Here is the latest television spot for Yes on Measure 104 by the official campaign. The Measure 104 TV ad is very good and shows what is at stake.
This is no joke. For instance, the politicians created HB 2006 in 2017 which rolled back the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction for homeowners by introducing new income limits and tough rules on which homes qualify. The tax was labeled Not-a-Tax (despite raising a $100 million) and was allowed to bypass the Constitution’s 3/5 rule.
The politicians also created HB 2060 in 2017 which voided the Small Business Tax Cut for any businesses that didn’t hire new employees. The tax was deemed Not-a-Tax (despite it raises a ¼ billion) and was allowed to bypass the Constitution’s 3/5 rule.
These are real tax raising tax bills being sold as non-tax budget tweaks. Don’t buy the lie – Vote Yes on Measure 104!
Nearly 75% of the public has not voted. Please get your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to turn in their ballots and Vote Yes on Measure 104.
We need to honor the will of the voters.
In 1996, Oregon Voters approved a Constitutional amendment requiring all taxes and fees to require a 3/5th majority of votes.
This higher 3/5 vote (60%) threshold in the Constitution has stopped a flood of tax increases from being passed over the past 20 years.
Now, the politicians have found a way around it.
By changing who qualifies for tax credits and deductions, the politicians can raise billions in new taxes without it ever being considered a tax increase.
This is why we need Measure 104!
— Was this article helpful? Enjoy lower taxes? Support the Taxpayer Association with a small donation here[2]. Tax credit and tax deductible options.
By Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Press Release,
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), who led the federal charge against[3] tolling along I-5 and I-205 in the Portland metro area, released the following statement after Governor Tina Kotek announced her decision to halt the plans.
“This is a long overdue but welcome announcement. The entire process has been riddled with flaws and missteps from the beginning – including an unacceptable failure to inform the public and listen to feedback from those who would be impacted most. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I’ve been working hard to bring Oregonians’ voices to the table and make their concerns understood loud and clear. From the hearing room to the House floor, I’ve brought this issue directly to Secretary Buttigieg, the Federal Highway Administrator, and I’ve introduced multiple bills to pump the brakes on tolling.
“With this decision, Oregonians were successful in making their voices heard, and our communities will be better off because of it. Stopping tolling will protect our neighborhoods from traffic congestion and save Oregonians from paying a regressive tax just to get to work. I hope this decision to halt tolling gives families some peace of mind, and now I urge the governor and state officials to kill these proposals permanently so Oregonians never have to go through this again,” Chavez-DeRemer said.
Chavez-DeRemer began speaking out[4] against tolling last year with a letter to Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. She quickly followed up with a meeting, where she made it clear that tolling should not[5] move forward. Chavez-DeRemer introduced two anti-tolling pieces of legislation: the Tolling Transparency Act[6] and the No Tolls on Oregon Roads Act[7]. Last September, she questioned[8] U.S. Department of Transporation (USDOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg directly on the department’s ability to prevent state-led tolling proposals from moving forward on federal highways. She questioned Administrator Bhatt in a separate committee hearing at the end of last year and expressed frustration with the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) failed process for implementing tolling.
The ever-popular and ever-growing In-and-Out Burger still wants to build a restaurant in the Portland area, even after an independent hearings officer denied its application in 2022 to erect a drive-through at 10565 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway in unincorporated Washington County. The denial stemmed from the restaurant’s proposed location between a Commercial Business District, which allows drive-throughs, and an Office Commercial District, which seldom does. Concerns focused on parking and driving aisles interfering with traffic in the Office Commercial district, but In-and-Out, which appealed the decision in May 2023 to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, suggested a transportation management plan to prevent customers from interfering with high traffic could address the concerns.
There is also a plan to set up a restaurant in the Bridgeport Village mall near Tualatin
We state up front that we acknowledge that Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is indeed smart (she wisely fought her way to be Governor) but our point is that Kotek is not very helpful — and could be easily replaced by a fifth-grader.
Kotek submitted only one bill during the February legislative session— even a fifth-grader could do that.
