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One thing to say is that this isn't a new issue: voters have been rejecting tax increases for the past 10 years (that's about the extent of my experience with Oregon).
There are a number of things that contributed to the fiscal crisis, besides irresponsibility (although I don't deny that it might be an issue):
The logging industry was essentially shut down. Most of Oregon is forest and just about half the state lived and worked in the logging industry. For a variety of reasons, the economy hasn't yet shifted from mills to something else--whatever that may be. Thus, the towns in the southern half of the state are shutting down and transforming into skeleton towns.
A few misguided criminal justice reforms put such strain on a struggling economy that it finally slipped over the edge.
The influx of retirees means that they have people on limited incomes voting against tax increases (remember that these retirees are also homeowners, the type of tax that exists in Oregon), not stimulating the economy as much as younger citizens would, not as supportive of schools as families and locals are, and basically gentrifying the southern economies.
I don't know, these are the things that I understood while living there. My grandparents seem to share my opinion on this subject, too. Of course, they're part of the problem. The interesting thing is that one of the projected economies Oregon is shifting to, is one that caters to this retirement crowd. That is, nature attractions, retirement centers, and geriatric care.
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