as good faith money to
claim some found fortune and you
w ill receive the entire $50,000 fo r­
tune by the end o f the day. Some­
thing fo r nothing!
As you know. Measure 47, com ­
m only called "cu t and cap” , is the
measure that rolls back (cuts) your
property tax to the 1994 level and
restricts its increase (caps) to 3%
per year regardless o f need, regard­
less o f disasters like last w in te r’ s
floods and w ind storms, and regard­
less o f the increase in in fla tio n, eco­
nomic growth, or population growth.
Measure 47 sponsors are the same
folks who gave you Measure 5—
prom ised yo u r property tax b ill
w ould be low er and nothing w ould
suffer It reduced the source o f in­
come for schools and local govern­
ment and promised that the state
would "make up loss". I fomeowners
got a small break but businesses got
a m ajor w in d fa ll. In the meantime,
restaurants are selling apples at
$5.00 each and raise money for
schools as a result o f Measure 5;
kids and parents marched in the
streets to raise money fo r schools.
The Portland Public Schools has set
up a foundation-an arm o f the school
devoted entirely to raising money.
Schools are supposed to be in busi­
ness o f educating people, not raising
money. Is that any way to have a well
educated society, capable o f th in k ­
ing and reasoning and helping make
isn’ t impossible. There is no un­
known Santa Claus. As you know,
kids believe in Santa Claus but San­
ta is really M om and Dad. W e ll,
w ill yo u r M om and Dad pay fo r the
services that w ill disappear i f this
society better?
I f local governm ent has less mon­
ey than it does now, how can it pro­
vide after school programs to pro­
vide young people w ith options to
the drug dealers and gang recruiters?
Preventive programs can be funded
for, I w ould guess, around $400 per
year per kid, considerably less than
the $40,000 p e ry e a rit w ill take ifw e
do nothing and let that ch ild grow up
in trouble w ith the law and ultim ately
in prison. I f we can’ t provide options
to keep kids from going wrong, what
hope do we have o f reducing the
number o f people going to prison? I f
we pass this measure, in a few years,
the bulk o f our tax dollars w ill be
spent on courts and cops and prisons.
N o society ever received much ben­
e fit from the dollars it spent on pris­
ons—no cures fo r cancer o r stroke, no
new inventions or discoveries to take
the chemicals out o f the d rin kin g
w ater we d rin k o r pollutants out o f
the a ir we breath. M oreover, we w ill
measure passes? M in e w o n ’ t! And
although they say let "G eorge” do
it, I can’ t even find a “ George” who
w ill contribute his pot o f gold.
This measure does h ig h lig h t a
problem , the problem is the threat
be standing in congested streets and
freeways breathing in carbon m on­
oxide because the resources to fix the
roads w ill be diverted to schools i f
this measure passes.
Measure 47, sponsored by the
same folks w ho brought you M ea­
sure 5, is again m aking promises it
cannot keep—schools and local gov­
ernment w ill not suffer. It is the old
advertising g im m ic k that you get
something for nothing. That just plain
to people on fixed incomes o f los­
ing homes they w orked fo r all their
lives. We need to hold p o lic y m ak­
ers accountable fo r addressing this
problem . But this measure is using
that problem to yank on the old
emotions to get you to go fo r this
poorly conceived, devastating mea­
sure. Be responsible!! There is no
free lunch, and there is no free
services. I f you do not vote fo r
Measure 47, d o n ’ t go to Salem ask­
ing someone else to provide the
services that you know w ill disap­
pear.
Lewis Taylor is a single individ­
ual who has spent over 40 years
workingfor slate and local govern­
ments from support positions to
upper management Throughout
much o f his career, he has been
responsible fo r reviewingand eval­
uating government programs rang­
ing from the regulation o f the use o f
pesticides in agricultural environ­
ments to construction o f wastewa­
ter treatment facilities to programs
to protect infants andchildrenfrom
child abuse and senior citizens in
nursing homes from abuse by nurs­
ing home operators and their fa m ­
ilies.
Modern Taxes and You
bv J o A v x B owman
When I was a little g irl, I heard my
parents ta lk about how high their
taxes were getting every year, and
how big a bite taxes took from their
income. I asked them i f it was that
bad, w hy pay taxes at all?
They replied that taxes were how
we paid fo r public goods and servic­
es. Buses had to have drivers and
fuel, firefighters had to have trucks
and hoses, potholes in the road had to
be patched, and parks had to have
grass and swings to play on.
It was our duty as w o rkin g people,
they said, to contribute to our com ­
munity, and paying taxes was one o f
the necessary ways to do so.
Rising taxes are not a new devel­
opment. and as the com m unity grows,
so do our taxes.
