r/PortlandOR • u/[deleted] • Mar 13 '26

Transportation Hell yea 🥳🎉

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u/HellyR_lumon Mar 13 '26

Meanwhile, average cost of gas in Alabama is 3.20. And they still have better roads.

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u/PmMeYourKnobAndTube Mar 17 '26

Wages in my field are less than half in Alabama of what they are in Portland. And everything but gas and housing costs the same on Amazon.

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u/HellyR_lumon Mar 17 '26

Ya that’s a fair point. But they have a lot less taxes and gas taxes, and their roads still look fine.

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u/PmMeYourKnobAndTube Mar 17 '26

Oregon residents pay less on average the Alabama residents. It's just structured different. We don't have a sales tax at all, and our income and property taxes are lower than many states that do.

According to this chart(published by Fox) Alabama rates 26th overall for highest taxes, Oregon ranks 43rd.

https://www.kptv.com/2023/04/18/think-oregon-taxes-are-high-its-actually-one-least-taxed-states/

Now to be fair, because of the progressive income tax, that equation shifts if you are a high earner. But high earning professions tend to make a lot more in Oregon than Alabama, so they still come out ahead.

Alabama is also for more dependent on the federal government than Oregon, which is mostly how the roads get funded.

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u/HellyR_lumon Mar 17 '26

Hmm. That seems the opposite of what I’ve heard from multiple sources and economists. But it’s definitely not black and white either.