I don't feel bad for Carol, and I don't blame her. I think she was genuinely hoodwinked by an aggressive campaign of obfuscation. I work with small business owners for a living and many of them have no idea, still, how the measures will affect them.

It is absurd and anti productive for Oregon to increase taxation during a recession. Oregon's public employees are compensated much higher than the private sector but have felt little of the layoffs and business closings that the private sector has weathered. Oregon's political elite just does not understand that increasing taxes on those that provide private sector employment will only inhibit job and business groath.
The State Of Oregon should bring public sector compensation and benefits in line with the private sector and not seek to widen the gap at the private sectors expense.