Issues
Meet the New Tax Reform…Same as the Old Tax Reform
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, fresh off his early October special legislative session “Grand Bargain” success, says he will now turn his attention to tax reform. He has plenty of company in Oregon’s recent history…
Ask the average Oregonian what “tax reform” means, and they are likely to say it means “more taxes.” And, so far they’d be correct.
Before Governor Kitzhaber has even hinted at specifics of his upcoming tax reform plan, several state legislators are fleshing out their own version of “more taxes” which includes a five percent sales tax coupled with property and income tax reductions. This time, they have in hand a Legislative Revenue Office analysis that says it will create 55,405 new jobs and raise $488 million a year in net tax revenue.
Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Review, December 9, 2009
“I’m stunned that we could not only produce more money for education, stabilize our tax code and produce more jobs for our economy,” said Hass, a Beaverton Democrat and a chief architect of the tax reform proposal.” – Mark Hass, Oregon Senator, District 14, quoted in The Oregonian.
Our Response & Leave Your Comments
We’re plenty stunned ourselves! It came as an utter shock to us that the wizards in Salem could remove $488 million from the private sector and it would result in 55,405 new jobs in the same sector you just took the money from.
We have a better idea – How about if 2,500 Lane Solutions readers each sent your humble but grasping editors $2,000? We could create 100 jobs paying “living wages” (whatever that means). But our generous 2,500 readers wouldn’t have the money to create jobs of any kind, would they?
It works exactly the same when the Salem geniuses take your money. The only difference is that we’d have to ask you for it. Government doesn’t. All they have to do is take it.
Which Is the Monster? Tax limitations, or the taxes they limit
A City Club of Portland research panel has concluded that property tax limitation Ballot Measures 5, 47, and 50 have created a “Frankentax” monster that is “slowly but surely wreaking havoc upon its creators and their communities in ways they might not yet realize.”…
So-called government revenue “losses” from property tax limitations are also “gains” to taxpayers who pay less than they otherwise would―in some cases enough less to keep from losing their homes…
– Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Institute, November 13, 2013
Lane Solutions Responds and Leave Your Comments
We give a loud, enthusiastic “Hooray” and a tip of the Lane Solutions hat to Mr. Buckstein.
Most people who talk about a “tax loss” to the government believe that the government has first call on every dollar you earn and that anything that they, in their magnanimity, allow you to keep is a “loss” to the ever demanding, ever growing blob called government. These people generally work for the government, or are slopping up at the federal or state trough and really believe that any money you keep is a loss to them.
On a deeper level they believe that the government is better at allocating resources than are private markets. If this were true, North Korea and Cuba would be economic powerhouses. Instead, they’re economic basket cases that regularly go hat in hand to America (North Korea) or the about to be basket case Venezuela (Cuba).
So we say “Right on,” Steve and the rest of Cascade Policy Institute! Keep getting the message out.
State should make investment in Malheur County
As the hard work of rezoning land in Malheur County to industrial use continues, another, perhaps larger, challenge looms on the horizon. City and county officials are going to have to figure out a way to get sewer, water, electricity and roads out to these properties to serve potentially large-scale industrial developments.
In a visit to the Argus Observer editorial board last week, state Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., suggested that preliminary estimates for the cost of these infrastructure improvements in Malheur County are in the neighborhood of $50 million.
The big question in the coming months and years will be how to — and who should — pay that tab.
– The Ontario Argus Observer
– October 20, 2013
Lane Solutions Responds & your comments
We’re not taking sides on who should pay for Malheur County’s infrastructure improvements.
Our beef is with the Observer’s use of the word “investment.” We believe “investment” implies some sort of ownership and reasonable expectation of a return of more money than you invested. And we think there’s a big difference between “investing” and “spending,” which implies giving up money for any other reason.
Calling what we all know is spending “investing” makes the act of relinquishing money to the government sound palatable. This is a pet tactic of liberal (darn – we did it again. But you know we meant “Progressive”) politicians who tell us they’re confiscating our money to “invest” in children, education and so on. Ever hear them say they want to “invest” in a new jet fighter? We didn’t think so.
So let’s call government outlays of our money what they are – “spending.” As for investing, if you want to do that we suggest that you send your money to our son in law the stock broker. He’ll do what you want with it, send it back to you if you tell him to, and won’t send you to jail if you don’t send him more next year.
