Issues
About Measure 97
…Measure 97 will make large and out-of-state corporations with more than $25 million in Oregon sales pay their fair share…
By making large corporations like Monsanto, and Bank of America pay their fair share…
- Vote Yes on 97
We Respond & Your Comments
Everybody knows that if the Seahawks sneak a 12th man onto the field it’s not “fair.” That’s because people agreed to make a rule against it.
But caterwauling about individuals or companies not paying their “fair share” of taxes is meaningless – because if you ask 12 people what a “fair share” is, you’re liable to get 13 opinions.
To Liberals, “fair share” just means a bigger share of somebody else’s money. It’s that simple.
So let’s declare an end to the use of “fair” unless we’ve agreed on rules stating what’s fair and what’s not.
Look Who’s Getting Oregon’s Housing Subsidy Dollars: The Rich
Oregon homeowners get more than $800 million a year in subsidy—and fatcats take the biggest chunk.
The Oregon House Revenue Committee met yesterday, in part to review the state’s role in addressing soaring real-estate costs.
One of the questions lawmakers examined is what programs the state currently has to subsidize affordable housing.
While the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services provides a variety of programs that help fund affordable housing, lawmakers heard yesterday that the tax breaks property owners get—for mortgage interest, property taxes and capital gains—dwarf the relative pittance the state allocates to affordable housing.
Just those three tax breaks alone are worth more than $800 million a year to property owners.
By far the biggest subsidy is the home mortgage interest deduction, which costs the state nearly $500 million a year in foregone taxes…(emphasis ours)
We Respond & Your Comments
We’ll skip over some of the nonsense above, starting with the fact that tax breaks for mortgage interest, etc. have absolutely nothing to do with what the state chooses to spend on affordable housing.
Instead we’ll focus on mortgage deductions “costing” the state around $500 million. How can money it never gets “cost” anything?
If you don’t get a raise next year does it “cost” you money? Of course not. But liberals believe that government has first call on any money we have. They think it really belongs to the state. So whatever the state doesn’t get is a cost. Hey, that’s the thinking that made Cuba an economic powerhouse. Right?
Demon Oil’s Gotta Go!
University of Oregon: Go Fossil Free!
…We call on the University of Oregon…to divest within five years from direct ownership from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds…
University of Oregon students stage mock wedding between UO foundation and fossil fuel industry
By Andrew Theen, The Oregonian/OregonLive
…Divest UO Organizers ended their nearly 10-week protest with a mock theater-style event…
UO Foundation is on the road to divesting in fossil fuels…
By Diane Dietz, The Register-Guard
The University of Oregon Foundation confirmed Monday that it plans to end its investment in “carbon-based fuel sources.”…
We Respond & Your Comments
In June we showed that divestiture of energy stocks is merely an empty gesture . Today we speak directly to our energy obsessed “Greenies.”…
Hey, Greenies, now that you’ve convinced adults, who should know better, to divest energy stocks, how about you divest some of your stuff you wouldn’t have without demon oil? Stuff like:
- Cars – even your puny 121 horsepower Priuses. Where do you think electricity comes from? Anyway, my model airplane has more power;
- Air conditioning – powered by fossil fuels. When you’re broiling next August just remind yourself how righteously green you are;
- Your precious iphones & iPods. How much oil did it take to manufacture & ship them to you? Divest them and save a polar bear.
It sure was fun lecturing other people about sacrificing for your green obsession, wasn’t it? Now go back to school. You have much to learn.
From voteyeson97.org: WHO WILL PAY THE [Measure 97] TAX?
The vast majority of the more than 400,000 active businesses in Oregon will be unaffected by this measure …
We Respond & Your Comments
“This measure” refers to Measure 97 which, if passed by Oregonians this November, will levy a 2.5% tax on gross revenue over $25 million earned in Oregon by “C ” class Oregon corporations, which are those taxed separately from their owners.
Here’s how, according to a local CEO, her small retail operation will be affected:
- She buys a shipment of oranges from a grower
- Next she sends it to a processor
- Then she has it packaged
If all these vendors are subject to the Measure 97 tax, each will pay a tax of 2.5% on the money our retailer pays them. When they all pass this new cost along to her she’s looking at a 7.5% increase in cost of goods.
She’s also expecting, thanks to Measure 97, similar increases in utility, phone and many other bills.
