Issues
Oregon lawmakers scramble closer to deals on minimum wage, housing relief
– Denis C. Theriault, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Lawmakers, advocates and Gov. Kate Brown are circling around compromises on two of the signature issues looming over next month’s short legislative session: housing relief and whether to raise Oregon’s minimum wage…
…The Oregonian/OregonLive has compiled a preview of those issues…
Housing relief: When Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland, announced plans in November for legislation on Oregon’s housing crisis, advocates demanded a one-year moratorium on no-cause evictions. They also sought an end to a state ban on rent control…
And Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, will move a bill aimed at increasing workforce housing in Oregon — by ending the state’s ban on local inclusionary zoning…
Another proposal would make it easier for cities to set aside state building and zoning codes when installing emergency shelters and tent communities….
Minimum wage: Lawmakers and advocates are planning a major show of force Thursday night, when House and Senate members gather for a public hearing on whether to raise the state’s $9.25-an-hour wage…
Also unclear? Whether any compromise is enough to stay the hands of the state’s $15 Now movement…
We Respond & Your Comments
According to MoneyRates.com Oregon is the second worst state in which to make a living. Let’s look at these “compromises.” Will they make things better or worse for Oregonians?
Housing: Right on, Kate & Alissa! Let’s fix the affordable housing shortage by letting local politicians decide what kind of houses developers can build! We bet they’ll decide based on how it’ll get them votes. Then let’s make it harder to evict problem tenants. And we’ll grease the skids for rent control so apartment owners make less money. It’s a liberal trifecta!
And let’s let the politicos set aside zoning rules and throw up a tent city next to your development. Yeah – that’s the ticket!
Minimum Wage: Oregon’s unemployment rate is already .6% above the national average and its labor force participation rate is near a 40 year low. We’ll fix it by making labor more expensive! It works every time! Employers will crawl on their bellies over broken glass to pay higher salaries here than they would in Idaho or Nevada !
Is it too much to ask these Salem geniuses to filter every policy through this prism: “Will what we are doing create jobs?” Probably.
Income inequality grows
– The Eugene Register Guard, December 27, 2015
As the United States has moved further away from the recession it has become painfully clear that, for some, things are far from getting back to “normal.”
The recession deepened, or accelerated, economic divisions in the United States — widening the gap between not just rich and poor, but rich and middle class.
The shares of income and wealth in the United States held by the most affluent families “are at modern historically high levels,” a 2013 study by the Federal Reserve System found.
While average family income in the United States overall rose 4 percent from 2010 to 2013 after falling 7 percent during the recession, that increase in average income was tugged upward by gains among the wealthiest Americans, not the middle class or poor, according to the Fed’s study…
We Respond & Your Comments
“Progressive” politicians bemoan “income inequality.” But there’s a secret they don’t want you to know. It’s called “income mobility.” If people knew about it, taxing the rich to reduce income inequality would be a tougher sell.
Here it is: people move up and down the income scale. They graduate and take low paying entry level jobs. As they gain experience they move up the scale. Incomes peak in their later working years and typically fall when they retire.
A Treasury Dept. study on income mobility from 1996-2005 (the most recent study we could find) revealed that:
- Over 50% of taxpayers moved to a different income quintile over the period;
- About half of those who were in the bottom quintile in 1996 moved to a higher quintile by 2005;
- 75% of those in the top .001% of earners in 1996 dropped out of this group by 2005.
Now you know it: income inequality isn’t the catastrophe the taxing class says it is, because incomes aren’t static. Lots of people toward the bottom of the income scale move to lower middle class and higher. And many at or near the top move the other way.
Companies warn Oregon: Tax us and we might move
– Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian/OregonLive
John North, the vice president of finance for Ashland-based Lithia Motors, said the auto retailer would see almost all its profits from Oregon stores wiped out under a tax measure headed toward the November 2016 ballot….
Oregon’s business community is ratcheting up its rhetoric against the union-backed corporate tax measure that would raise an estimated $2.6 billion a year for schools and other services, far more than any tax hike in modern Oregon history…
“We have this burgeoning software business in Oregon that I think would be significantly affected,” said Ken Thrasher, a former Fred Meyer CEO and board chairman of Portland-based Compli. “We run the risk of these jobs being located somewhere else where we don’t have to pay the tax.”…
… Our Oregon has assembled a coalition – ranging from teacher unions to a small-business group that frequently supports left-of-center causes – and is working to gather the 88,184 signatures needed by July 8 to qualify for the ballot…
… because of a long-standing provision in Oregon tax laws, companies that mostly provide services would pay the tax based on their worldwide sales…
We Respond & Your Comments
There’s an iron law of economics: “If you want more of something, subsidize it. If you want less, tax it.” So if Oregonians want fewer businesses in Oregon they’ll pass this tax.
