April 25, 2001 Page A4 J ìu r tla n ò © b s e r u e r B Opinion  ""X jju r t la t i ì i • • Wije ^ o r tía n h ÖDbseruer USPS 959-680 E s ta b lis h e d 1 9 7 0 STA FF E d it o r P C in h ie f , u b l is h e r Charles H. Washington E u s in e s s M anager Gary Ann Taylor A sst . P ublisher Michael Leighton C opy E d it o r Joy Ramos C the rep o rt’s author. “ M uch o f this is no doubt due to the zealous m isinfor­ m ation cam paigns by groups who seek to de-fund im portant public ser­ vices such as education and health care,” he added. “ D espite faltering public educa­ tion and a shredded safety net for the poor, children, and the disabled, anti- govern m en t activ ists co n tin u e to press for turther tax cuts that prim a­ rily benefit O reg o n 's m ost econom i­ cally com fortable. T h eirth irst fortax cuts seem s to know no lim it as they soak O regonians w ith m isinfonna- tion about our tax system ,” said T h­ om pson. “Contrary to claim s o f anti-gov­ ernm ent activists, tax levels in O r­ egon are not high and have not been rising. Total state and local tax collec­ tions have trailed behind econom ic growth in Oregon for some time now,” said Thom pson. The m ost rem arkable aspect o f O regon C enter for P l blk P olka A new report finds that the tax burden in O regon is near its low est levels in the last 20 years. State and local taxes, as a share o f incom e in Oregon, have gone from 11.8 percent in 1988 to 10.2 percent in 1999, steadily declining over the past 10 years. C om pared w ith six other W estern states, O reg o n ’s household tax burden is in the m iddle and its business tax burden is the lowest. T he O regon C enter for Public Policy used a variety o f data sources to analyze the current and past tax burdens O regonians face, in an at­ tem pt to inform the debate over taxes. “ A nnual surveys show O regonians g en erally are not know led g eab le a b o u t sta te g o v ern m en t rev en u e sources and expenses,” noted Jeff T h o m p so n , an ec o n o m ist at the Silverton-based research institute and O reg o n ’s overall tax structure is its regressivity. W hile O reg o n ’s single- largest tax, the personal incom e tax, is partially based on the ability to pay, the overall tax structure places a higher burden in low -incom e h o u se­ holds. The total effective state and local tax rate o f the low est-incom e 20 per­ cent o f O regon households is 12.3 percent, com pared to the 11.8 percent rate o f the highest-incom e 20 per­ cent. O regon taxes low -incom e house­ holds at higher rates than upper-in­ com e households because o f the re­ gressive com ponents o f the tax struc­ ture - property and excise taxes - and because O regon taxes fam ilies at in­ com e levels well below poverty. O r­ egon levies the eighth highest in­ com e tax on four-person, p o o r w o rk ­ ing fam ilies. O reg o n le v ie s the n atio n ’s third highest tax on four person families who are slightly above the poverty level In addition to the declining total state and local tax burden, the effec­ tive federal tax rates on nnddle-in- com e fam ilies have also fallen in re­ cent years. “ D ata from the C o n g ressio n al Budget O ffice show that federal taxes on m iddle-incom e families are at their low est point in the last thirty years,” noted T hom pson. • The study, “C learing the A ir on Tax Day: A ssessing the Tax Burden in O regon,” is available on the O CPP T he O regon C e n ter for Public Policy is a non-profit research o rga­ nization that analyzes budget, tax, and program issues im portant to low- and m oderate-incom e O regonians, the m ajority o f O regonians. z-"-. I B IR D S 1 CAT. 3 SQ U IRR ELS d it o r Larry J. Jackson, Sr. B New Report Clears the Air on Taxes r e a t iv e D ir e c t o r Robert Parker 4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 e-maN news@portlandobserver.com sUxwlptton@porttendobeerverxom 7 2 0 0 VOLTS. Mississippi Vote Deeply Disappointing N A A C P w ill not give up its fight to rem ove from public property any and all sym bols that celebrate the tw isted p h i­ losophy o f bigotry and hatred in this country. The historic M ississippi State conference o f the NA ACP is to be com ­ m ended for leading the fight on this issue. “ The governor and business leaders w orked hard in this effort to create a new M issis­ N A A C P P resident & CEO K w e is i M fu m e c a lle d T u esd ay ’s