by Jacob Fuhrer |
A representative from Our Oregon was on campus Tuesday to garner support for a legislative measure that would give more money to Oregon healthcare and local schools by raising taxes on large corporations.
Our Oregon, a nonprofit part of Oregon’s public employees unions, estimates the increased taxes could bring in $2.5 billion each year to Oregon’s budget and would only affect businesses that have sales over $25 million in the state.
That’s good news for larger international companies like Nike and Intel who work in Oregon but do much of their business sales outside the state.
Instead, Tom Bluth ‘14, a volunteer with Our Oregon, says the measure would largely affect companies like Bank of America, McDonald's and Comcast. Bluth said the money would help schools in Oregon, which rank 46th in the nation for providing adequate education to students.
“Oregon schools do lots and lots of things well…but in other ways Oregon schools are struggling,” said Richard Christen, professor of education.
Christen said Oregon has relatively low teacher salaries, underfunded preschool education and some of the largest class sizes in the country.
“A measure like this is absolutely essential for education,” Christen said.
The measure would also allocate more funds to Oregon healthcare, though Bluth did not have the breakdown on how the $2.5 billion would be split between healthcare and education.
Despite the possible benefits, opponents on the Oregonian editorial board say the tax unfairly targets corporations and could force companies to pass the tax increases onto consumers in the form of higher prices.
Indeed, Bluth acknowledged the possibility of a price increase, but says that’s a matter for the free market to decide.
William Schlichter, a senior nursing major, says Our Oregon earned his signature on the petition.
“It was very insightful,” Schlichter said. “They were able to...let me know a lot more about how Oregon’s tax system is run.”
The measure needs 88,000 signatures by May to make it onto Oregon’s ballot in November.
Jacob Fuhrer is a reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at fuhrer17@up.edu or on Twitter @jacobfuhrer.