Kotek’s 2023 budget included a 23% increase in spending but left it to others to figure out how to pay for it–a fifth-grader could do that.
Kotek last year, let 300 bills pile up on her desk before going to the public and asking them how she should vote on them — and ended up saying yes nearly 98% of the time—a fifth-grader could that.
Kotek toured all 36 Oregon counties on a grand listening tour, a tour where people didn’t even know she was in town. Kotek never shared what she learned, and never mentioned any concerns from the 12 counties that voted to study leaving Oregon for Idaho. Even a fifth grader could tour Oregon, meet mostly your friends and come away with no actual benefit to Oregonians.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, hoping for a Major League Baseball stadium inside the city, encouraged backers of the Portland Diamond Project to consider the 144-acre Rose City Golf Course. But Craig Cheek of the Portland Diamond Project said backers of the MLB team still prefer the 164-acre RedTail Golf Course in Beaverton in Washington County and offered the city of Portland—its owners—$50 million for the property in January, according to the Portland Business Journal[11]. A smaller site at the Lloyd Center has also been discussed. But the RedTale site near Washington Square Mall lacks public transit and infrastructure. Salt Lake City also hopes to be the new site in the West for an MLB team, so time may be running out for the Portland Diamond Project and a proposed new $1.2 billion new stadium.
Already, Oregon taxpayers paid $40 million to upgrade the Hillsboro Hops baseball stadium which only serves less than 2,000 people on a given day, making it among the worst sports attendance leagues.
Photo award: killed, tortured ex-Oregonian by Hamas
Former Oregon student and German-Israeli dual citizen Shani Louk was kidnapped by Hamas in Israel on October 7th. Shani Louk was later raped and paraded on the streets of Gaza.
The Associated Press photo of her dead body on a truck bed (photo not featured here) was just (eerily) awarded[12], “Team Picture Story of the Year.” by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute located at the Missouri School of Journalism.
The Times of Israel reports,[13]“The father of Shani Louk, who was abducted and killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, said Saturday it was a “good thing” that a photo of his daughter being kidnapped was among a collection of photos that won a prestigious journalism award, though her friends and pro-Israel activists decried the move.”
The father also said “This is history. In 100 years they will look and know what happened here. I travel the world and everyone knows who Shani is,”
This is what Shani Louk from her social media before October 7th.
Drug users gathering at the Multnomah County Central Library to use fentanyl face a crackdown by the Portland Police Bureau, which arrested 17 people and issued 36 drug citations. Those 17 were addition to 9 arrested a few days earlier.
Police officers arrested 11 people on outstanding warrants and four for trespassing.
The library is considered a fentanyl hot-spot with many smoking the drug in public.
The Multnomah County Library District is one of the most expensive library districts in America. It just finished a costly $300+ million remodel, and now it is unsafe and a crime zone.
P.S. The Taxpayers Association of Oregon was the only organization to oppose the $300 million library tax bond when it came before voters in 2020.
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the Court would not override a lower court’s ruling that puts the Oregon gun control measure, Measure 114, (one of the nation’s most restrictive gun control measures) on hold.
The Oregon Court of Appeals did expedite the process to receive arguments over Measure 114. The Court said that implementing Measure 114 right now would “upend the status quo”, which some say is a code word for creating mass chaos and disaster because of the bill’s wide-sweeping changes coupled with Measure 114’s undefined parts.
Look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and their latest job growth numbers.
See anything curious?
It appears that America’s job growth is fueled by government jobs as shown with the government and education categories.
These numbers are not too different for Oregon.
When government jobs boom — so does the cost of paying for those government jobs.
In Oregon the average government employee makes $75,000 a year (including overtime/benefits). The Oregon minimum wage worker makes as little as $25,000 a year. You can see how many workers it takes to fund the government growth.
Also, notice how manufacturing had no growth in March. In Oregon, our State saw a decline in manufacturing. The no manufacturing means we are a nation that is not making anything — except making new government jobs.
It looks like Oregon’s firefighters got what they paid for in the Oregon Legislature’s 2024 session.