Legislative Special Session Report
Salem – …The carefully balanced, bipartisan package, which Gov. John Kitzhaber and key lawmakers have been working on since late last year, centers on curbing public employee pension costs and some targeted tax increases. Also included in the deal to garner more Republican support are a tax cut for certain businesses…
The Register Guard, October 3, 2013
Lane Solutions Responds and Leave Your Comments
Gosh, Don’t You Wish You Were as Smart as These Guys?
“Targeted tax increases” and cuts for “certain businesses.” Sounds good – Tax hikes for schools and cuts to help some businesses.
But who‘s doing the “targeting” and which are the “certain” businesses?
This is where government always runs into trouble. Because when it comes to picking winners and losers it does a very bad job.
“Targeting” is what got us Solyndra, Brightsource and Geothermal – who went belly up with more than $2.2 Billion of your tax dollars. These and other greenies burn through upwards of $5 Billion in “targeted” subsidies yearly. And that’s not counting 600,000 birds chopped up annually in windmills.
What do we get for these diced birds and billions of bucks? Excluding hydropower, less than 1/10 of our energy.
Why “targeting” fails:
- No group of people (even wizard politicians) can direct the economy, which is a result of billions of individual decisions each day.
- It usually rewards friends or punishes enemies;
- Politicians target with your money. So what if they lose it?
As for “certain businesses”: This usually means “In my district,” “Gave me money,” or our favorite – “My brother in law.”
So – Don’t worry if you’re not smart enough to target other people’s money or figure who should pay what taxes. Neither are they!
Build It and They Will Pedal
$580,000 Bike Boondoggle Coming Soon?
A draft study is encouraging public agencies and area businesses to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost the number of bike racks and lockers in the Eugene-Springfield area to help support and increase two-wheeled ridership over the next decade and beyond.
The Regional Bike Parking Study, set to be finalized later this month after three years of work, concludes that such facilities are needed in the two cities’ downtowns, at transit stations and at more than a dozen shopping centers, major employers and civic venues…
The government-funded $100,000 study reaches those conclusions even as its data, while limited, showed the existing supply of bike parking exceeding the use in some of the studied areas…
The study estimates it would cost nearly $342,000 for materials and labor to add recommended bike parking spaces to 100 blocks in downtown Eugene and Springfield…
The study estimated it would cost about $238,000 to install 30 new and retrofitted bike lockers at some LTD transit stations, as well as secure cages at the stations in downtown Eugene and the Amazon neighborhood…
The study also examined the bike parking needs at 14 “activity centers,” such as the Hult Center, Oakway Center, Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and the Royal Caribbean office in Springfield, but didn’t provide cost estimates.
Even though the study recommended adding more bike parking spots at these centers, the data appeared to indicate the supply exceeds demand. The study counted 509 spots at the 14 locations, but recommended nearly doubling that number — even though only 55 spots were being used at the time of the survey…
Maffei (who lead the study) said the inventory was taken on Oct. 16 and 17, and there wasn’t enough money to perform more than a single count in a given study area…
Duncan Rhodes, a member of the Greater Eugene Area Riders Cycling Club, or GEARs, who served on the committee, said quite a few local spots could use more bike parking.
“Until you build something, you will never know if it will be used or not,” he said…
– Christian Hill, The Register Guard
Lane Solutions Responds –
“A $100,000 study recommends spending $580,000 to add thousands of spots” (Register Guard print edition).
Several elements of this study jumped out at us, nearly causing us to bang our helmeted heads on the potted pavement as we toppled off our sustainable, green, locally produced bikes.
First, they figured need for additional bike facilities by counting actual bike rack use just once. Think it might vary by time of day and month?
Then there’s the fallacy of adding hundreds of bike racks at five “activity centers” when “supply exceeds demand.” Failing to estimate costs for this only makes it worse.
Third, at six locations they counted 44 of 355 bike racks being used and concluded that we need 727 additional racks.
It’s a perfect example of government imposing its social engineering fantasies on citizens and wasting buckets of bucks turning them into an unwelcome reality.
Here, local wizards, lashing themselves to the mast of urban density and “green” transportation, decided that even if current racks aren’t being used, what we need is more. So they tossed $100,000 after their obsession and may throw another $580,000 into the same sump hole.
