The Law of Unintended Consequences

Property tax limitation referenda have been appealing to Oregonians who have passed them in the past.  Most notable of these were Sizemore's Measure 47 and the subsequent Measure 50 which decoupled property taxes with current market values.  Seemed like a great idea at the time, especially when values boomed, but now that values are crashing, it doesn't seem like such a great thing to those in places like Deschutes County which have seen deep declines in the market value of their property.  

What is interesting about this measure is that it is turning out to be a bit of a nice counter-cyclical revenue mechanism in this time of deep downturn.  So though it was never meant to provide such counter-cyclical, pro-revenue protection from a deep recession, it is. 

Which, of course, still doesn't mean it is good policy.  Mechanisms that tie the hands of government reduce government's ability to provide flexible and creative policy solutions during the ups and downs of the economy.  It all suggests that our referendum system needs to be reformed to preserved good governance in Oregon.