Measure 41What is it?

Dubbed “The Oregon Family Tax Cut,” it would extend to Oregonians for their state income tax the same personal deduction they get on their federal taxes ($3,200 per family member).

Where did it come from?

This measure’s major proponent is FreedomWorks, a national organization based in Washington, D.C., with an Oregon affiliate. FreedomWorks is the result of a 2004 merger between Citizens for a Sound Economy (a conservative think tank with strong ties to major corporations such as General Electric and General Motors) and Empower America (an organization that lobbied for tax reform and Social Security reform). FreedomWorks is headed by former House majority leader Dick Armey and claims to have 700,000 grassroots activists nationwide fighting for “less government, lower taxes and more freedom.” The measure is supported by Oregon anti-tax activist Bill Sizemore.

What would it do?

It’s estimated that the average Oregonian would save roughly $140 per person, per family. A family of four would see its annual state income tax obligation decline by about $560.

Reality check:

Opponents of the measure say passage would result in cutting services to public schools and other state programs as the state realizes a decline in revenue. Oregon would lose $151 million from its 2005-07 budget already passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. For the next biennium, 2007-09, Oregon would see its revenue decline by $641 million from the state general fund.

Recommendation: No.

Oregonians, for the last 15 years, have seized on the belief that state spending has spun out of control and efforts are needed to curb the generosity of the Legislature and the governor.

Those sentiments became the backbone of passage of such initiatives as Measure 5, the property tax limitation, and Measure 47, which placed further limitations on property taxes and enacted Oregon’s double majority rule, which made it more difficult to pass local and state funding initiatives.

The same anti-tax march was visible in the crushing defeat of Measure 30, the temporary income-tax increase placed before voters as a means of dodging crippling setbacks during a recessive economy.

Under the combined weight of anti-tax ballot initiatives and the no-new-taxes mind set, state government has trimmed and cut until Oregon’s K-12 school system and higher education are ranked in the bottom 10 nationwide.

Now, with Measure 41, the proponents are continuing that mantra, saying state government has done nothing to improve efficiencies or to wisely spend state tax revenue.

Don’t be misled.

Russ Walker, the chief petitioner for FreedomWorks Oregon, describes the measure as a “family tax cut” that will have minimal impact on revenue for the state. That impact, according to one Eastern Oregon school district, is estimated to equal the loss of 20 school days or the elimination of 30 teaching positions.

Still, Walker adheres to the line that state government simply isn’t spending its money correctly, and that efficiencies within government will make up the deficit. Walker even suggests there is enough waste in state government to cut another 8 percent to 10 percent and still get the job done.

Walker goes on to say there is no clear correlation between spending on schools and student achievement.

He chides the state for its PERS system of retirement for state and local government employees, yet he chooses to fight PERS by backing a ballot initiative that hurts schools, but does nothing to solve real spending problems.

With major backing from FreedomWorks, this measure smells of an agenda not born in Oregon, yet inflicted upon Oregonians who too easily buy in to the rhetoric about efficiencies.

In exchange, this measure would result in a small savings on annual income tax bills. In the larger picture, it would mortgage those savings on the backs of school children and the elderly.