Headlines across Oregon are painting a picture of a grim forecast following Democrat’s lead. When the forecast is compared to the Democrat’s wish list to grow government, it is never enough. In real numbers, the forecast is projecting a 11.98% increase. The 2024-25 biennium CPI-U rose by nearly 5.7%, well positioned to maintain service levels.

Minority leader Senator Daniel Bonham (R-Hood River) said, ”Oregon just dropped to #44 in the Chief Executive’s national business climate ranking this year — yet lawmakers continue pushing legislation that increases costs, overregulates industries, and creates an unpredictable economic environment.”

If Oregon doesn’t stop attacking the private sector, we won’t have a private sector left, according to a University of Oregon study showing that Oregon is no longer a competitive place to do business. The states attracting our businesses — Idaho, Texas, Florida — are doing so by cutting red tape, lowering taxes, and treating job creators as partners, not cash cows.”

Oregon’s steadily eroding business climate should motivate legislators to seek improvements. But, lawmakers continue pushing legislation that increases costs, overregulates industries, and creates an unpredictable economic environment. Among the many policies under consideration is SB 916, which allows striking workers eligible for unemployment benefits, will erode the state’s competitiveness even further.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Representative Boomer Wright (R-Reedsport) stated, “We do not have a revenue problem – we are up 12% from the previous biennium. We have a spending problem. Government was not designed to be all things to all people. We should never do for Oregonians what they can do for themselves. Republicans believe in the people, not taxes and more spending,”

House Democrats have blamed tariffs and federal uncertainty despite their reckless spending which has doubled the state budget over the past 10-years.

We ought to be asking Democrats, who have been solely in control of the state budget for 10 years, why the state is not improving, despite revenue that has doubled for over 10 years. Why aren’t Oregon schools better? Why does ODOT say they won’t be able to maintain and plow roads? Why is crime and public safety a growing concern statewide? Why is housing limited and expensive? Why is Oregon far less affordable than 10 years ago?

“The bottom line,” says Reschke, “is that Oregonians, who say affordability in Oregon is their number one concern, should not accept the idea of one more dime in new taxes — whether at Federal, State or local levels. The problem with government budgets is not revenue, it is spending and priorities. Oregonians must demand better from their elected officials, instead of accepting more taxes, which never permanently fix the budget problems, but instead cover up the real issue of the cost of government growing faster than revenues. “


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2025-05-18 22:10:56

Last Update: 2025-05-18 23:39:50