Claim #1: What the corporate lobbyists are saying —
“Economists say” Measures 66 and 67 will
cost 70,000 jobs. Read more.
Claim #2 — What the corporate lobbyists are saying:
These measures will hurt small businesses.
Read more.
Claim #3 — What the corporate lobbyists are saying:
There’s plenty of money in Salem, so we really don’t need to raise taxes on corporations and rich people. Read more.
News and Updates
January 15, 2010
The opponents get caught making up stories about magic piles of money that don’t really exist. Read the story here.
January 13, 2010
The latest opposition ad attempts to claim that Measures 66 and 67 will impact a bakery... in California?
Some quick web sleuthing by the folks at BlueOregon.com found that Paula’s Bake Shop—featured in the latest vote no ad—isn’t an Oregon bakery at all, but is actually in Auburn, California, about 35 miles east of Sacramento. More to the point, the bake shop is a sole proprietorship, so even if it was in Oregon, they wouldn’t pay a dime more in business taxes.
Noticing a pattern here? The opponents attempt to portray a small business owner as being affected, when the truth is they won’t be. 97.5% of businesses—including nearly all small businesses—will either pay just $150 under Measure 67, or they won’t pay a penny more than they do today.
The corporate lobbyists running the opposition can’t find a small business that will actually be affected, so they’re now just inventing them.
Read the full article at BlueOregon.com.
January 8, 2010:
The Secretary of State’s office admonishes Nelson for sending out fake ballots, saying “...we are very concerned with the timing of your mailing. Sending out an imitation ballot so close to an election, and during the same time window that official ballots are being mailed, significantly increases the risk of voter confusion.” [Source]
January 8, 2010:
The Oregonian fact checks the opponents’ TV and radio ad, and finds that they’re based on false claims. [Source]
“The ad also says the taxes will help pay for $259 million to ‘fund state employee salary increases.’ The average viewer gets the impression that state employees are getting big raises in this budget.
That’s false. State employees are actually taking a pay cut.”
Despite getting busted for making blatantly false claims, the opponents have continued making this claim. In fact, even after being called out by the Oregonian, campaign spokesman Pat McCormick said, “We’re comfortable with the arithmetic.”
January 5, 2010:
Lobbyist Mark Nelson, who’s running the opposition to Measures 66 and 67, gets busted for sending out fake ballots in an apparent attempt to confuse voters.
