A service of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation.
By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon 12-15-08 Only 8 years after our last big financial boom ended in a bust we have an even bigger bust in the housing and debt markets that has brought us to the edge an entire collapse of the financial system. Millions have lost houses, jobs and Retirement savings and…
Oregon’s Big Land Use Swindle By Margaret Goodwin The Oregon Land Use Act required every city and county in Oregon to implement a Comprehensive Plan, and created a taxpayer-funded bureaucracy, the Land Conservation and Development Commission, to impose mandatory statewide standards with which all Comprehensive Plans must comply. One of their goals was to prevent…
By Richard Leonetti, If you got the impression from headlines that spending by the State of Oregon had to fall by almost $1 billion in the next two years you would be wrong. What the revenue office really said was that revenue was expected to fall by $946 million from earlier projections but the new…
Global Economic Lessons for Oregon By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon, 10/08 “In the decade before 2005, American consumers were the growth engine for the world economy, accounting for more than half of global consumer spending. The balance of power is now shifting.” – Dave Have, Wall Street Journal Introduction The world is changing economically…
By Richard Leonetti, Secretary Bradbury wrote an op-ed piece saying we should not drill for oil. His arguments were riddled with contradictions and some speculation. He asserts that expanded drilling will increase gasoline demand. Actually increased drilling has no affect on demand but will increase domestic supply or keep it from falling as it is…
Solar Power Leaks Tax Dollars Bob Clark August 15, 2008 Rooftop solar electric systems are prohibitively costly to manufacture and install with or without government subsidies. As reported in the Oregonian, page E1, August 8, 2008, a 2000 watt solar system costs about $21,000 including installation. Under existing tax credit financing structures, the buyer of…
By Margaret Goodwin, Some people invest their life savings in stocks and bonds, others sock it away in bank accounts to pay for their kids’ education and their retirement. Seventeen years ago, the Ockendens invested their savings in a 158 acre parcel of land in a rural residential area in Josephine County, where they live.…
by Andy High During the recent boom years in 2003-2005, sellers were calling the shots – dictating prices and terms to multiple bidders who were knocking down their doors in many markets. Today, with the real estate market slowing in many parts of the country, all the market fundamentals show that buyers are now in…
By Jim Thompson, Exec. Dir. Oregon State Pharmacy Association With another session of the Oregon Legislature complete, major emphasis was on healthcare where results showed the more effort government puts into healthcare reform the more the pattern stays the same. As we tilt at windmills in moving toward universal healthcare, one pattern stands out above…
by Andy High Many of you may not know but the Legislature gave school districts taxing authority without requiring a vote of the people. In 2007, the Legislature passed the SB 1036 which allows school districts to charge a construction excise tax. This allows school districts to charge up to $1.00 per sq foot on…