9 worst Oregon Gov’t Waste examples of 2024

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

For 24 years, the Taxpayers Association of Oregon has given Taxpayer Awards to honor

(#1) Oregon’s worst political figures
(#2) Worst example of government waste
(#3) worst example of bureaucratic bungle of 2024 and
(#5) Golden Schnoz which is worst example of government sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong.

Here are the 4 nominees for worst government waste example of 2024.

WORST EXAMPLE OF GOVERNMENT WASTE NOMINEES

• $200,000 event for ’Kotek’s wife: Oregon Governor Tina Kotek spent $200,000 of taxpayer dollars hiring a consulting firm to put on a one-day mental-health conference that heavily featured Kotek’s wife. The $200,000 conference drew only 28 attendees — that’s $7,100 per attendee! (Oregonian 8/2/24)

• Only 50 addicts received help through Measure 110 phone lines. Measure 110 (which cost $260 million) removed prison time for hard drugs and replaced sentences with a simple $100 ticket and a new drug-rehab phone line. Only 50 people out of the 6,200 drug arrestees used the phone line. Police eventually stopped arresting people. (KOIN 11/15/23)

• The Portland Art Museum received a $250,000 tax bailout while showing “Psycho Beach Party” and firing 175 volunteers. The Legislature gave a $250,000 rescue package to the Portland Art Museum. One of its shows featured a film party for “Psycho Beach Party” and for “Dirty Dancing.” The Museum also fired 175 volunteers because they were not diverse enough in skin color and age. After the firing, the museum was begging for volunteers online. (Portland Art Museum, Tomorrow theater, event date 2/22/24)

• $29 million migrant hotel. Oregon spent nearly $30 million on an airport hotel to house 469 illegal migrants at a cost of $61,833 each. The program soon became too popular, as one California non-profit directed its illegal immigrants to travel to Oregon for the free hotel service. Eventually the program closed for lack of funding. (Oregonian 2/9/24)

•  $38 million for one of the nation’s least-watched baseball teams, the Hillsboro Hops. Government officials allocated more than $38 million in state and local tax dollars to upgrade a stadium (only 11 years old) for the Hillsboro Hops baseball team, which ranks near the bottom 20% in terms of attendance at games. The team averages 1,800 fans, which equals a $21,000 tax subsidy for each fan. (OPB 3/9/24)

•  $30,000 for noncitizens to buy a home. A government-funded program, Hacienda, advertised $30,000 grants for first-time buyers, but its first condition stated that the program was “Only for people who are not American citizens.” Under backlash, the program rescinded the condition, describing it as a mistake. See photo on front for example. (NY Post 8/24/24)

•  State officials hid a beer tax study because it hurt efforts to lobby for an 800% increase in beer taxes. While Governor Brown advocated for a 800% tax, the Oregon Health Authority spent $60,000 in tax dollars to study whether a beer tax would coerce people to stop drinking alcohol. The study concluded higher taxes don’t curb alcohol use; drinkers just pay more in taxes. The state then hid the taxpayer-funded study from lawmakers and the public but did, in fact, share the results with an anti-beer advocacy group pushing for the same tax. The state got caught using our tax dollars to lobby for more taxes. (Oregonian 2/23/24)

•  Free $1,000 checks to criminal homeless. Kotek’s new pilot program, Direct Cash Transfer Plus, gives homeless young people monthly checks of $1,000. The program’s list of first priorities includes non-citizens and people with criminal backgrounds over citizens and those with clean records. (OPB 1/26/24)

•  $22 million in legal costs over foster care agency scandal. Oregon spent $22.8 million in legal costs defending itself against legal action over the state’s failed foster care system.  Problems included sending kids hundreds of miles away from their homes, putting them up in hotels for weeks, and ignoring blatant signs of child abuse. One teen was housed in more than 50 different foster homes. (Oregonian 11/13/24)

Ballots have been sent to Taxpayers Association of Oregon supporters.

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