After a couple of dark years, Oregon is finally beginning to emerge from the recession. January marked the fourth straight month of job growth and an unemployment rate of 10.4%. While that's still higher than the national average, it's much better than where Oregon was two years ago.
As we climb out of the recession, corporate lobbyists and Republicans in the Oregon legislature want Oregon taxpayers to pay businesses to hire people and are calling it a "jobs bill." This bill would offer $3,000 tax credits for each new job that businesses create in Oregon.
From Oregon Business Magazine: "Rep Tobias Read (D-Beaverton), co-chair of the transportation and economic development committee, says the program would be ripe for abuse. 'The problem is, you can't ever tell whether you are unnecessarily subsidizing something that would have happened anyhow.'"
In other words, it'd be a taxpayer handout to corporations without any accountability or assurance that it's actually working.
Statesman Journal, 
Nearly 40 years ago, Oregon began to solidify its reputation as an environmental pioneer with the introduction of the famed Bottle Bill. Now, we’re making headlines again for potentially being the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags in grocery stores and retail shops. 