Author

Heather O'Loughlin

Heather O'Loughlin

Heather O'Loughlin is the Co-Director of the Montana Budget & Policy Center, leading research and policy analysis, helping to produce credible research on the impact of tax and budget policies on the lives of Montana families.

COMMENTARY

Tax breaks for the wealthy now will cost Montanans later

By: - February 22, 2021

Helena’s contentious debate on the role of taxes has brought Montana to a critical crossroads: Do we follow the path of states like Kansas, which paid for tax cuts for the wealthiest with major cuts to education, infrastructure, and more? Or will Montana stand up to wealthy interests and instead invest in our people and […]

COMMENTARY

O’Loughlin: HB162 won’t help Montana’s lowest-income seniors

By: - January 29, 2021

Nearly every session a bill comes before the Legislature seeking to further exempt Social Security income from Montana income tax, and every session the Montana Budget & Policy Center opposes. Why? Montana already exempts the majority of Social Security income from state tax, and our system largely mirrors the federal exemption structure. Today, for the […]

COMMENTARY

O’Loughlin: Montana can’t afford cuts to health and human services

By: - January 10, 2021

Imagine someone gave you $1 million and told you to spend $1,000 every day and come back when you ran out of money. You would return in less than three years. If someone then gave you a billion dollars and you spent $1,000 each day, it would take you 2,740 years before it was gone. […]