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.
Turnout was over 60% and voters in initiative-heavy Oregon hadn't passed a tax hike in close to 80 years...so this vote is huge.
The message out of Oregon, like the message out of Massachusetts, is resonating: Voters are in a populist mood right now -- not an anti-government one, necessarily, but a populist one nevertheless. The progressive brand of populism that resonated with Oregonians this month is slightly different than the one that rang true in Massachusetts. Yet the message is just as clear.
The real question now is whether DC will listen, or if instead it will continue to cling to its common wisdom.
Additionally, let me vouch for the Oregonians behind this campaign. Kevin Looper is hella smart and one of the best field minds in the country. From what I can tell, their campaign pulled out the stops. They registered and re-registered voters, knocked hundreds of thousands of doors, and made something like a million phone calls.
You want to win? Hone your messaging, mobilize your base, and even in a recession, we can hike taxes on the rich to pay for necessary services.
