Oregon spends roughly $865 million on incentives or $226 per capita or about 12 cents per dollar from the state's budget. That reflects to $667 million in property tax abatements, $190 million in corporate income tax credit, rebate and reduction. $695 million in cash grant, loan or loan guarantees

Oregon Strategic Investment program $667 million. This program is the one used by Columbia County commissioners to give PGE 15 year $33 million abatement at Port Westward for phase two of their project. This money supplemented PGE rate payers and shareholders. These tax abatements cost the state and the taxpayers hundreds of millions in lost revenue.

Oregon also gave away Deductions for a loss of $190 million to 12 companies for Research and Development Costs. If my research is correct there 32 different state programs that allow deductions, grants and other corporate welfare freebies. One must remember that these programs are funded by you the taxpayers. Wouldn't it be nice if the average taxpayer was given some incentives such as a tax rebate for improving one's home or property Even if a person does not have a mortgage.

While corporate welfare is rampant across America the size of the corporation does not matter state, counties cities are giving away millions to giant corporations who do not need the freebees. Government agencies do not track these funds so they do not even know if the money created jobs, or if the free money was withheld if the company would have created these jobs anyway. Many cities gave GM hundreds of millions so the company would stay in towns and keep jobs but GM took the money and ran and also took government bailout funds as well and left several states and cities with the losses.

Many government people said that they were afraid that if they did not give these corporations the free money that the company would move overseas. These kinds of threats need to be addressed.

If a company wants to move overseas then put a high tariff on them on any product that they send back to the US make it so high that the corporation could not afford to do business outside of the states. Do away with their tax breaks. It is time to call their bluff and play hard ball with these companies that have been a starved hog feeding off the taxpayer's purse for too long.

I would suggest if there are to be any free taxpayer dollars given to any company it would have to be a company that signs on and makes contractual agreement with the state that they have to hire all American workers, at union wages, and stay in the states for a certain period of time if not than they have to pay back all of the "free" money".

People hate it when they hear of people being on welfare but say not when it happens to be a corporation; wake up people corporate welfare is picking our pockets clean and laughing all the way to the bank. While the American worker falls further down in poverty and in the meantime are paying for record breaking profits for corporations.