We know the tax is “for the children” and that we don’t spend enough on education. But we all know who it’s really for – the teachers’ unions. That’s why they support it.
We also know taxes inevitably rake in less money than predicted. That’s because the predictors assume everyone who might pay it will do so. Jacking up the estimate makes the tax more attractive.
But people aren’t stupid. They find ways to avoid paying taxes. In this case they’ll avoid it by voting with their feet and moving to another state – probably one that doesn’t:
- have a 9.9% personal income tax;
- treat capital gains as ordinary income;
- reach into your coffin to grab a big chunk of your wealth when you die.
To all Oregonians who want fewer businesses and jobs: go ahead and sign onto Our Oregon’s latest brainstorm.
Assaulting “Corporate Profits” Will Hit Average Oregonians
– Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Institute
A union-backed group is planning to put an initiative on Oregon’s 2016 General Election ballot that would result in the largest tax increase in Oregon history. Designed to tax sales of large corporations doing business in Oregon, Initiative Petition 28 may raise more than $5 billion every biennium…
…neither large nor small corporations have a magic pot of money from which they can painlessly bestow more to government…
The tax measure in question basically will impose a 2.5 percent gross receipts tax on most corporate sales above $25 million in the state, on top of other business taxes…
We Respond & Your Comments
Governor Brown Comes a’Calling
Business owner looking to relocate: Thanks for coming, Governor Brown.
Gov. Brown: Glad to be here. We want you to re-locate to Oregon.
Owner: Governor Brown, look: Oregon has the third highest capital gains tax rate in America and may impose a 2.5% gross receipts tax on my sales above $25 million.
Gov. Brown: But we have a great transportation system!
Owner: So does Nevada. And they don’t have Oregon’s 9.9 percent personal income tax.
Gov. Brown: But Oregon has a wonderful quality of life!
Owner: Ever put that in the bank, Governor? And Nevada’s a right to work state.
Gov. Brown: But we have great schools!
Owner: Look: I own this company. Oregon has one of the few death taxes left. Nevada doesn’t. When I die I won’t give you ten percent of the money I’ve worked for.
Gov. Brown: Don’t you think you should pay your fair share?
Owner: To paraphrase economist Thomas Sowell, what’s someone else’s “fair share” of money I worked for? Thanks again for coming. If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a meeting with Governor Sandoval. He’s just in from Reno.
Milwaukie approves $15 minimum wage for city workers
MILWAUKIE, Ore. (KOIN) — The Milwaukie City Council unanimously voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 for all city workers on Tuesday night.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Mark Gamba said he hoped the city council would pass the resolution.
“We have to have a society where if you work full time you can live, you’re not in poverty,” Mayor Gamba said…
We Respond & Your Comments
We’re not going to rehash facts about how raising the price of labor depresses demand for it. And about how raising the minimum wage hurts the very people progressives say they’re trying to help.
Today we just want to congratulate Mayor Gamba and his City Council for their unmatched generosity. We can’t say enough about their concern for their workers and their desire to help the less fortunate.
Oh, we forgot…these do-gooders aren’t doing good with their own money. They’re doing good with money they confiscated from the Milwaukie residents who earned it!
As the old saying goes, “There just ain’t no end to the good you can do with other people’s money.”
Nestlé critics expecting battle over anti-bottled water ballot initiative
– Kelly House, The Oregonian/Oregon Live
A group of Hood River County residents want voters to decide whether the Nestlé corporation should be allowed to bottle and sell water from the Columbia River Gorge…
The Cascade Locks City Council has approved Nestlé’s plan to build a $50 million bottling plant in town…
Nestlé’s supporters laud the plant as an economic development opportunity for the cash-strapped town and a job opportunity for its residents, nearly 19 percent of whom are unemployed.
“This is an economic development question,” said Gordon Zimmerman, city manager…
Opponents argue selling water to Nestlé amounts to privatization of a public resource. They question whether it’s a wise move given the ongoing drought gripping most of Oregon.
Zimmerman countered that Cascade Locks’ ample rainfall makes it immune to many of the water problems plaguing dryer parts of the state.
“Water is an abundant resource here,” he said.
We Respond & Your Comments
Let’s get this straight… Nearly 1 in 5 workers can’t find a job. There’s plenty of water. Nestlé wants to spend $50 million on a bottling plant and hire a bunch of locals. Right?
