Op-Ed: Trust and Taxes
The following is a guest post by Julie Parrish, local businesswoman and candidate for Oregon’s 37th District.
There’s a common theme this election season amongst voters. As I knock on doors of potential constituents, it’s like a mantra that echoes from one street to the next. It’s coming from people in all parties, across all ages. It’s delivered with a frustrated sigh by mothers upset about lost school days. It comes with some pretty colorful words from disgruntled homeowners on the verge of foreclosure. It’s whispered quietly by public employees who fear for their jobs if they speak too loudly. It’s bemoaned by business owners who worry about having to lay off staff to keep their doors open. The mantra is very simple, but it’s growing louder. “Something’s got to give!”
Oregon’s budget situation is one of the most untenable in the country. State revenues are consistently falling; unemployment is hovering around 10.6%. Oregonians I’ve spoken to believe the Legislature’s failure to plan, inability to budget, and propensity to spend have put Oregon on a destructive financial path. While many voters believe that something does indeed have to give, they are worried about just what that “something” is.
Voters lack trust in our government. Oregon’s Legislature is going to have to kick off the next session with a values conversation. We have to look hard at the things we collectively care about, and trust the decisions made by our elected officials won’t negatively impact Oregon for years to come. We cannot continue to go hat-in-hand to taxpayers asking for more money. That simply won’t work in this next session. We have no stomach for a sales tax or user taxes to fund pet projects.
For example, when Measures 66 & 67 passed after a contentious debate that used our kids as political leverage against the business community, Salem politicians proclaimed the results “a win for Oregon kids.” They assured parents that their “yes” vote meant schools would be protected from cuts. Yet here we are less than one year later, and schools are in worse shape than before. Days were lopped off the calendar, and nearly 1,000 teachers and staff statewide have found themselves jobless. As predicted, personal income tax revenues fell after the passage of the tax measures, and Oregon businesses did indeed move out of the state, taking their jobs and tax dollars with them. Our trust was broken.
Oregonians don’t want new taxes. We don’t want a sales tax. We have rejected a sales tax every time it’s come up, and we’ll continue to do so. Many voters abhor the idea of kicker reform, even the corporate kicker, particularly in the face of sixteen million dollars in public wage increases.
We can’t trust that in a recession, the current establishment in Salem will spend our dollars with more prudence than we’d use at home. Without trust, we’ll continue to keep our dollars in our pockets rather than let Salem politicians find ways to spend it for us.
Ultimately, we must get back to core services, and that means to fund what we care about, some things will get cut. Many of us who are running right now know this session won’t be about winning popularity contests. It’s about rebuilding trust with the community, and restoring faith that the Legislature has the best interests of Oregonians in mind with the decisions we make. Interestingly, the current leadership opted to not hold a special session to work on the budget crisis. In an election year, it’s less about holding your trust as it is about holding their seats. The result was that Oregon kids and families got hung out to dry.
Trust is a funny thing. People say trust must be earned, but in politics, with a simple vote, we give it instantly. While you can break ties with a friend who has lost your trust, you can’t revoke trust in our government officials until Election Day. Something indeed does have to give this November….my hope is that it’s not Oregonians who are already crushed under the burden of a failing system. Without trust, there is no chance Oregon will ever get back on track. Yes, something has to give.
You can learn more about Julie and her campaign on Facebook and Twitter. Julie’s opponent, Will Rasmussen, has also been offered the opportunity to submit an op-ed to ThePortlander.
Ms Parrish it is easy to say "live within income" and to vaguely say "cut" or "no tax increases" with nothing specific offered. How about the hard part: What would you cut? How would you balance revenue with receipts?
It is hard. There's nothing easy about running a country, state, city or a family for that matter. Sometimes hard choices have to be made. Giving up things we enjoy and saving the essentials is easier to say than do but better than bankruptcy.
Start with government employee raises, with the exception of emergency services and law enforcement. I didn't get my COLA this year and probably won't next. And since everything else went up it's not fun but it's doable – I have no choice.
If everyone were suffering during this recession, everyone would be willing to make sacrifices. However, there are thousands of government workers thoughout the state who don't even know there is a recession. They still get annual raises for non-existent inflation, 100% payment of medical insurance coverage, and lucrative PERS pensions which often pay more than the recipients made before retirement. Wall Street is still paying obscene salaies and bonuses. Unemployment is predicated upon, and inversely related to income – the more your income the less the unemployment. Government leaders have learned to art of manipulation and have refined it to a science. So what if one in five Americans have been unemployed for more than three months – or given up after two years – they are an acceptable casualty to ensure the other four Americans remain in lock-step with the rest of the Lemmings who march to their inevitable fate. God save our nation – because Washington will only save their own! The UNITED States of America has become a government Titanic – First Class, women and children will get the lifeboats, but men and steerage will gallantly drown.