It seems like every time people talk about taxes, they use the word “fair.” Recently, a letter to the editor from Janet Calvert, president of the League of Women Voters of Lane County, (“Measure 30’s surcharge is progressive, fair,” ODE, Jan. 23) stated that a new tax is progressive, and therefore fair. What is fair about taking more taxpayer money? I have read a lot of articles lately about the budget cuts that would take place if Measure 30 does not pass. If you look at the facts, you will realize that these are merely scare tactics.
How many of you realize that with the tax increase, the current budget grows by $2.5 billion? Even without the proposed tax, the budget will still grow by $1.7 billion. Defeat of this tax increase won’t cut the budget; it only slows down an excessively large growth rate.
During the 1990s’ economic boom, the state’s budget nearly doubled. If spending growth since 1993 had been limited to offset inflation and population growth, the 2003-05 budget would be $8 billion less than $37.1 billion, the current 2003-05 budget. The Legislature spent every dime of that new revenue. Now when times are slow, our Legislature has no savings, no fiscal discipline, wants new taxes, and won’t listen to the people. Our tax system doesn’t need fixing. The Legislature’s spending practices need major reform.
The state’s spending habits can be compared to purchasing a single object at a store. If you are purchasing an object for yourself, and you are using your own money, you look at the
quality and the cost of the object. If you are buying the object for someone you don’t know, you probably are looking at cost and not quality. If you were spending someone else’s money on an object for yourself, you would look mainly at quality, but not cost. But if you are like our government and spend someone else’s money on an object for someone you don’t know, you don’t pay attention to cost or quality.
Let’s just pretend for a second that this “temporary” tax increase (yeah, right) is truly needed. I ran the figures and between the income tax surcharge, the property tax discount being eliminated, and the fact that this is prorated back to January 1, 2003, I will pay an estimated $800 by the end of 2004. You must be saying to yourself, but by those figures, you are part of the wealthy upper-class. Now for the kicker, I am only 25 years old and a recent college graduate. I am married and have an average sized house. I am not rich! Don’t fool yourself, this is going to cost everyone money and the fact is, we already pay enough.
There is nothing fair about taking more money from hard-working individuals, like myself. Vote no on measure 30 and force the Legislature to look at its spending habits, instead of increasing taxes in a state with an already slumping economy.