Oh, well, “Until you build something, you will never know if it will be used or not.”
Govt. Bureaucracies – The Eternal Growth Industry
The “Fighting Irish” grandstand is being demolished in preparation for the restoration of the old Waldport High School campus to open space use. This project is funded by a $3-million Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA has purchased all the structures and development rights at the site to prevent future development in a tsunami inundation zone. In turn, the Lincoln County School District will demolish and remove the school buildings, portable classrooms, and grandstands; restore the site into open space; and maintain the property in perpetuity with no future development other than that related to the open-space use.
Newport (OR) News, July 9, 2013
Lane Solutions Responds:
Huh? “Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant”? In case there’s a tsunami in Waldport? The last one was 49 years ago. How many hurricanes, tornadoes and floods have occurred since then in highly predictable places? What has FEMA done to “mitigate” these?
FEMA is the poster child for government bureaucracies. Created to relieve hardship caused by Milwaukee, WI floods, FEMA has metastasized into an ever-expanding governmental blob that looks for new “maybe-they’ll- happen” disasters to conquer.
FEMA’s website reveals that the idea for this national bureau “Began on a fall day in Washington DC while eating crepes.” Says it all, doesn’t it?
The website proudly proclaims FEMA’s mission as “Progressively mov(ing) innovation to the forefront of our thinking in emergency management.” Said mission is larded up with palaver about “stakeholders,” “think tanks,” transparent dialogue” and the like.
Are these the geniuses who mistakenly doled out $385 Million to Katrina victims? Whose “innovation” included leaving tons of bottled water and meals in Georgia when Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey?
Bureaucracies like FEMA are conceived in missions that expand to justify more employees, and grow like kudzu on steroids – eternally nourished by ever expanding government.
Hatched in Milwaukee, FEMA lives on in Waldport to tear down a football grandstand. It’s the poster child for government bureaucracies gone berserk.
Tell Us What You Think in the Comment Box Below
Ed. Note: Do you need a federally approved disaster plan for your pet bunny? You might. Find out why in a coming issue of Lane Solutions.
Generous OR Legislature State Aids Poor Ol’ Hyatt Resorts & Hotels
SALEM — In a last-minute flurry of money bills, Oregon lawmakers approved more than $1 billion for construction projects, salary increases and university tuition reductions Monday before shutting down the 2013 Legislature.
Legislation approved on the final day included money for — among dozens of other projects — a new or refurbished Multnomah County Courthouse, sidewalks in east Portland, a convention center hotel in Portland, a ton of construction on college campuses and even a raise for the governor.
Henry Esteve, The Oregonian
Lane Solutions Responds:
Now Hyatt Corp., owner of 492 luxury hotels, spas and resorts from Scottsdale to Dubai to Honolulu and back can breathe easy – because the ever generous Oregon Legislature has agreed to toss them $10 million to help build hotel #493 (and a Grand Hyatt at that!) at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
Tina Kotek, House Speaker and Patron Saint of Largesse, assures us that this $10 million, as well as the rest of her $1 billion of giveaways means “(There) are going to be immediate jobs around the state.”
OK, now we get it: If Tina hadn’t tossed this cool billion after Hyatt, etc. it would have just been buried in some rich guys’ back yards. Right? None of it would have been invested in starting or expanding businesses and creating jobs. Not one cent.
Here Ms. Kotek reveals the basic belief of a statist: That the government is a more efficient allocator of resources than are private citizens and markets. Hey, it’s the thinking that turned Cuba, Venezuela, Romania, etc. into economic powerhouses! Can it do the same for Oregon?
Tell us what you think in the Comment Box below
Legislators Pick Winners and Mostly Losers – Again
SALEM — The $150 million reincarnation of Oregon’s manufacturing BETC (Business Energy Tax Cuts) — in talks for months and still in flux — appeared for the first time in writing Thursday in the waning days of the legislative session.
Details were spelled out in a 78-page tax bill amendment that shored up several expiring credits. The manufacturing Business Energy Tax Credits would die off, replaced by a $25 million annual pool.
Although green energy companies remain the priority, the move diversifies taxpayers’ portfolio beyond solar manufacturers. High-dollar recipients such as SolarWorld and SoloPower have been pummeled by foreign competition and a tough economy.
