Tuesday’s (9/17) Oregonian (Portland) includes an editorial by columnist Tim Nesbitt, who has served as an adviser to Governors Ted Kulongoski and John Kitzhaber, and is past president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. “Dollar for dollar, no new tax has faced a steeper hill to climb than the Portland arts tax. At $35 per taxpayer per year, it generated more opposition than taxes 10 times its size…. This little tax will deliver 68 teachers to classrooms in Portland-area schools districts this year…. Its supporters deserve a cheer for their grit and determination.… The primary purpose of taxes is to pay for things we want for our communities. Those things or services are usually broadly distributed regardless of who pays what share.… I am happy to contribute to the effort to expand the learning and unleash the creativity of our schoolchildren. But those are the same goals I support as an income taxpayer and a property taxpayer…. In effect, the arts tax will fill gaps that Portland school boards and principals created by applying their scarce resources to other programs.… But if taxes of this kind become our only option for financing a full curriculum, we’re headed toward an even more fragmented and fragile education system.”
Posted September 18, 2013