And these Einsteins don’t want it because it would “privatize” a “public resource”?
We’re betting these dingbats would sell Eastern Oregon to Exxon if they’d plaster solar panels all over it. They’d sell Crater Lake National Park if Big Oil, Inc. promised to smother it with windmills. But they hate Nestlé because it’s a big, evil, out of state corporation.
Does it make you want to stick knitting needles through your eyeballs, or what?
We Celebrate 100 issues of Lane Solutions!
Dear Readers – This being issue #100 of Lane Solutions, it’s time to look both back and ahead.
First, we thank you, our readers, who share our concern about the economic health of Lane County and Oregon.
Oregon and Lane County should have booming economies. Why not? We have abundant natural resources, a capable work force and a quality of life many professionals will sacrifice salary dollars to enjoy. There’s no excuse for 16% poverty in Oregon.
But burdensome regulations, high taxes and frivolous litigation form barriers to creating the jobs that eliminate poverty.
We’ll continue to call attention to these barriers and tip our hats to those who, irrespective of party, join us in reducing them.
Again – We thank you and hope you’ll stick around for the next 100 issues!
Sincerely, Your Co-Editors.
Jobs for Prineville, OR!
We tip our hat to Oregon House Republican Leader Mike McClane (Powell Butte), who led the charge to create an Oregon tax structure for high-tech firms.
A recent result of Rep. McClane’s efforts is Facebook’s decision to invest $200 million in creating a third data center in Prineville.
Way to go, Mike!
Why Oregon lags on per capita income: Editorial…
Few economic statistics are discussed as much in Oregon as per capita income. Oregonians don’t have as much money as Washington residents and lag the national average as well…
Per capita income…is all income… divided by population…
So why is Oregon’s per capita income below the national average, and what can we do about it?…reasons include population growth, lower-than-average wages in key high-paying industries, proximity to lower-tax Washington, a shorter average work week, and demographic factors that contribute to higher unemployment and a lower labor force participation rate. That’s a lot to overcome if Oregon political leaders want to raise per capita income…
Pay for lawyers… and several other professions is below the national average in part because many of the people who hold those jobs are willing to accept less pay because…. They get to live in a place with amenities such as access to both the coast and mountains…
…31 states still have higher per capita income than Oregon’s $41,681. The national median was $46,129 in 2014…
We Respond & Your Comments
Nobody can do much about workers in high paying industries who’ll trade salary dollars for our high quality of life in Oregon.
But here are some factors that government can influence for better or worse:
- Oregon’s non-competitive tax structure compared to Washington;
- A shorter average work week. It’s shorter because there aren’t enough full time jobs. Stop taxing capital gains like earned income and we’d create more 40 hour work weeks. Stop confiscating wealth with a “Death Tax” and more job creators would come here;
- High unemployment and low labor force participation – again a culprit is Oregon taxes. Tear down Oregon’s barriers to job creation and guess what? Jobs will come and Oregonians will go to work. And per capita income will increase.
Earth to Salem: “Are you listening?”
To Drill or Not to Drill? That is the Question
Leave Arctic oil untapped
Let the next generations balance need and risks
– The Register Guard editorial
…Exploiting the fossil fuel resources of the Arctic involves several types of risk, all of which should deferred until better judgments on technical, economic and environmental issues can be made…
The economic risks are also large…The resources of the Arctic are the patrimony of every American, and leasing exploits them at a time when oil prices are low.
…Shell clearly expects prices to be higher when Arctic oil production ramps up, but Americans also should play a long game and realize that the longer the oil stays in the ground, the more valuable it will be in terms of income from leases and royalties…
… The Shell project would lock in decades of Arctic oil production at a time when the United States and the world are awakening to the need for a steep reduction in fossil fuel consumption…
We Respond & Your Comments
Listen up, Shell Oil execs – You’ve ignored the basic economics of oil exploration and production! But thank heaven The Register Guard is setting you straight on:
- Economic risks of exploring in the Arctic
- Judging when oil should be extracted for maximum profit
- Failure to account for future reductions of fossil fuel consumption
But before you plug up those exploration holes, bring your ships back to port and fire all those MBAs whose projections sent you on that fool’s errand up north, click on http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/arctic_oil_drilling_vital_for.html.
Here you’ll learn that declining Alaska Pipeline production is causing West Coast imports of foreign oil to skyrocket and that the only way to secure a safe, reliable, affordable supply of the energy Oregon (including The Register Guard) needs to grow jobs is to drill in… the Arctic.
Maybe those guys and gals at Shell aren’t so dumb after all.