Lane Solutions Responds:
Here we go again. Solyndra, Abound Solar, A 123 Energy. What do they have in common? They’re companies the Federal Government picked as winners and dumped over $1 Billion of your tax dollars into – and lost. And there are plenty more, ahem, “problems” where these come from.
This is what happens when government picks winners and losers. Like when the Oregon Dept. of Energy loaned $10 Million to SoloPower, with Portland taxpayers on the hook for half. Most or all of the money’s gone. And they’re not the only one in Oregon.
But our legislators continue to believe that they’re smarter venture capitalists than private venture capitalists. They can’t see that if there were buckets of bucks to be made off “clean energy” some company would jump at the chance with their own dollars. But then our guys and gals in Salem have your dollars to play with. And, like the old saying goes, “There ain’t no end to the good you can do with someone else’s money. – The Oregonian, June 27, 2013
Tell us what you think below in the comment section
Paper, Plastic or Unintended Consequences?
The debate about Eugene’s plastic bag ban is getting heated.
The City Council’s champion of the bag ban [Alan Zelenka] on Monday said he will propose that the council exempt people who receive food stamps from paying the 5-cent charge for paper bags in the city’s recently enacted prohibition on thin, single-use plastic retail bags. Southeast Councilor Alan Zelenka said he will propose the exemption as a way to make the ban less of a burden on low-income people. – Eugene Register Guard, June 11, 2013
Lane Solutions replies:
We believe that this sort of constant fine tuning is the inevitable result of governments’ attempts to force changes in citizens’ behavior. First the Eugene City Council bans plastic bags in the interest of the environment. Their goal? Encourage use of reusable bags. One result has been increased use of paper bags. Paper or plastic – which uses more total energy? According to a study cited by UO chemistry Prof. David Tyler this March, it’s paper. Which leaves more solid waste? That’s right – paper! Now comes the unintended consequence of poor people struggling to pay $.05 for each grocery bag. Next follows a lengthy debate on exempting the bag charge for the poor. Inevitably, there will be conflicts of interest with the Council picking winners and losers. Which products will qualify for the exemption? Groceries? Soft drinks? “Essential” hardware? Producers and retailers will lobby the Council to exempt their products from the bag charge. The result? More unintended consequences, more debates and more regulations.
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Special! Rep. Richardson on Salem’s “Blame Game”
I was first elected to the legislature in 2002, yet I am still surprised by the political “blame game” that occurs at the end of most Legislative Sessions. [To see a brief YouTube on this subject, click here.]
Last week, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber spoke to the House Republicans and requested an additional $275 million in tax increases. He promised that if Republicans joined the Democrats in voting for tax increases the additional revenue would enable the legislature to help publicly funded K-12 schools, community colleges, universities and youth mental health programs. In other words, “it’s for the kids.”
I reminded the Governor that:
- The Democrats control the spending priorities and drafted the State Budget;
- There is a $1.91 billion (12%) increase in the 2013-15 Budget over the current one; and
- If he’s only asking for less than 2% of the $16.5 billion State Budget, then surely he could find such a small amount in the State Budget “for the kids,” without raising taxes on Oregonians.
I also reminded the Governor that, notwithstanding the $1.9 billion of additional revenue, he and his party are once again holding the K-12 school budget hostage, and acting like a tax increase is required to fund it. It’s an obvious set-up. If the Republicans fail to agree to the proposed tax increases, the Democrats will, once again, play the “blame-game,” and accuse Republicans of neglecting children, hating schools and abandoning seniors. This is a transparent and unfortunate case of playing political games instead of focusing on actually helping the kids and other Oregonians. (Click here to read entire article)
– Oregon Representative Dennis Richardson
Lane Solutions Replies:
Rep. Richardson couldn’t be more correct. Like Martha and the Vandellas sang, this time for the Democrats there’s “Nowhere to Run to Nowhere to hide.” They’re in charge of the Oregon House, Senate and Governor’s office. They can spend where and when they want to. They can spend every cent “For the kids.” But they chose to spend it to subsidize health insurance for families of four making up to $94,000/year. After all – unlike kids, these moms and dads will vote.
Tell us what you think below in the Comment section