Similarly: I don't understand the Oregon Kicker: if there is a surplus, it is sent back to the people.

DUH! The point of a surplus is to save for emergencies! Sure, if there is more than, hm, let's use Chase bank: Six months savings, then send the rest back. But running a state with no emergency savings seems asinine, no?

Unless... maybe a state can just go way into debt immediately if they need to in case of emergency? I don't know how this works, but I'll quote Chase bank, when they berated millennials for not having 6 months savings in case of emergency.