lanuary6.2010_______________ ,___________
Il!‘'^Inrtlanì» (Observer
Page 3
IN S ID E
L ocal N ews
pages 3 and 5
PSU Aims for Diversity
Science, technology
students recruited
H ealth
pages 6-7
O pinion
pages 8-9
G eneral N ews
page 10 and 12
C lassifieds
page 13
Portland State U niversity is participating in a 5 year,
$2.6 m illion project funded by the N ational Science
Foundation to double the n um ber o f underrepresented
m inority students w ho graduate w ith bachelor's d e ­
grees in science, technology, engineering and m ath ­
em atics.
P S U c u r r e n t l y g r a d u a te s
a b o u t 40 u n d e rre p re se n te d m i­
n o rity stu d e n ts a y e a r in th e se
field s. T h e g o a l is to d o u b le th is
n u m b e r d u rin g the c o u rse o f the
p ro je c t.
Student support w ill include a
sum m er bridge program , academ ic
services for courses in the sci-
ences, a sem inar to broaden ex p e­
rience and enhance know ledge o f
the cu rric u lu m ’s options, and the
opportunity to w ork w ith peer and
faculty m entors.
The fram ew ork o f the program
at PSU involves recruitm ent, readi­
ness, retention, and research. Part­
nerships with K -12 schools in Port­
9
Tax Debate Comes to Vote
continued ^ ^ f r o n t Front
A uto R eview
'
page 14
•;
page 15
P IL S tandings
page 16-19
ffl’r JJnrtlaní» (O bserver
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In addition, research and internship opportunities
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O n e-o n -o n e interactions betw een students and fac­
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prop up services that are m ore needed
than ever.
O p p o n e n ts in sist th at raisin g
taxes during a recession w ill ju st
destroy m ore jo b s, and set a p rece­
dent that w ill ruin the business cli­
m ate in the state.
It can be difficult to get a handle
on such dire claim s that have been
asserted so forcefully. H ow ever, the
sta te ’s L egislative Fiscal O ffice re­
leased a couple o f reports that both
sides have cited in m aking their case.
A report by the office paints a
dour picture for nearly ev er state
agency and the people w ho rely on
it, if the m easures d o n ’t pass.
If the m easures fail to pass, co m ­
m unity colleges could see their tu ­
ition rise by 9 percent and w ill have
to start lim iting access to som e p ro ­
gram s. Students studying English
as a second language w ould get
less support. N early tw o thousand
inm ates w ould be put on the street,
and prison s ta ff w o u ld be slashed.
T he O regon C om m ission for the
B lind w ould be put in the red and
have to establish a w ait list, as it
w o u ld n ’t be able to m eet federal
m atch in g obligations. A nd these
are ju s t a few exam ples.
A ccording to another study from
the L egislative Fiscal O ffice 5 p er­
cent o f corporations w ill have higher
taxes and only ab o u t 2.5 percent o f
individual filers will pay more, which
w ill m ove the state from having the
36th highest tax burden to 34th.
T he report explains that the state
He said that labor is often the
d o e sn ’t have a lot good options. biggest expense and is usually the
C utting services w ill reduce eco ­ first to be cut. W iggins also argues
nom ic dem and, acco rd in g to the that the tax increase m akes O regon a
report. But it also asserts that rais­ less attractive place for investm ent,
ing tax es co u ld cau se O re g o n ’s which will hurt it in the long run.
em p lo y m en t rate to drop by less
“ I’m not an anti-tax z ealo t,” said
than one percent.
W iggins, w ho explains h e ’s fine with
The report does note that this all an increase on the corporate m ini­
d ep en d s on how the state directs m um , w hich hasn ’t been upped since
the revenue.
1931, he ju s t feels that state relies
“O v er the longer term , the net too heavily on incom e tax.
effect o f the m easures on em ploy-
“ I f som ething happened to Phil
Legislative Fiscal Office paints a dour picture
fo r nearly ever state agency and the people
who rely on it, if the measures don’t pass.
m ent and incom e depends critically K night, w e ’d be in big tro u b le,” he
on how the revenue is used by the co n tin u ed .
public secto r,” the report states.
B ut the issue is even bigger for
H ow ever, B ob W iggins, a g en ­ critics o f the tax like W iggins, w ho
eral P artner w ith Mt. H ood Equity co n ten d that the state is grow ing
P artners, rem ain s u n co m fo rtab le too fast and w ill continue to tax
w ith the tax.
b u s in e s s e s .
His firm invests in com panies in
A ccording to data from the O r­
their early stages in hopes o f m aking egon E m ploym ent D epartm ent e v ­
m oney later. He said that som e start­ ery single industry in O regon lost
ups m ight have an im pressive am ount jo b s betw een N o v em b er 2008 and
o f sales on their balance sheet, but 2009 ex cep t for education, health,
still m ight not be m aking m uch, if any, and state governm ent.
m oney. M easure 67 taxes corpora­
The g row th in the last sector is
tions m aking m ore than $500,000 by part o f the problem , according to
0.1 percent o f their revenue, w hich is critics o f the tax hikes. T hey co n ­
w orrisom e to W iggins.
tend that the L egislature is taking
“ T h a t’s a hardship because the ’ m oney from b usinesses that could
tax has to com e from expenses o r w e be creating jo b s and then using it to
w ould have to invest m o re,” he said. expand governm ent.