FREE ESSAY ON MEASURE 91

MEASURE 91

Is Measure 91 good for Oregonians? No! While many people agree with the principle of
Measure 91, which would stop Oregonians from paying taxes on the money that is paid as
federal tax, the financial impact of the measure and the uncertainty of it's intended
effects could make this measure financial devastating to the people it intends to help.
In order to be able to make an informed decisions on the measure, it is important that
we, first, discover what the measure proposes to do, second, determine who the measure
will benefit, and finally, what effect the measure will have on the lives of Oregonians.

So what does this measure propose to do? Under the current law, personal income tax
payers may deduct up to $3,000 paid in federal income taxes from their state tax
liability and corporations paying Oregon income tax get no deduction. However, if this
measure were to pass, it would allow for full deduction of all federal income taxes paid
by both individuals and corporations towards their Oregon income tax returns. 
Who benefits from this measure? According to research done by the Oregonian, a family who
makes $46,000 would actually end up paying $159 more money in taxes. However, a family
that makes $100,000 would see a savings of $849 and a family making $250,000 would save
over $4,700. So in effect, this measure will only help the rich, but also hurt the poor
and middle class by actually making them pay more taxes. 
Now that we know what the measure would do if passed, what affects would it actually have
on Oregonians? According to the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office , Measure 91, if passed
would cut nearly $1 billion, or 25 percent, out of Oregon's 1999-2001 biennium budget and
more than $1.66 billion, or 15 percent, from the 2001-2003 general fund. So, where does
this money come from? $32.4 million from community colleges and $56.7 million from
Oregon's Universities, which will cause tuition increases of 50-100%, larger classes, and
fewer classes being offered. It will also cut $57.8 million from Corrections which would
led to 1,987 corrections officers being fired, or 4,900 inmates being released, but this
causes a bigger problem, under Measure 11, neither of these two can happen, so that money
will have to come from another source. Oregon State Police would see a $12.6 million
dollar cut, which would eliminate 350 of the 720 officers on the force. Services to the
elderly, disabled, and those covered by the Oregon Health Plan, would be cut by over $143
million dollars which would eliminate almost of the programs for these people. Finally,
the biggest cut, nearly $767.3 million, would be cut from State Employees. This would
mean that the state would have to cut 100 percent of all of the state funded positions
for nine months to accommodate the reduction before the end of the 1999-2001 biennium
budget .
Measure 91, in principle, is a great idea. No one should ever be forced to pay taxes
twice on the same amount of money. After all, part of the reason that we fought for our
independence from England was to stop double taxation. However, the way in which the
measure is written is far too drastic. What is the point of lowering taxes just to have
all of the services that we rely on reduced to almost nothing. 
So who is really going to benefit from this measure? According to the statistics, no one.
For those who are poor or middle class, there would be tax increases and reductions in
all state services. For the rich, they will see some savings, but will also be hurt by
the reduction in state funding. Even big corporation are worried about the big picture if
this measure were to pass. Paul Phillips, a spokesman for Nike said, "If a lose of $1
billion a year in tax revenue forces big reductions in state programs, particularly
education, it would seriously hurt the ability of companies to attract and keep
high-quality workers."
What can you do? Vote NO in the November 7th election, and then make sure everyone that
you know will vote NO on Measure 91. This measure is bad for Oregonians, it's bad for
businesses and worst of all it will be devastating to those it is supposed to help, YOU!