I wrote a comment at Blue Oregon about the Liz Kimmerly/Progressive Democrats of America/Steve Novick flap that apparently annoyed Kari Chisholm:
Posted by: darrelplant | Jan 22, 2008 10:58:43 PM
Between this kind of crap, the sporadic red-baiting that Kari seems to have no problem with, and Blue Oregon’s lust over the past couple of years for a sales tax, I might as well just read a GOP blog.
Kari responded — but about the sales tax, not the red-baiting — and I tried to post a further response which may or may not make it through the BO comment spam filter.
Kari writes:
I haven’t the foggiest clue what you’re talking about when you say BlueOregon has a lust for a sales tax. BlueOregon itself, of course, has no opinions. It’s just a bunch of files on a server. Maye you’re talking about the broader community that hands out here ’round the water cooler.
(Personally, I hate the sales tax. But maybe that’s just the point – I definitely don’t control what people say here.)
Kari, are you claiming that you don’t even control what you say here? That seems preposterous.
- On 19 December 2007, Jeff Alworth posted “Time for a Sales Tax?” in which he repeated the false claim that a sales tax isn’t necessarily regressive. He pointed to the Oregon Economics blog as an authority on that (following up, of course, on Rep. Scott Bruun’s op-ed). I was able to provide actual non-theoretical data showing that not only are sales taxes regressive, but that they aren’t even a stabilizing influence on the revenue stream.
- On 21 October 2007, “Let’s talk about taxes” was posted, discussing Ted Kulongoski’s and Kurt Schrader’s mentions of a sales tax. In this discussion, you were at least somewhat understanding of the problems of a sales tax, but continued to try to find ways to make it palatable, despite your burning hatred.
- “Create sales tax and reduce income taxes?” was posted on 1 February 2007 without editorial comment. Far from saying that you hated the idea, Kari, you wrote “I’m not sure about this one. Will have to dig in and think about it.”
- On 11 May 2006, “Tax Reform” mentioned an Oregonian op-ed calling for a sales tax (in conjunction with cuts in out “very high” income tax). Your first comment, Kari, was to defend the proposal’s per capita credit that you claimed would have a progressive effect. Again, there’s no evidence in that or further comments of your “hate” for a sales tax.
- An unsigned post on 12 April 2006 titled “Time for a Sales Tax?” calls Oregon a state “where not having a sales tax is a cultural value” before it mentions Ben Westlund and Ted Kulongoski’s support for it. Jeff very vigorously defended the concept of a sales tax on that discussion and you tried to split the difference between Kulongoski’s “consumption tax” and a sales tax.
In mitigation, there have been a couple of Chuck Sheketoff posts (for instance, the one disputing item 1) but there are many, many other comments and several other posts I didn’t include here in which you and Jeff stick up for the idea of a sales tax. I don’t have the time to dig them up this morning, but I could get around to it later. In discussions, I can’t remember either of you ever taking the opposite position.
So I guess by “Blue Oregon” I’m referring to you and Jeff — you know, two of the three names listed as “Editors” on the right side of the page. I didn’t mistake a “bunch of files on a server” as Blue Oregon, they’re just there as evidence that your “hate” for a sales tax is apparently the weakest form of hate known to humankind.