A service of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation.
What you can buy with Food Stamps may anger you! A Starbucks in a Salem Safeway gleefully advertised on their doors that they “accept food stamps” where they can be used to buy Frappuccino cold drinks and pastries. This is in addition to using food stamps to buy candy, soda pop, cookies, ice cream, and…
For a while, Oregon was one of three states identified that allowed applicants to deduct medical marijuana expenses from their income so they could better qualify for food stamps. It wasn’t until it was made public that the state reversed its policy. (Oregonian 7-12-2012)
The Human Services Dept. has been openly and diligently trying to identify new food stamp customers to enroll who are not even asking for it. Their efforts played a role in helping increase food stamp rolls by 60% and have been rewarded by the federal government. Oregon put out a proud press release announcing that…
A federal government press release touted that for every $5 spent in food stamps it creates nearly $10 in “economic activity for the community.” The logic is that you can double an economy with government payouts. Since the federal Food Stamp budget nearly tripled in size in the past three years do you honestly feel…
The Oregon Sustainability Center costs $65 million of public funds (bonds, property taxes) and exceeds 20% of the price of an average building. It includes 60,000 square feet of solar panels, a 200,000-gallon cistern bucket to collect rainwater, and a 200-foot underground geothermal well. Taxpayers foot the bill by $240,000 if it fails to get…
Tri-Met is building a quarter million dollar baby-faced deer statue called “rebirth” despite a $17 million budget gap and declining bus routes.
After 15 years of planning and $150 million spent on the Columbia River Crossing, a shovel has yet to be laid or final design decided. The staggering $3.5 billion plan adds no new (long-distance) lane capacity to the bridge it is replacing. One person was paid $10,000/month to sell the bridge to the public.
State employees’ total travel cost taxpayers $40 million a year (world and local travel). The Oregon Lottery sent their marketing director to Europe to learn about online gaming. The trip helped the Director create the idea behind the failed “Orcade” project which created a public backlash for its gambling appeal to minors. The governor shut down…
Five Secretary of State employees racked up $10,000 in travel expenses for a conference in a resort casino in Central Oregon. That amounts to costing $2,000 per person to travel in-state to attend classes which were on “self-awareness” and “communication skills”. How about reading a book next time? Four Salem School Board members spent $4,500…