3.23.2005

Rainy day (fund) blues

Tuesday's Argus has an opinion piece (not available online) written by Senator Bruce Starr on his proposal for a rainy day fund to be voted into the Oregon constitution, JSR 23. The proposal was discussed earlier this month in the Senate Revenue Committee.


I think that it is time to vote on a proposal for a rainy day fund. I am not convinced that cutting expenses by an additional 3% to fund it is the best way to go.

In the USA, the vast majority of state revenue falls into three categories:
  • Property taxes. Very stable and reliable.
  • Sales taxes. Moderatly stable and reliable
  • Income taxes. Unstable and unreliable, they are higher during times of booming economy.
Oregon does not have sales taxes, and since Measure 5 the percentage of total revenue generated from property taxes has declined. This leaves us with the only option of funding everything mainly with the revenue from income taxes. But there are expenses that will need more money when the economy is weak and the revenue from income taxes is low, for example programs that promote job growth or that target the poor, such as the Oregon health plan. And you have long term investments like public education that need to be funded at an adequate level during good times and bad times.

I am hopeful that both sides of the isle in the legislature will find a compromise on how to fund a rainy day fund to get it on the ballot next year. I just wish that our representatives in Salem had the courage to fix the structural problem of funding for Oregon.

For more solid information on Oregon's revenue and expenses, I highly recommend visiting the website of Citizens for Oregon's Future.

posted by Unknown @ 10:09 AM

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