'We want an economy that is not held back by Oregon regulations and taxes, including environmental regulations,' the people behind the movement say.

Thirteen counties in Oregon have voted in favor of measures to begin negotiations on seceding from the state and joining neighboring Idaho.

The latest county to endorse the initiative was Crook County, where voters approved the “Greater Idaho Measure” on Tuesday. The proposal aims to move Oregon’s border approximately 200 miles to the west, which would place 14 counties and several partial counties under Idaho’s jurisdiction.

“The Oregon/Idaho line was established 163 years ago and is now outdated,” the movement’s website says. “It makes no sense in its current location because it doesn’t match the location of the cultural divide in Oregon.”

The organizers of the Greater Idaho movement argue that residents in eastern Oregon feel increasingly alienated by the state’s progressive policies, which they say contribute to high crime rates. Their website says becoming part of Idaho would offer lower taxes and improved representation and governance for the communities.

“We want an economy that is not held back by Oregon regulations and taxes, including environmental regulations,” Greater Idaho executive director Matt McCaw, said, according to the Daily Mail. “We’ll still have federal and Idaho regulations, and that’s plenty. Idaho knows how to respect rural counties and their livelihoods.”

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    • douglasg14b@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      29 days ago

      It’s exactly what it is.

      It’s a bunch of propaganda aimed at people in these counties that shift their opinion one piece of propaganda at a time.

      I’ve gotten so many flyers in the mail or put on my doorstep or stuffed in my door over the last 3-4 years about this it’s unbelievable.

      Someone with a significant amount of money is funding this, because the advertising isn’t cheap.

      And they all show the same misleading information on them to convince oregonians that the grass is greener on the other side. When it most definitely isn’t.

      • bradorsomething@ttrpg.networkEnglish
        3·
        29 days ago

        I’m glad to hear a sane voice from out there; do people ever talk about moving? This is the same “if you don’t like it leave” crowd, so I’m surprised they don’t move to idaho.

      • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝OPAEnglish
        2·
        29 days ago

        Someone with a significant amount of money is funding this, because the advertising isn’t cheap.

        Which should make people very suspicious about who is funding this and to what ultimate aim.

        • douglasg14b@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          29 days ago

          Yes that is exactly what I said…

          It is society’s responsibility to inform protect and educate those that are less capable in order to maintain the functioning of that society. Otherwise that society breaks down and falls apart. “A rising tide raises all ships”

          My point here is that we as oregonians should be doing better. Instead of adopting nationalism and referring to each other as “The Other”, we should be looking at the root cause and not attacking each other’s throats while the true enemy just watches and laughs at us peons doing what peons do best: Ignorantly blaming each other.

          • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝OPAEnglish
            2·
            29 days ago

            The powers that be have always liked to divide and conqueror - it’s excellent misdirection so we don’t see then stealing everything.