In the last week of the session, the Legislature passed HB 4045[14], the Public Safety Workforce Stabilization Act, by a vote of 55-2 in the House and 25-5 in the Senate.
The bill, which Governor Kotek has not yet signed, would lower the retirement age with full benefits for firefighters with five years on the job from 60 years to 55, substantially increasing the deficit of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and increasing employer costs.
“…we believe that public servants deserve robust pay and benefits, excellent health care, and solid retirement. However, we are concerned that HB 4045 risks making the entire system insolvent through the unanticipated consequences via well intentioned policy,” commented Hasina Wittenberg, speaking for the Special Districts Association of Oregon & Oregon Fire District Director’s Association.
Left unmentioned in most media coverage of the bill is the name of the legislator behind it, Rep. Dacia Grayber, a Democrat who represents House District 28.
State Rep. Dacia Grayber
Grayber’s role is relevant when you consider her occupation and examine contributions to her 2022 election campaign.
Second, at least $45,000, a hefty chunk of contributions to her 2022 campaign, came from firefighter-affiliated labor unions:
Contributor Amount
Oregon State Fire Fighters Council $ 10,000
International Association of Fire Fighters FIREPAC. $ 10,000
Portland Metro Fire Fighters PAC (223) $ 10,000
Professional Firefighters PAC (3219) $ 10,000
Salem Fire PAC (245) $ 5,000
In a March 4, 2024, letter to the Chief Clerk of the House, Grayber declared a potential conflict of interest because she could be impacted by the retirement age change. That’s not enough.
A May 2021 report[16] from the Secretary of State’s Audits Division noted Oregon is one of only two states that require legislators to vote on matters on which they have an actual conflict of interest.
“The vast majority of states…either require or allow legislators to recuse themselves from voting on such matters,” the report said. “Some states go further, barring lawmakers from taking part in any discussion or action on bills in which they have a personal interest.”
The audit declared that such declarations are “a legislative loophole…(that) undermines the idea that public officials should not be involved in decisions that would benefit them, their family, or close associates.”
The report also cited a recommendation by Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics “…that a conflict of interest is not resolved by being transparent about it…”
The audit report called for the Oregon Legislature to “…consider changing statutes and chamber rules to require lawmakers to recuse themselves from any discussions, debates, or votes on such measures.”
Want to see more memes?Just type the word “meme” into the Oregon Catalyst Search Bar on the right hand margin and see the site’s extensive library of memes and other visual messages.
Why memes? There is only so many breaking news stories of Oregon’s apocalypse we can broadcast on this website before the viewers start descending into chronic depression.
40% utility hike pays for rich people’s EVs, heat pumps
Portland General Electric is request for a 7.4 percent increase in 2025, saying it would boost residents’ cost of electricity by 40 percent over 2022 rates. PGE, Oregon’s largest electric utility, says it needs more income to build new substations, transmission lines, and energy storage and replace poles and wires, according to the Portland Business Journal[25]. The utility’s officials also say they need to reduce wildfire risks as well as carbon emission by investing in green energy—solar panels, wind farms, and electric vehicles and heat pumps. The people who can afford these luxuries are the higher income Oregonians. Heat Pumps cost triple the cost of electric heaters. Teh average cost of Electric Vehicle is over $60,000.
PGE estimated it would spend $2.3 billion on transmission and distribution improvements over four years, but it has revised that estimate upward to $3.3 billion. PacifiCorp’s Pacific Power utility is also facing a backlash after requesting a rate increase. The Journal reported that higher housing costs and taxes have already curtailed Portland’s competitive advantage among West Coast urban areas and higher electricity rates would damage it even more. The request for a rate increase has called into question PGE’s investor return on investment, CEO compensation of $6.9 million, and residential rates being higher than those for commercial and industrial customers.
People become homeless waiting months for jobless benefits
KATU/KPTV[26] reports, “Another Oregonian has become homeless waiting for benefits from the Oregon Employment Department.Jason Pence is the fourth person in two weeks that KATU has spoken to who is facing eviction or already evicted from their home while waiting for those benefits…KATU has been flooded with calls and emails from applicants complaining about long wait times and a lack of communication from the state agency.”