decision by the vot­ ers in M ississip p i to retain the c o n fe d e rate em blem on the s ta t e ’s flag “ d e e p ly d is a p ­ pointing.” M fum e said, “ it is too bad that the v o ters o f M ississippi have chosen to stay b uried in the past instead o f m oving for­ w ard into the 21 st century. T hat, not w ith sta n d in g , the sippi. It is a sham e that m any v o te rs d id not sh a re th e ir v ie w s. It is im p o rta n t fo r people to em brace sym bols o f unity and not sym bols o f d iv i­ siv e n e s s : T he C o n fe d e ra te sym bol represents b igotry and hatred not only in A m erica, but also around the w orld. O ur thanks to the m ulti-racial board based c o alitio n that w orked w ith th e N A A C P in th is stru g g le,” M fum e added. YOU D BE AMAZED W H A T S H ID IN G V IN Y O U R T R E E . . > , '- W Cycling Center Needs Bikes! ones! W hat c a n ’t be used as a b icycle m ight get used to m ak e re c y c le d a rt or other things. W e can use e v ery th in g from fancy road bikes, high tec h m o u n ta in b ik es and classic cru isers to your b a ­ sic 10 speed from the ‘7 0 ’s. E verything goes to a good cau se! com m uter bicycles to 100 P ortland residents in need o f affordable transportation to th eir places o f em ploy­ m ent. K ick o ff your spring cleaning and help m ake this project successful by donat­ ing your unused bikes. C all 503-288-8864 for de­ tails, or drop bikes o ff at our shop located at 1700 N.E. A lberta. W e can use any bikes you have, ex cept re a lly rusty The Com m unity Cycling C enter is a local non-profit agency ded icated to p ro v id ­ ing b icy cles to low -incom e m em bers o f th e P o rtlan d co m m unity. D o n atio n s o f a d u lt- s iz e d b ic y c le s a re needed for use in its teen and adult program s. O v e r th e n e x t s e v e ra l m onths, in w hat w e call the C reate A C o m m u ter p ro ­ gram , we w ill give re fu r­ b ish ed and fu lly -o u tfitte d C o n t a c t w ith a p o w e r l i n e c a n c a u s e s e r i o u s i n j u r y . B e fo re d o in g an y y a rd w o rk th is s p r in g , lo o k u p . I f y o u s e e a l i n e g iv e u s a c a ll a t 1 - 8 0 0 - 5 4 4 “ 1 7 9 4 - / V S PGE PGE/ P ortland General Electric Sincerely, the C o m m u n ity Cycling C enter WW W . P O R T L A N D G E N E R A L .C O M ads@portlandobserver.com P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3137 Portland, OR 97208 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR SAFEWAY FOOD & DRUG Subscriptions are $60.00 per year D E A Attention D L I N ES F O R A L L S U B M IT T E D SENIORS M E T E R IA L S : FOR NEW ARTICLES: Monday by 5 p . m . s e n io r s o n l y ... Safeway Senior Shuttle Service! (S ) '*■' ADS: Friday by noon The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. M anuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned ifaccom- panied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads be­ com e the sole property o f the new s­ paper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage w ith­ out the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has pur­ chased the com position o f such ad. © 1996 THE PO R T LA N D O B ­ SER V ER . A L L R IG H T S R E ­ Ï , . 1 Introducing a great new service for L iu 1-lb. Red Ripe Strawberries Grown in California. S a fe w a y C lu b P rice SAVE up to $1.96 on 2 fCtSAFEWAY V. > 7 FOOD A DRUG 12-Pack Safeway SELECT Soft Drinks ftf/uuUanct M allei Foi M m r /n f o n t in t io n C a ll SO J 5 7 2 0 9 1 2 S E R V E D , R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E O R IN P A R T W IT H iX T PER M ISS IO N IS P R O H IB ITE D . The Portland Observer—Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a m em ber o f the National Newspaper Association—Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Represen­ tative A m algamated Publishers, Inc, N ew York. NY, and The W est Coast Black Publishers Association • Serv­ ing Portland and Vancouver. Beef Chuck 7-Bone Roast 12-oz. cans. Assorted Regular, Diet or Caffeine Free varieties Limit 4 Plus Deposit in Oregon. 22.5-oz White or Wheat SAVE up to 88< SAVE up to $1.62 on 3 O v e n Joy B read ¡WFSTÜRM MOMCV j UWOR TWARWtH PRICES EFFECTIVE APRIL/MAY 2001 Sun 29 Mon 30 Tut Wed Tftur Fri Sat 25 2e 27 28 1 *»<“ fUp'Tiw lAAM nrvU» W' Apm ?5 thn, firvlh M ay I Safeway Club Price Now the 4 are in the Card! A li LIMITS ARE PER HOUSEHOLD PER DAK