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All workers – including farmworkers – deserve the right to organize
For most of us, Labor Day is a day of well-earned leisure, a time to celebrate the contributions of workers. But not everyone gets to rest on this day. Because the holiday arrives during the harvest season, many Oregon workers will be toiling in the fields to keep food flowing to our tables. The sacrifice […]
It’s time to stand up to the oligarchy
Hardly a month goes by without news of billionaires lavishing gifts or favors on members of the U.S. Supreme Court. The latest revelation once again involved Justice Clarence Thomas, who reportedly has been traveling in private jets and luxury yachts to exotic destinations, paid for by a group of ultrawealthy benefactors. The fact that corruption […]
Enacting Oregon Kids’ Credit would show lawmakers can work together for greater good
“Are we going to take care of our kids and help them be healthy and successful and ready to become adults?,” state Rep. Greg Smith asked his colleagues a few months back. It’s time for the Oregon Legislature to answer that question now that the walkout by Republican senators has come to an end. Smith, […]
‘Opportunity Zone’ tax breaks harm Oregonians, pamper wealthy investors
A staircase shaped like a waterfall. A lobby sculptured like a forest. These are some of the finishing touches on the soon-to-open Ritz-Carlton in downtown Portland, where $7 million only gets you a standard condo. The self-proclaimed “first ultra-luxury structure in the Pacific Northwest” pampers the rich in more ways than one, because the Ritz-Carlton […]
Time to shine the light on the taxes of big corporations
In the current legislative session, as is the case every session, corporate lobbyists are hard at work trying to procure new tax breaks for their clients. These lobbyists representing many big corporations are going around waving a corporate-funded study claiming that business taxes in Oregon are too high. If you are a lawmaker, you lack […]
Any new Oregon R&D tax credit should cut out corporations splurging on stock buybacks
Imagine you have a wealthy cousin who comes asking for money. He brags about how much he spends on lavish parties, yet he begs for cash to fix up his house. “You gotta be kidding me,” you’d probably say. That’s also what the Oregon Legislature’s response should be to the big corporations that are coming […]
U.S. House Republicans go to bat for wealthy tax cheaters and against the national interest
The new House majority nearly came to blows in electing one of their own as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. But those deep fissures were nowhere to be seen days later, when they voted unanimously for a bill that would protect the rich and powerful at the expense of everyone else. Right out […]
Legislature doesn’t have to look far to find money to tackle the housing crisis
Calling it the “number one issue throughout Oregon,” more than two dozen mayors recently wrote to the Oregon Legislature asking for $125 million in annual funding to address homelessness. “Cities cannot be left to solve this statewide crisis by ourselves,” the bipartisan group of mayors noted. Although the mayors did not identify the source of […]
Oregon can protect exploited, low-paid workers. Here’s how.
Not long after Morrisha Jones joined her co-workers in petitioning to form a union at one Burgerville location, the fast-food chain suspended the eight-month pregnant cook. Other workers also faced punishment, suspension and termination. While the negative publicity surrounding Morrisha’s suspension forced the company to backtrack, this wouldn’t be the last instance of intimidation that […]
Congress knows how to slash child poverty. It just needs to do it.
If you could prevent millions of children from falling back into poverty, would you? Most of us, I imagine, would answer “yes” without hesitation. But not Congress. For nearly a year, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have dithered as the policy directly responsible for a dramatic decline in poverty last year lapsed. It’s time for Congress […]
Free, simple tax filing puts interest of Americans above corporate profits
Paying taxes is our civic duty. The government’s duty is to make it as easy and inexpensive as possible for us to pay our taxes. But for too long, Congress has failed to uphold this responsibility, favoring instead corporations that profit from our need to file tax returns. A bill recently introduced in Congress would […]