Opinion: County should not let anti-tax rhetoric throw Preschool for All off track [Video]

Mary C. King

King is professor emerita of economics at Portland State University. She lives in Portland.

Under pressure, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson has proposed a one-year delay of the small 2026 bump in the Preschool for All tax resoundingly supported by voters. Postponing the increase is a bad idea based on a flimsy rationale.

Major investments are needed over the next few years in both the preschool workforce and facilities. Research shows that every dollar spent on strong preschool programs returns $7 to $12 to the community. Our local childcare “system” was skeletal even before Multnomah County lost a fifth of providers during the pandemic. It’s just luck that we had some big years of income tax revenues, locally and nationally. A few strong years are no reason to risk the program’s future.

Despite anti-tax rhetoric, we do not have the highest taxes in the country. When factoring in property tax, income tax and other assessments, Oregon’s …