In the News

The recession has put Oregon's economy on the brink. Vital services like education and health care are facing drastic cuts. Oregon can no longer afford to let big corporations pay just $10 in the corporate minimum tax while prices for the rest of us continue to rise.

The Oregonian claims there is a better option than Measure 66 & 67, but what is that option? Apparently the "better" plan is taxing small businesses and the middle class.

The following is a look at the tax increases proposed by a coalition of associations that includes the Association of Oregon Industries and Associated General Contractors, leading funders of the opposition to Measures 66 and 67, and by the Oregon Business Association.

As you can tell from this chart, business associations proposed across-the-board tax increases that would raise taxes on the middle class and on small businesses, while large corporations and the rich would have paid less.  These are the alternatives that were on the table in the last legislative session, and are likely the plans that the Oregonian is pushing for.

The Oregonians Against Job Killing Taxes campaign has run a purposefully misleading campaign.

To quote Steve Novick, posting last Sunday on Blue Oregon, "If either of these plans had been adopted, small bakery owners really would have seen their taxes increase, soccer moms really would have to pay more. There really would have been a tax increase on small agriculture businessmen in Ontario and, of course, dairy farmers in Tillamook. Now, the Oregonian wants voters to reject the targeted tax increases in Measures 66 and 67, and seemingly wants the legislature to adopt across-the-board tax increases on struggling families and small businesses instead."

For a more detailed comparison of the AOI, OBA, and Legislative tax plans, click here (PDF).

For a copy of the AOI tax proposal, click here. (PDF)

For a copy of the OBA tax proposal, click here. (PDF)

How we respond to the recession is a test of who we are as a people. Strong schools are the key to our economic recovery and our children's future. It's irresponsible and short sighted to keep cutting education funding while some big corporations continue to pay just $10 in the corporate minimum tax.

Watch the most recent advertisement from the Vote Yes for Oregon campaign and our partners at the PTA, AARP, and the Oregon Small Business Council, then Vote Yes on Measure 66 & 67, it's the right thing to do.

Ballots will begin arriving in less than a month, but most voters still don't know there's an important election in January that will decide the fate of Oregon's schools and critical services.

We need your help spreading the word about voting YES on Measures 66 and 67. Can you pitch in today to help the Vote Yes For Oregon Coalition?

Join us for Neighborhood Walk

Sunday, December 13 at 1 p.m.

at Vote Yes for Oregon

411 N.E. 19th Ave.

Portland, Or. 97232

Dress warmly, bring a friend, and help protect our schools and services!

We will provide hot coffee and everything you need to talk to your neighbors about the need to vote YES on January 26th.

The news over the last two weeks has made it crystal clear that Measures 66 and 67 will have a direct impact on the lives of every Oregonian. Last week, the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office detailed specifically what critical services would likely have to be cut without the funding that Measures 66 and 67 provide. Here are just some of the news reports about what is at stake for Oregon's students, seniors, and families:

"Among the projected cuts: more than 15,000 seniors with disabilities would lose Oregon Health Plan coverage; 3,000 families with two unemployed parents would lose monthly payments; and the Department of Corrections would close three prisons and release 1,600 inmates." Associated Press, December 1

"Potential spending cuts, which lawmakers released late Monday, could reduce aid to public schools and universities, result in less help for families and seniors, close three Salem-area prisons and trigger layoffs of state troopers and court workers." Salem Statesman Journal, December 1

"[S]pending cuts would likely mean less support for [university] courses and the elimination of faculty and staff positions. Given that the universities are experiencing the largest student enrollment levels in state history, such cuts could delay graduation for students, many of whom may drop out because of the higher cost of remaining enrolled while waiting to take required courses." Eugene Register Guard, December 1

The recession has put Oregon's economy on the brink. Vital services like education and health care are facing drastic cuts. Oregon can no longer afford to let big corporations and the rich off the hook.

Here's how you can help:

1. Click below to watch the brand new Vote YES on 66 and 67 ad.

2. Send it to your friends and post it on your Facebook page.

3. Help us keep it on the air by donating at the Vote Yes For Oregon Act Blue page.

At around 6:20 pm, there will be a break in the Civil War fighting for Ducks and Beaver fans across the state to come together in recognition of their common bonds as Oregon citizens. It will be beautiful. It will be deeply moving. For 30 seconds, we will stop all the inter-state squabbling to come together as a people and do just one thing: Watch a YES on 66 and 67 television ad.

Measures 66 and 67 preserve critical funding for schools, health care and public safety. They protect the middle class by raising the $10 corporate minimum and asking only those households with income over $250,000 to pay a little more.

In fact, the only way BOTH teams could lose this historic game is if Measures 66 and 67 were to fail in January. Then we would face the prospect of nearly a billion dollars in cuts to education and vital services, with increased class sizes and loss of school days for K-12 students, as well as tuition increases for state universities and community colleges.

So root your heart out for the Ducks or the Beavers. But when the new Vote Yes for Oregon ad hits the air at 6:20, get the whole room to do the wave to vote YES to protect all our schools this January.

By the way, if you're watching in Bend or Medford, check out the ad at 6:51 pm.

If, for some strange reason, you're not planning on watching the game, you can still watch our ad online by clicking here. And if you want to help make a difference, make a contribution to help us get the ad in front of more eyes.

Experts Debunk Claim that tax measures would cost jobs

Salem News -- November 24 

"The central argument by opponents of Measures 66 and 67, that the measures will cause Oregon to lose jobs, is "without merit," according to experts at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. They said the claim rests on "misleading analysis" and "fatally flawed assumptions..."

Seeking a high road after hope turns to hard times in Oregon

The Oregonian -- November 22 By Jake Klonoski

"I hope this January Oregon voters stay true to those values by taking stock of the choices offered by Measures 66 and 67, a choice between corporations or kids, between protecting the comfortable or protecting our streets, and pass both ballot measures overwhelmingly..."