M y annual property tax bi II is high,
and fo r some the amount due is op­
pressive. T his is a consequence o f
our antiquated and un fa ir tax code,
not a measure o f the value o f the
necessary services those taxes pay
for
Tax reform must be a top p rio rity
o f the 1997 legislative session. The
levy ing o f taxes has to be fairer and
more equitable than it is now. A good
start on that reform w ould include
increasing the Homestead Exem p­
tion for seniors and others liv in g on
fixed incomes, so that people w o n ’t
have to face losing a’ home they’ ve
at it Measure 47 is being touted as a
way to keep your taxes from “ going
through the r o o f ’ , and on that note
alone it sounds satisfying. A fte r all,
w ho doesn't want to pay low er tax­
es?
The problem is that Measure 47
does much more than low er taxes. It
w ill stick u s -th e People o f the State
o f Oregon—w ith a great deal o f neg­
ative baggage, and it w ill take a lot o f
tim e and huge sums o f money to
undo the damage Measure 47 w ill
cause to our comm unities.
For starters. Measure 47 w ould
cut next year’ s (1997-1998) proper­
ty taxes to the 1995-1996 tax level,
minus 10% (or 1994-95 level, w hich­
ever is less), regardless o f what our
com m unities’ needs m ight be! Next,
any future tax increases could not
exceed the arbitrary figure o f 3% per
year—again, regardless o f what our
needs m ight be.
Further, Measure 47 w ould re­
quire any votes on future taxes to be
approved by at least 50% o f regis­
tered voters, and lock this require­
ment into the C onstitution.
Note that Measure 47 doesn't say
that a tax issue has to pass by at least
50% approval, it says that 50 per
cent o f all registered voters have to
vote fo r approval. In other words,
non-votes w ould be counted as "n o ”
47 has his ow n ideas o f how to
change property taxes (he wants to
votes.
The fact is that seldom do more
than 50 percent o f registered voters
vote in special or non-presidential
elections. Measure 47 w ould make it
very nearly im possible to pay fo r
reduce services), and he wants to
change the C o n stitu tio n w h ile he’ s
new services, let alone maintain ex­
isting ones. H o w ’ s that fo r fine print?
had fo r decades.
The sponsor o f B a llo t Measure
I f Measure 47 had been in place
this year, none o f the recent levies
w ould have passed. Schools w ould
do w ithout earthquake protection,
the Portland M etropolitan Zoo w ould
be on the road to disrepair and de­
cline. And since th e ja il bonds w ould
not have been paid and the new
jailhouses had to be b u ilt (last year’ s
Get Tough on C rim e measure man­
dated b u ild in g more ja ils but did not
say where the money to pay fo r them
w ould come from ), the money w ould
have to be taken from the general
state budget, w hich w ould mean yet
more cuts in services. B ridge repair,
b u ild in g inspection, police, special
needs youth, your c h ild ’ s education,
o r street lights and h yd ra n ts-w h ich
w ould it be?
The tax system is in need o f re­
form , but Measure 47 w ould lock the
current inequities into our C onstitu­
tion. There are better ways to make
those necessary changes than through
Measure 47.
I f you need one more reason to
vote against Measure 47, i f s as close
as your voters’ pamphlet. A ll the
arguments in favor are submitted by
ju st one p e rso n -a man w ho makes
his liv in g by being negative—w hile
the arguments against Measure 47
include a wide variety o f people who
don’ t norm ally agree w ith one anoth­
er, but all recognize their responsi­
b ility to jo in forces on this issue and
defeat Measure 47.
Join me, Jo Ann Bowman, in the
stro ll to the p o ll this com ing Tues­
day, N ovem ber 5th, and vote N O on
Measure 47. Oregonians cannot af­
ford this tax break!
Listen to the Former Deans Committee
The fo llo w in g Measures have been
judged by The Former Deans C om ­
mittee to be in co n flic t w ith our U n it­
com m ittee could never equally rep­
resent the citizens o f O regon...” To
this view , we w ould add that the
lim its to...rules re la tin g 'to privilege
and hearsay (evidence)...” V ote no
on Measure 40.
ed States C onstitution or to have
some other fundamental flaw that
makes it important that this language
not be included in our State C onstitu­
tion The Former Deans C o m m it­
tee’ s opinion is important to consid­
er because they take no position on
the other merits o f the measure and
thus provide a more nearly unbiased
view than one can expect from the
others.
M easure 27: "T h is appears to be
p ro p o se d le g is la tiv e c o m m itte e
w ould amount to another layer o f
government, and that decisions would
be far more subject to partisanship
and p o litic a l maneuvering, and less
resulting from the w ork o f expertise
and o b je c tiv ity . Vote no on Measure
27.
