State and local governments raise and spend money primarily to educate our children, keep our communities safe, arbitrate disputes through the courts, and provide health care and other services for our most vulnerable neighbors. In providing these and other services, Oregon state and local governments are not expecting more from Oregonians today than was expected a generation ago.Oregon's own-source general revenue has hovered around 15 percent of Oregonians' income over the last 25 years. Like revenue, spending by state and local governments in Oregon has risen in line with increases in the incomes of Oregonians. Since 1980, own-source state and local government general expenditures as a share of Oregonians' income have held steady, hovering around 15 percent, just as revenue has. This report explains these trends