The “vast majority” of Oregon businesses will be “unaffected” by Measure 97? Not on your life.
Oregon must contain the roaring PERS fire: Editorial Agenda 2016
By The Oregonian Editorial Board
…The fiscal conflagration known as Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System will burn an extra $885 million in the next biennium to ensure retirees get their pensions and benefits as negotiated…
… Contributions by employers…are expected to go up by 4 percent of payroll in 2017, 2019 and 2021. That puts the employer contribution to the system at $4.5 billion for the 2021-23 biennium, more than twice what it is now…
But that’s to say nothing of the pressure upon public school systems, expected to find $335 million more to ship to PERS in the next biennium,..
…earnings on PERS investments last year were 2.11 percent, and this year through June just 1.24 percent — well below the unrealistic PERS-set expectation, upon which the system is configured, of 7.5 percent… [emphasis ours)
We Respond & Your Comments
PERS, and therefore Oregon taxpayers who pay for it, are in deep doodoo – old news.
What we want to focus on today is the last paragraph (above), which tells us that PERS projections rest on an assumed 7.5 % rate of return. The only way to get that kind of assured return today is to take risks that are far beyond unacceptable for pensions. Zimbabwe sovereign debt, anyone?
Why can public pensions use Bernie Madoff-type returns in their projections? Because they’re doing it with your money. Meanwhile, according to Steve Malanga, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, private pension funds, those offered by companies, must project future earnings based on a “risk-free” rate – currently below 3 percent. (http://www.wsj.com/articles/covering-up-the-pension-crisis-1472164758).
Why the difference? Because private pension funds need to live up to their projections. Public pensions? They can just reach deeper into your pockets to meet shortfalls caused by their delusional forecasts.
From voteyeson97.org: WHO WILL PAY THE [Measure 97] TAX?
Only the largest corporations doing business in Oregon — C corporations with more than $25 million in Oregon sales — will pay the new minimum tax. In fact, a report by the Legislative Revenue Office shows that 85% of the revenue raised by the measure will be paid by corporations with more than $100 million in Oregon sales. These are some of the largest corporations in the world.
The vast majority of the more than 400,000 active businesses in Oregon will be unaffected by this measure. In fact, less than one quarter of 1% of all businesses operating in the state will see their taxes go up…
We Respond & Your Comments
Gee, that’s not so bad, is it? Only those big, evil, greedy corporations would pay Measure 97 taxes. Right? Anyway, it’s “for the children.” Sounds pretty good – stick it to a corporation and get free stuff for the kiddies! What’s wrong with that?
Plenty’s wrong. According to Fred Thompson, director of the Willamette Center for Governance and Public Policy Research, “The 1,000 corporations directly affected by Measure 97 employ 40 percent of the state’s business labor force, [and] account for…over half of its private-sector wages.”
You mean those dastardly corporations hire people? Who would have thought it? Certainly not the “Yes on 97” gang.
As for the “vast majority” of Oregon businesses being “unaffected” by Measure 97 – more on that later.
Corporate tax: Dueling PACs raise millions
By Gordon Friedman, Statesman Journal
Two groups campaigning on opposite sides of a ballot measure that would increase corporate taxes have raised millions of dollars ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
The proposed tax, called Measure 97, would create a 2.5 percent tax on sales exceeding $25 million for some corporations.
Our Oregon, the group supporting the tax, has raised $1.5 million so far. The money is from just two donations of $750,000 each by the Oregon Education Association and SEIU Local 503, the state’s largest public sector unions…
Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat with longstanding ties to public sector labor groups, endorsed the measure last week…
We Respond & Your Comments
Were we less cynical we’d think the Oregon education Association (OEA) and the SEIU were dumping big bucks into Measure 97 because they want to buy more crayons and PCs for our kiddies.
But OEA and SEIU are unions, not child welfare agencies. Their mandate is to grab more money for their members, not do nice stuff for children. They’re behind Measure 97 because they know it’ll line their union members’ pockets. Period.
