DO OREGONIANS VALUE PUBLIC SERVICES?
“Measure 28 is defeated, but voters deliver a message to lawmakers about how highly they value public services.” Or so we are to believe, according to the January 29 Oregonian editorial, “Oregonians make a painful choice.” But does the election outcome really support this interpretation? There is another way of looking at the numbers that suggests otherwise. About one and a quarter million people voted, but about a fifth of these people were teachers and other state and local government employees, or people retired from such jobs. For entirely understandable reasons, these people were not in a position to weigh the costs of public services against the public benefits of these services and to vote solely on this basis. In addition to perceived public benefits, state employees have a strong personal interest in the solvency of their employer. Their salaries, fringe benefits, and continued employment are all contingent on government funding. With few exceptions, they would probably always
