Oregon budget grows faster than population + inflation
A good test of budget growth versus people’s ability to pay is comparing it against population and inflation combined.
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.
20 years of the worst scandals, costly mistakes
1996 – $56 million DMV software crash (1) 1999 – $200 million over-time scandal (2) 2000 – $1.4 billion the state neglected to collect (3) 2005 – $524 million hidden school fund uncovered by media (4) 2006 – $40 million in DUI fines un-collected (5) 2008 – $60 million Data Center boondoggle (6) 2009 –…
35 Years of State Budget Growth
Looking at 35 years of Oregon State Budget Growth shows that Oregon has had a near perfect streak of positive growth except for one budget cycle.
Oregon adds 17 new government jobs a day
An analysis by the Oregon Employment Department data on job growth shows that Oregon is adding new government jobs at a fast pace. In 2014, Oregon added 4,600 new government jobs, 5,400 added in 2015 and 5,800 for 2016. There are some periods where employment slows or declines, but the three year trend is fast…
State Employees make double what average workers earn
A report from the State Legislative Fiscal Office and the Statesman Journal (3/1/16) compare numbers between state employees and average Oregonians worker salaries including benefits. The numbers show that State Employees ($89,000) make nearly double what average Oregonians make ($45,893).
Reports to Government Waste hotline up 35%
Oregon Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins released the annual report on Oregon’s government waste hotline. In 2015, the hotline received 243 initial reports. This continues an upward trend: there were 180 reports in 2014, 154 in 2013, and 145 in 2012. Data prior to 2011 is not comparable due to changes in the reporting system.…
Oregon: #1 Tax and Spend State in the West
Oregon state & local government spend more per capita in the West and more than 39 other states. You can compare on the chart below.
Nearly 80% of Oregonians blind to PERS disaster
Poll: 78% unaware of PERS disaster By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation Oregon’s public employee retirements system (PERS) is now a staggering $20-$22 billion in unfunded liability. Just this week it was announced that it grew by another $3 billion and made front page news. A 2015 telephone poll of 300 Oregonians by the Taxpayer…
Taxpayer Foundation in the news exposing $100,000 wasted on city hall TV
Taxpayer Foundation researcher Richard Leonetti was on KATU-TV over Hillsboro paying $100,000 for a jumbo-tron TV. KATU-TV News transcript — Dec. 10 2015: The City of Hillsboro spent more than $110,000 on a large television display used during city council meetings at the Shirley Huffman Auditorium at the Hillsboro Civic Center.”If you ‘re attending the…
Poll tests “Privacy vs. Security” debate
An Oregon poll examines at a hot-button issue to gauge where Oregonians stand on privacy & liberty against the needs of security & law enforcement.