This is bad.
It all started with the fact that Oregon’s unemployment system was using decades old software.
The agency was given tens of millions to fix it — they never did.
Then came Covid. The requests overwhelmed the system and crashed it, causing a quarter million people to be stranded.
Then they put in the new system.
Now it is facing unacceptable delays causing people to become homeless.
Read the story[26] to realize it is happening to real people.
China has been craving an anschluss[27] with Taiwan for a long time, since 1949. If Xi Jinping craves a legacy in Chinese history, accomplishing this unification looks more promising than what he is doing to the Chinese economy.
Given the threat Taiwan faces, and the significant loss of freedom a defeat would bring, you’d think military service in Taiwan would be an honorable profession, bringing with it high social status, but no the opposite is the case. The Taiwanese armed forces struggle to meet manpower needs. The country’s service academy, the primary means of training its office corps, struggles to get enough applicants to fill its classes.
What a contrast with the United States. We face relatively less threat from abroad and yet are culturally inclined to prioritize our military and honor military service. Getting accepted into an American service academy is a highly competitive prospect.
This contrast should also be a factor in, the degree to which, America should stick its neck out to defend Taiwan. We can’t want their freedom more than they do.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has claimed more than $5.7 million of property owned by a Houston man who ran a drug-trafficking ring in six Oregon counties. Fayao “Paul” Rong, 53, who was sentenced in July 2023 to 2½ years in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, purchased more than a dozen homes in residential neighborhoods in Clatsop, Columbia, Marion, Linn, Polk, and Yamhill counties and turned them into indoor marijuana growing operations, selling the product out of state, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive[29]. The government seized 14 properties, while the owner of another paid $400,000 to avoid forfeiting it. In one year, Rong’s drug ring reportedly sold more than $13.2 million worth of illegal marijuana.
Lars Larson: Dubious legal trick used against gun rights
I recently received the honor of being unanimously elected by my Senate Republican colleagues to become the Minority leader.
I came to Salem a small business owner, a parent, a concerned resident – seeking to restore balance and make our legislature work for the people who elected them to improve our state.
This year, I have discussed with you many concepts for a better Oregon. I have called on the state to ACT through Accountability, Creating solutions and Tackling issues that will make our residents’ lives better. I have also discussed with you the concept of each state being a laboratory of what works and what doesn’t.
As leader, I plan to continue these discussions intellectually, analytically and authentically. We need to continue to be honest about what is happening, what is working and why we are doing what we are doing. I truly believe our state and country is at a crossroads and there is a very clear distinction between the working class and the ruling class that needs to end.
Oregon has held a one-party rule for decades. One party alone has had uninterrupted power to do whatever they want. One would hope that would be solving problems. And yet, our state and states in similar political structures are plagued with high poverty, homelessness, crime and a decreasing quality of life.
These realities need to be identified and discussed every step of the way. The beauty of it all, is the facts and the data will speak for themselves.
For weeks we have encountering crashed pages on the Oregon Secretary of state Election website (as seen above).
The Secretary of State said they needed more funding[32] just two weeks ago. This is addition to the $10 million in new funding awarded by the 2024 February Legislative Session.
We wrote[33] that we hope they get the funding they need, especially in light of a new massive campaign finance bureaucracy soon to be imposed and impact every single campaign in Oregon.
We also hope the Secretary of State does not become another bureaucratic casualty as we have seen with …
• Human Resources with their Cover Oregon crash
• Employment Department job benefit system crash
• Housing Department computer crash
• DMV computer crash
• Paid Leave program delays, problems and turnovers
The Taxpayers Association of Oregon once published a meme on this:
Want to see more memes?Just type the word “meme” into the Oregon Catalyst Search Bar on the right hand margin and see the site’s extensive library of memes and other visual messages.
Why memes? There is only so many breaking news stories of Oregon’s apocalypse we can broadcast on this website before the viewers start descending into chronic depression.
