A state effort to provide every Oregonian with $1,600 per year in basic income appears to be heading toward defeat next week, with polls showing the measure wildly unpopular among voters.
The poll, conducted by the progressive-leaning Public Policy Polling firm on behalf of the Washington-based progressive nonprofit Northwest Progressive Institute, found that 54 percent of Oregon voters oppose the measure that would raise corporate taxes to generate a guaranteed basic income for the state's residents. The proposal has come under fire from a wide swath of state political leaders and groups.
About 29 percent of respondents said they are likely to support the measure, while 17 percent remained unsure, the poll found.
The Northwest Progressive Institute said in its analysis of the poll that the measure's likely failure is "for the best."
“[The ballot measure] is poorly designed and it triggers an array of damaging, likely unintended consequences that make it really a measure that is not a good idea as it has been drafted and proposed,” said Daniel Hauser, deputy director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, in a statement.
He cited analyses that have found the proposal would “reduce the funds available for Oregon schools, child care, health care and other essential services that we pay for through the Oregon General Fund.”
Supporters of the effort argue that it "aims to strengthen our financial security and the financial security of our communities and small businesses by investing directly in Oregon's greatest resource - its people."
The Oregon Working Families Party, Democratic Socialists of Eugene and some labor groups that initially backed the proposal have rescinded their support after economists warned that it would raise prices and devastate the state budget.
Millions in campaign dollars have been poured into both sides of the effort.
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Oregon voters submit their ballots by mail, and votes must be returned or mailed with a postmark by 8 p.m. local time on Nov. 5.
The PPP poll of 716 likely Oregon voters was conducted Oct. 16-17, using a blend of automated phone calls, landlines and online answers from respondents recruited by text.
It has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.