Oregon voters:
Next week you should be receiving your voters' pamphlet -- followed by your vote-by-mail ballot.
Both measures on the ballot are tricky ones. The first one, Measure 49, is designed to be overlooked. Don't overlook it! It's a wolf in sheep's clothing. The second one, Measure 50, is more straightforward, but the devil is in the details.
If you don't want to research these, then look at my rationale and take my advice -- vote NO on both items!
| Measure 49 MODIFIES MEASURE 37; CLARIFIES RIGHT TO BUILD HOMES; LIMITS LARGE DEVELOPMENTS; PROTECTS FARMS, FORESTS, GROUNDWATER. | NO |
Oregonians passed Measure 7 and Measure 37 and sent a clear message: If the government places new restrictions on how you may use your land, then they have to pay you for how it impacts your property values. M37 is a fair decision -- it allows land-use planning, as long as the politicians are willing to pay for it. For example, you buy a $100K piece of property in 2007 that is zoned for homes, farming, or business use. In 2009, local planners decide to change the zoning of your property that only allows a forested park. Under M37, you have the right to file a demand that the local government either pay you for how their decision affects your property value. If they cannot or will not pay, then their new regulations are set-aside. M49 makes it much more difficult to file such a demand, and limits your rights to use your land even if the planners won't pay you for the impacts of their new regulations. By reading the ballot title of Measure 49, you wouldn't know that it basically reverses the most important parts of Measure 37. Measure 49 is the result of a series of closed-door meetings among local and state "urban planners" who want the power to regulate the use of your property without paying you for it. They actually bypassed the normal process for creating an unbiased ballot title! Remember, that the correct answer for both measures in this election is NO! | |
| Measure 50 AMENDS CONSTITUTION: DEDICATES FUNDS TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN, FUND TOBACCO PREVENTION, THROUGH INCREASED TOBACCO TAX. | NO |
Sin taxes: a tax specifically levied on consumers of socially-discouraged products (usually tobacco and alcohol). Sin taxes are easy to get passed, because people naturally "vilify" heavy consumers of the sin-taxed product. When these taxes pay for programs that counteract the impacts of those products, then I might consider the tax as reasonable. But when we impose taxes on only a few Oregonians to pay for unrelated new programs, then we're simply abusing those people in order to pay for something else. Measure 50 is an attempt to start a new medical program that would provide care to more Oregon children than we do now. Great idea! Great goal! However, paying for that program through a cigarette tax does not make sense. The number of smokers is declining, but some people have decided to continue to smoke. If we continue to raise taxes on these people, they will simply bypass the law by ordering cigarettes over the Internet or through rouge smuggling operations. As a result, the program will gradually lose its funding base. Remember, that the correct answer for both measures in this election is NO! | |
Link:
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