Populism Swings Left as Oregon Votes to Tax the Rich

Don't be too quick to extrapolate from the Massachusetts election that the country's populist surge swings to the right: Oregon voters yesterday approved tax hikes for corporations and the rich. The referendum, which reversed more than two decades of Oregon voters shooting down tax increases, came as the cash-strapped state faced school closings, teacher layoffs and cuts in health benefits, the LA Times reports.

In a stunning about-face for voters historically hostile to taxes of all sorts, measures to raise the state's corporate income tax as well as income taxes on households earning more than $250,000 a year and individuals earning more than $125,000 appeared to have won readily. Other state legislatures facing similar budget crises watched the Oregon vote closely, and may now consider crafting similar measures.