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September 02, 2006

TABOR Would Harm the Middle Class

The only real example we have of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, is Colorado's version. Proponents of TABOR spin-off measures around the country, including Oregon's Measure 48, are simultaneously touting the economic growth in Colorado as reason to support these measures and distancing themselves from the problems that have resulted from Colorado's TABOR by saying their measures really are not the same thing. It is classic double-speak.

Steve Buckstein of Cascade Policy Institute, an Oregon-based free market think tank, exhibited this double-speak in his recent op-ed, "Oregon’s New Umbrella: The Rainy Day Amendment," in which he claims, based on the Colorado TABOR experience, that Measure 48 would bring Oregon "the fastest economic growth rate of any state over the next five years." But in addressing the problems associated with TABOR, he says, "Colorado’s TABOR amendment is actually quite different from the proposed Oregon Rainy Day Amendment." That is true. According to the Oregon Center for Public Policy, Oregon's version is actually worse. We'll get to that in a minute.

Colorado's economy has done well under TABOR, but the important question Oregon voters should consider is whether the benefits have been shared across the board, so that the majority of Colorado residents are experienced an improved quality of life. The devil is in the details. We know that the quality of the state's roads has declined dramatically in the face of budget cuts that have prevented road maintenance, that funding for higher education has nearly fallen off the face of the earth, that the state's debt per capita has skyrocketed, and that reliance on food stamps has increased. In fact, the economic impact on Colorado families in the middle and lower income sectors has not been good and quality of life indicators overall are beginning to drop.

A 52-page report by The Bell Policy Center, "Opportunity Lost: When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado's Families," takes an in-depth look at the working poor in Colorado and finds that the state not only is not doing enough to help the working poor rise above the poverty level and begin to contribute to the state's economy, but that TABOR ties the state's hands so that it cannot help them. Moreover, since TABOR was adopted, the city of "Denver has seen increased disparities in household income, with those at the higher and lower ends growing more rapidly than the middle." The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Not exactly the American dream, is it?

The Oregon Center for Public Policy published a report in June of this year that said Measure 48, Oregon's version of TABOR, would make recessions worse in Oregon. In fact, the report says, had Measure 48 been in effect during the last recession, "all state services outside of unemployment payments would have been denied most of the population and inflation growth the TABOR proponents claim to allow. Services that experience increased demands during recessions, such as the Oregon Health Plan, would have been incapable of keeping up with rising needs."

If your mentality regarding society is that of a team player, you are concerned about the concept of "lifting all boats." This concern is not shared by the Libertarian backers of Measure 48, who believe each person is responsible for himself alone. One wonders why someone would choose to live in a society where people are not knit together by common concern for the welfare of each other, but rather look only to see how each can benefit from interactions with the other.

Measure 48 is not a good social move for Oregon, particularly in light of new reports from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that despite a strong economy, typical Oregon household incomes are not rising, too many people remain without health insurance, and poverty is not declining.

“Oregon’s economy is doing great, but the prosperity is not being widely shared,” said Michael Leachman, policy analyst for the OCPP. “Oregonians should be proud of the economic growth they are producing, but they should also wonder why they aren’t seeing more of the benefits,” he added.

The OCPP analysis of Census data released today shows that the current strong economic recovery has not restored income or health insurance to the levels that existed prior to the last downturn in 2001.

With TABOR contributing to a similar growth in disparity between the poor and the wealthy and a shrinking middle class in Colorado, one must wonder whether it is right to exacerbate the same problem already underway in Oregon by passing Measure 48. A state that has often been on the front lines in its efforts to ensure quality of life and opportunity for all its citizens ought not be lured by the economic siren song of Measure 48.

Posted by Becky at September 2, 2006 11:03 AM