“No One Left to Tax”

In this short clip from Wednesday’s House Committee on Business and Labor hearing, Rep. Michael Schaufler, D-Happy Valley, made an emotional off-the-cuff statement about how jobs are being killed in this state and how we have “no one left to tax.” He was the only Democrat to vote against the tax bills that were later referred to voters as Measures 66 and 67.

Later that afternoon, Schaufler apologized to the House for making this speech while in committee, calling it out of order. On the contrary, perhaps some of his colleagues owe the people of Oregon an apology for not admitting that what he said is all too true.

Credit to Oregon Politico statehouse reporter Sarah Ross for capturing the video. Oregon Politico is the news arm of Cascade Policy Institute.

Steve Buckstein is founder and senior policy analyst at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research center.