Williams is a life-long taxpayer advocate who has archived the state’s largest collection of government waste. Jason heads both the Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation and its sister organization, Taxpayer Association of Oregon.

Labor force drop a drag across region

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes Press Release provided By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon Oregon Regional Economic Indicators: Measures of economic activity softened somewhat in March, but still indicate further gains in Oregon’s metro areas.  Highlights of the report include: Moving average measures of activity – which smooth monthly volatility –…

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Drought & Oregon economy

Release by Josh Lerner, Office Economic Analsysi As the drought continues to worsen and spread, its impact — both potential and real — on the economy is a risk to the outlook, particularly at the local level. Our office included the following slide in our presentation to the Legislature at the last forecast release.

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Protecting churches from crushing lawsuits

Bill Limits Religious Lawsuit Damages By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation Oregon Senate Resolution 12 would limit awards of non-economic damages against religious organizations to $1 million. The proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution would be referred to the people for their approval or rejection at the next regular general election.

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An idea to save our forests

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation (Photo by Staff, Michelle L.L. Binker) State Representative Carl Wilson has a plan to quickly fix Oregon’s forest crisis before the terrible looming deadline this July 1st for when the timber payments run out and leave counties without the support they were promised when their land was taken away.…

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Rep. Whisnant: Stop funding phantom jobs

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation State Representative Gene Whisnant is working on House Bill 2856 which identifies and stops vacant state positions which could end up costing the state as much as $300 million. This bill targets vacant positions that have been vacant for 6-months of more. Vacant government positions that receive funding are…

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Oregon continues steady growth

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes Press Release provided By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon The economic expansion continued across Oregon in February.  Highlights of the report include: Moving average measures of activity – which smooth monthly volatility – indicate that all areas are growing near or above their average pace of…

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Job growth quality

Release by Josh Lerner, Office of Economic Analysis, Just a quick update on the quality of Oregon’s job growth in recent years. This continues our office’s work on job polarization — the fact that much of the job growth is concentrated in both the high- and low-end of the wage spectrum. As discussed before, the…

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A tax credit to empower volunteer firefighters

Jodi Hack has Tax Credit for Volunteer Firefighters By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation A tax credit for volunteer firefighters is moving forward in the legislative process. Sponsored by Rep. Jodi Hack and ten other representatives, House Bill 3189 would give a $250 credit against income taxes that are due to volunteers who have given…

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Sen. Girod: Spending Limits curb runaway spending

By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon State Senator Fred Girod has sponsored a spending limit bill (SB 866) that would limit the growth of government. SB 866 would limit appropriations for general governmental purposes to the lesser of the percentage increase in projected (1) personal income, (2) population growth plus inflation, or (3) gross domestic product.

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