M e a s u re 33: “ T h is p ro v is io n
against change ¡seven fo r obvious or
M e a su re 45: “ We believe Mea­
sure 45 raises serious issues under
an unlaw ful delegation o f authority
from one independent branch o f our
government to another. . We believe
the separation o f powers guarantee
o f our U nited States C onstitution
w ould require a court to strike down
this measure since no appointed leg­
islative committee could constitu­
tionally prevent our elected G over­
nor from perform ing fa ith fu lly his/
her authority or duty to execute our
laws.”
expression and equal protection un­
der the U nited States C onstitution.”
V ote no on Measure 33.
Also, "T h e appointed legislative
M e a su re 40: "...w e believe Mea­
sure 4 0 ...fails the one subjecttest’ as
d e fin e d by the Oregon Supreme
C o u rt.” “ A voter who is hoping to
the U nited States C o n stitu tio n ...It is
clear whether Measure 45 deals with
current PERS retirees, current state/
local governm ent employees, future
state/local governm ent employees or
all o f these groups...Measure 45 is
vague and unpredictable.” Vote no
on Measure 45.
M e a su re 46: "W e believe there
are serious questions that Measure
46 is unconstitutional. . .that this Mea­
sure w ould e ffe ctive ly deny the peo­
ple and the Legislature the a b ility to
raise funds fo r education, law en­
forcement, prisons, health care and
other needs fo r the people o f the
State o f Oregon. ..This Measure would
expand the rights o f victim s w ould
not expect to fin d hidden w ith in
Measure 40 (provisions) to perm it
non-unanimous ju ry verdicts in m ur­
der cases...to perm it preventive de­
tention w ithout reasonable bail...and
violate the one person-one vote rule
established by the United States Su­
preme Court and interfere with the
fundamental operations o f Govern­
ment guaranteed by the US Constitu­
tion.” Vote no on Measure 46.
unintended errors... The Measure
w ould lim it the citize n 's rig h t o f free
I think Fitz would better serve the
community...! don’t think (Wilde) is
qualified to hold public office.”
Mike Burton
I Former State Representative N/NE Portland
- Mike Burton,
The Oregonian, 1 0 /1 1 / 9 6
Measure 36~an opportunity for economic independence
Bv A vei G ordlv ,
(C h ie f Petitioner f o r Rallot M ea­
sure 36; State Representative, House
District 19 in Northeast Portland)
Oregon M in im u m wage workers
struggle to survive on less than $800
a month...Forced onto public assis­
tance to afford food and other essen­
tia ls fo r th e m s e lv e s and th e ir
children...unable to aiTuid c h ild c a ie
or healthcare. W illin g to go back to
school for a better jo b . yet unable to
do because o f the cost.
Imagine taking home $826 per
month before taxes. A ll the w hile
know ing that $577 goes to rent. Sub­
tract another $75 fo r taxes. . .$ 100 fo r
utilities...$160 fo r childcare $200
for food...$50 fo r gas plus car insur­
ance. A lready in the hole and haven't
yet provided clothes fo r your c h il­
dren or school supplies, and you can­
th e ir fam ilies. 69% are adults over
the age twenty. A nd 62% are women
W e 're not ta lkin g about teenagers,
we re talking parents who w o rk 40
hours a week and can’ t put food on
the table. W e ’ re ta lkin g about the
111,629 Oregon children who live in
poverty.
These are the m in im u m wage
w orkeis dial need a raise. These
workers deserve a shot at economic
independence These are the w o rk ­
ers that create the wealth o f our state,
but are not allow ed to share in it.
Oregon can do better.
O ver 200,000 Oregonians earn
less than $6 00 an hour. These hard
w o rk in g parents and fam ilies are the
reason I am a c h ie fs p o n s o ro fB a llo t
Measure 36, an Oregon answer to
the problem s o f lo w m inim um wage
$6.50 an hour in 1999. The Raise the
M in im u m wage C o a litio n now has
over 60 member organizations, rang­
ing from the State C ouncil o f Senior
Citizens
and the Ecumenical M inistries o f
Oregon to the Oregon Public Em­
ployees U nion and the A frica n Am er­
ican Legislative Roundtable
Last year I introduced legislation
to raise the m inim um wage to $6.35
in Oregon. The b ill was refused even
a publ ic hearing by a legislature more
concerned w ith corporate tax breaks
than p ro v id in g Oregonians w ith the
opportunity to w o rk their way o f f o f
welfare.
Let me be clear N o program we
enact...no legislation we pass...Can
do more to help w o rkin g Oregonians
o f f o f p ublic assistance and toward
that forces people onto our w elfare
rolls.
jobs w ith d ig n ity than raising the
not consider $ 10 for them to go to the
movies w ith a friend
Forty percent o f m inim um wage
earners are the sole breadwinner in
B allot measure 36 raises Oregon's
m inim um raise to $5 50 an hour next
year $6.00 an hour in 1998 and
I f we want true welfare reform, we
m inim um wage.
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Continued to page B5
FITZ for State Senate