Oregonians to Vote on Cigarette Tax Hike, School Aid Increase

AT&T Internet News Service ^ | 16 September 2002 | BRAD CAIN

[SheLion]

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon residents are voting this week on a cigarette tax increase and a boost in school aid in an effort to stem the state's budget problems.

Votes will be tallied Tuesday for a measure that would raise the cigarette tax by 60 cents and another that would take $150 million from a Lottery-fed education endowment fund to shore up state school aid. Neither measure faces organized opposition.

Under the cigarette-tax proposal, the levy on a pack of cigarettes would increase from 68 cents to $1.28 and generate about $70 million. Most of the money would go to the state's health plan for low-income residents. If the measure fails, the health plan funding would be cut by $70 million.

Eighteen other states already have raised cigarette taxes this year to help balance their budgets in the midst of the nation's economic slump.

The tobacco industry decided not to launch a major advertising campaign against the tax increase because the measure is widely expected to pass.

The other proposal on Tuesday's ballot would give schools $150 million from an education fund in order to cover a cut lawmakers approved earlier this year to balance the budget. If the measure fails, that budget cut will stand.

Oregon is facing a $482 million budget shortfall, which will not be affected if the measures pass.

All Oregon elections are conducted by mail, but voters may leave ballots in designated drop-sites by Tuesday evening.

[SheLion]

But 25-30% of the population can and do "support everyone". Productivity is so high that the majority need not work at all, or be taxed at all. They're just realizing it very slowly.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh

heh! You might be right!

[SheLion]

Hi she, you obviously haven't heard the last one from California yet, they want to make it mandatory to sell only coffee beans which are environment friendly and fair wage friendly....... they were allowed a free hand with smokers, so now they are gunning for everybody, and still nobody attempt to stop them.

Something is definitely amiss here!

[Tailback]

I'm an Oregon Freeper. My parents both smoked and my mother died from cancer. My father recently had his cancer go into remission after a long stint of chemotherapy. I sent in my ballot last week and voted AGAINST raising the cigarette tax. My parents both chose freely to smoke despite knowing the health risks and it's not fair to smokers to target them unfairly with additional taxes.