I have been trying to wade through the panic and get my arms around the numbers of Measure 30. I was particularly interested in Oregon’s spending, adjusted for inflation and population growth.
You would expect that the state’s spending would increase as the Consumer Price Index and population increased.
Anything beyond that would be growth in excess of our economy and potentially beyond our ability to pay for that growth.
Using the 1995-97 biennium as the base, the state’s spending was 18 percent above inflation and population growth over the six years from 1995 to 2001, and 5 percent above the eight years from 1995 to 2003.
If Measure 30 passes, the 2003-05 budget will be a whopping 45 percent higher than it was 10 years ago. That’s 11 percent above the growth in inflation and population since 1995!
Voting no on Measure 30 will set a budget that has increased 35 percent from 1995 but it will bring state spending back in line to only 0.3 percent above inflation and population growth.
Reference calculations, charts and a similar analysis of total statewide education spending showing that statewide spending on education increased 26 percent over the past 8 years and exceeded inflation and population growth by 5 percent over the past 8 years are available at http://www.Oregon30.org.
Don’t let the fear talk about cuts scare you. The money is there to provide all of the same services we have today. If larger amounts of money each year don’t seem to go as far, I can only assume that it is not being spent as efficiently. We cannot continue to outspend our economy. Many in Oregon are complaining about the federal deficit — don’t let that kind of spending imbalance happen here!