And Guv Kate’s with them because she knows a boatload of Measure 97 loot will be find its way into her 2018 campaign coffers.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Oregon Land Board Low-Balls Elliott Timber with Fixed-Price “Bidding”
… the Oregon Department of State Lands announced the “fair market value” of 82,450 acres of Common School Trust Lands within the Elliott State Forest as $220.8 million. The number was picked by Roger Lord of the consulting firm Mason, Bruce & Girard after analyzing three different professional appraisals. Proceeds from the land transfer will go to the Common School Fund…
… the Director of the Department, Jim Paul, reiterated that anyone hoping to acquire the 82,450 acres must offer exactly $220.8 million. Any offer above that will be considered “outside the protocol” and deemed “non-responsive.”…
We Respond & Your Comments
Throughout 122 previous issues of Lane Solutions we’ve called your attention to a multitude of government absurdities. But never, ever, have we seen anything this absurd.
Here’s what the Dept. of State Lands is saying: “We’re selling Elliot Forest for $220.8 million. If you want to pay Oregonians one cent more – go fry ice.”
Is this how they’d sell their personal house, car, or even dog? Absolutely not. But it’s your money – so they just don’t care.
Remember this the next time these wizards whine about not having enough money for schools, affordable housing or whatever. Remember it the next time they want your money “for the children.” Most of all – remember it when you vote.
Here’s the $258.4 Million Housing Bond You’ll Be Voting on in November
by Dirk VanderHart, portlandmercury.com
Hey, Portland: You know how this city is currently short about 24,000 affordable units? And how the rent here is shooting up as fast, or faster, than anywhere in the country—15 percent in the last year…
Meet the latest effort to improve matters. City Council next week will almost certainly vote to refer a $258.4 million bond measure to the November ballot. If approved, it’d allow the city to borrow that much from the bond market, and pay it back over time via your higher property taxes…
What you need to know:…
- The money wouldn’t have to only pay for housing. Up to one-fifth of the space of any project funded by the bonds could pay for “child care facilities, groceries, pharmacies, community rooms, food service, neighborhood retail and leasing offices.”…
We Respond & Your Comments
Why are Portland homes so expensive? Because demand outstrips supply. Why’s supply so low? One big reason is you can’t build enough houses to meet demand without expanding the urban growth boundary. That’s because progressives’ urban density obsession trumps human needs.
So again government caused a problem they’re going to milk taxpayers to fix. In this case it’s a $258.4 million bond. But it’s for “affordable housing.” Right?
Wrong. Part of it’s for grocers, pharmacies and other stuff. This means campaign bucks for the geniuses who hatched this problem.
Because when grocers Kroger, Safeway and Publix compete for their chunk of this “housing” treasure trove they’ll do it with campaign contributions to the politicos running the boondoggle. Likewise for pharmacies and construction companies wanting to slop up at the “affordable housing” trough.
So here we go again – “public servants” cause a problem, pick our pockets to fix it and rake in moolah while they’re at it. What’s not to like – if you’re a “public servant,” that is?
EDITORIAL: Facing a retirement crunch
Americans employed in the private sector are pretty much on their own when it comes to financing retirement…A new program taking shape in Oregon will broaden those choices, and ultimately reduce the burden on public services…
…nationwide, 42 percent of full-time private-sector employees between the ages of 18 and 64 have no workplace retirement savings plan. In Oregon, about half have no access to a (sic) such a plan…
The Oregon Legislature confronted this problem in 2015 by creating the Oregon Retirement Savings Plan…The plan will be open to all workers whose employers do not offer a plan of their own. It will be administered by the Oregon Retirement Savings Board…
…Enrollment will be automatic — workers will participate unless they choose not to. No employer contribution will be required. The savings rate will be 5 percent, unless workers choose to contribute at a higher or lower rate. The money will go into Roth IRA accounts…
We Respond & Your Comments
And now… the Salem brainiacs who did such a great job with the Columbia River Crossing ($200 Million down the drain), Cover Oregon (another $300 million), and PERS (God only knows what a mess this is)…
Are lining up to manage…your retirement! Herewith the “Progressive” principles on which this coming disaster are based:
- You’re too stupid to save for retirement;
- You need government “experts” to do it for you;
- Because you’re too stupid to sign up they’ll do that for you, too.
The timeless cliché comes to mind: “We’re from the government – we’re here to help you out.”
When you first notice that 5% of your paycheck is missing, just think “Columbia Crossing…Cover Oregon…MY RETIREMENT???” If you haven’t already opened an IRA this horror should be all the encouragement you need.