Table 1 Additional messages used by proposition 5 opponents

Voters will be left materially worse off from the policy (e.g., loss frame)

“Measure 5 supporters say they want to raise beer and cigarette taxes by nearly $9 million to support intercollegiate sports, but consumers will pay at least $20 million just to raise that amount of tax”

“Measure 5 will more than double the state tax on beer. If Measure 5 is approved, more than half of all the state beer taxes collected will go to intercollegiate sports.”

Taxes are a sub-optimal policy option for financing new expenditures

“No college athletic program anywhere in the country is supported or even subsidized by a tax on beer. The other 49 states already know it's a bad idea.”

The anticipated beneficiaries of the new policy are less deserving than the current beneficiaries

“Measure 5 will change the way Oregon has traditionally spent its beer and cigarette tax money. In the past, these taxes have been used to support important human services—such as state, city and county programs to combat mental illness and drug abuse, as well as transportation services for the elderly and the handicapped.”

The policy measure as a slippery slope to higher taxation on alcohol

Politicians cannot be trusted not to raise taxes

“Measure 5 supporters say voter approval of their plan will guarantee a 10-year freeze on the beer tax. That's simply not true. Even if Measure 5 passes, the voters, the Legislature or the Federal government can hike the tax again at any time.”