Big Swing-State Tax Win - Yes, It Could Be A Harbinger of Similar Fights Throughout the Country

[marmar]

from OpenLeft:



Big Swing-State Tax Win - Yes, It Could Be A Harbinger of Similar Fights Throughout the Country
by: David Sirota
Thu Jan 28, 2010 at 09:00


Just to follow on Chris's post last night, Oregon is perennially one of the most contested electoral swing states in the country. And this week, it delivered a powerful message on taxes - namely, that Reagan's corpse can be defeated when progressives get bold. Check out this excerpt from the Oregonian (and I know Chris printed it last night, but it's important enough to be reprinted again):

Oregon voters bucked decades of anti-tax and anti-Salem sentiment Tuesday, raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to prevent further erosion of public schools and other state services.

The tax measures passed easily, with late returns showing a 54 percent to 46 percent ratio. Measure 66 raises taxes on households with taxable income above $250,000, and Measure 67 sets higher minimum taxes on corporations and increases the tax rate on upper-level profits.

Campaign ads by supporters highlighted banks and credit card companies and showed images of well-dressed people stepping off private jets. They also hammered on the $10 minimum tax that most corporations have paid since its inception in 1931.

The policy and political importance of this victory cannot be overstated - it comes in a swing-state whose earth has been scorched by right-wing anti-tax/anti-government arguments for decades. It was opposed by all the usual suspects, including celebrity corporatists like Nike CEO Phil Knight. And yet progressives won - resoundingly. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.openleft.com/diary/17140/big-swingstate-tax-win-yes-it-could-be-a-harbinger-of-similar-fights-throughout-the-country

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. Love my state.

I especially love Oregon because the politics here demand open participation and emphasize inclusion over exclusion. Heck, I even appreciate nutjob Bill Sizemore, whose repeated idiocy over the years has done more to get reasonable voters to the polls than any inspirational progressive message.

[gratuitous]

2. The Oregonian got it very wrong

Voters didn't "buck" anything; we affirmed that we believe in our system of government, and that it should be paid for. The winners in our society have been riding in style for a long time, and it's now time for them to contribute monetarily to the system rather than just sucking up its benefits.

Also, in a rather interesting development, it turns out that the general advertising manager for the Oregonian, Debi Walery, also sits on the board of the Northwest Grocery Association, one of the prime opponents to Measures 66 and 67. The Oregonian ran two spadea ads (those partial page wrap-arounds usually reserved for some big event that cover the front page) against Measures 66 and 67. One wonders if the general advertising manager had anything to do with those ads, whether she personally got a commission for them, and why the Oregonian broke its own internal rules in running those ads?

A very good review of the campaign is at:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/27/831024/-Change-comes-to-OregonThe-Oregonian