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The Oregon House chambers are shown here in this 2013 file photo.

(Thomas Boyd/Staff)

It might seem odd to say that Oregon, which is expecting more tax money from Oregonians than ever before, has a revenue problem. Certainly, the booming economy, record low unemployment and strong forecasts suggest that generating money for Oregon's coffers is not a problem.

Even the state's projected $1.6 billion deficit for the 2017-2019 budget can't be blamed on disappointing revenue. Rather, that mindboggling gap stems from the state's chronic spending problem. Not only have lawmakers expanded programs without a plan to fund them, but they have failed to tame health and pension benefits that are thoroughly baked into state contracts and threaten to claim a larger and larger share of taxpayer dollars for years to come.

Such structural spending problems remain the primary threat facing Oregon. But the state does indeed have a revenue problem that needs attention as well. Our tax policies park too much of the burden on individuals while letting businesses pay less than they should thanks to property tax limits enacted decades ago. The state's reliance on personal-income taxes for more than 80 percent of the state's general fund translates into wild swings in revenue, robbing public services of the stability needed for real momentum and progress. And fixing Oregon's structural spending problems alone won't set the state up for success - particularly in the event of an economic downturn that's bound to hit.

Editorial Agenda 2017

Boost student success

Get Oregon's financial house in order

Help our homeless

Honor our diverse values

Make Portland a city that works

Expand access to public records

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In fact, even the business community knows it needs to pony up more money, something Oregon Business Plan Chairman Patrick Criteser acknowledged at the December 2016 summit of political, business and community leaders. And business representatives last year explicitly promised to help craft tax legislation if voters would reject Measure 97, a union-backed measure that threatened to levy a supersized tax on Oregon's largest corporations. "The day after the election," Portland Business Alliance Sandra McDonough said, as quoted in The Portland Tribune, "we will be at the table."

Apparently, we all should have clarified which table they would be at.

They're not at the one headed by Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, who is developing the most promising corporate tax revenue proposal in the state Legislature. While some prominent companies including Nike, Intel and Columbia Sportswear are engaging with Hass on tax proposals, McDonough and Oregon Business Council President Duncan Wyse are giving short shrift to the effort. At a recent meeting with The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board, McDonough and Wyse instead insisted that the Legislature must reform its structural spending problems first before talking with them about new taxes.

They have a point in one respect: More money alone fixes nothing. Even with the record amount of money pouring into the state, school districts are planning teacher layoffs, universities are announcing 9 and 10 percent tuition hikes and other programs are steeling for severe cuts later this year. It cannot be more obvious it is simply unsustainable for public employers to continue devoting millions of dollars to generous benefits as opposed to actual services for Oregonians.

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But the critical need to fix those defects does not excuse the no-show by some business leaders on revenue reform, which must take place on a parallel track. Hass' proposal would more fairly tax businesses, add some stability to help smooth out Oregon's revenue ups and downs and provide modest relief to individuals on the income tax rates they pay. Instead, McDonough and Wyse brushed aside Hass' proposal because it taps the same underlying mechanism as Measure 97 of basing a tax bill on overall sales. A separate, secretive business group, Priority Oregon, is taking it one step further, with a misleading ad campaign that paints Hass' proposal as a Measure 97 retread and aims to derail its chances.

Oregonians shouldn't fall for such reductive reasoning. The merit of any tax proposal should be evaluated not just on the mechanism but by such measures as whom it targets, the rates levied, the fairness of the tax, and whether policymakers can mitigate unintended consequences. Hass' proposal takes into consideration all of those whereas Measure 97 fell short across the board. If anything, Hass' proposal shows exactly why tax policy should be crafted at the legislative level - where policymakers can address such concerns and fine tune adjustments in the tax architecture - rather than pushed through at the ballot box by an initiative as nuanced as a bumper sticker.

Citizenship carries certain responsibilities. It means that we all share the burden of dealing with the reality that we live in. Our reality is that we face an urgent deadline to address monumentally challenging issues this legislative session or face dismal cuts that hurt students, seniors, low-income families and the public at large.

This will take immense political courage and leadership from Oregon's elected officials. It will take cooperation from unions and businesses. And it will take sustained public pressure to get legislators to do the hard work of fixing both spending and revenue. But if anything, the threat of a $1.6 billion deficit clarifies just what's at stake: Sit back and let budget disaster unfold or seize this opportunity to change government as usual and set this state on a trajectory out of perpetual dysfunction.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board