Clearing up confusion about Measures 66 & 67

Yesterday I received a few emails that show that the mis-information from the opposition to Measures 66&67 is confusing Oregon voters.  Here is an email I received from a woman named Lois:

This bill needs to be reworked.  It will break the backs of Oregon farmers! How about looking at the long term consequences.

I totally understand where the confusion comes from.  An op-ed in today's Oregonian  written by the president of the Oregon Farm Bureau reinforces the scare tactics that are unfortunately resonating with some Oregon voters.

Here was my reply:

Hi Lois –

Thanks for writing me back.  It is my understanding that the way the measures are written they won’t significantly impact the majority (92%) of Oregon’s farmers.  Most farms are businesses that are classified as LLCs, and LLCs are required to only pay the $10 corporate minimum, which will only go up to $150/year. 

I really believe that Measures 66 & 67 are good for all of Oregon, but they are especially good for rural Oregonians. Rural Oregonians are far more likely to rely on the Oregon Health Plan. Seniors and people with disabilities living in rural Oregon, like my uncle who is a retired logger in Sweet Home, rely more heavily on long-term care programs – in-home care, assisted living, and nursing home care. These measures would help to preserve these vital services.  I also feel that kids in Oregon schools today deserve a full school year in addition to full offering of educational programs, such as FFA or 4H, which are being cut all over Oregon because of huge shortages in education budgets.

Thank you for your time

- Katy

 In fact, the vast majority--more than 85%--of Oregon farms are sole proprietorships, so they pay absolutely nothing under Measure 67.  Most of the remaining 15% are partnerships, S-corps, or C-corps with less than $500,000 in sales, so they pay only $150. Only 2.2% of farms have enough sales to possibly pay more than $500 under the new corporate minimum tax.

This is why we need to get the word out about these measures by contacting voters and giving them the facts.  Please email our organizer Chris if you can volunteer with OLCV to help get the word out.