Street Roots • July 29-August 4, 2016
Page 5
News
MERKLEY, from page 4
the hottest month on record ever. It is the
14th month in a row that is the hottest
month on record. We have to treat this as a
threat to the life on our planet.
A.W.: (Addressing climate change, Merkley
plans to introduce legislation that would
require 100 percent of U.S. energy to come
from renewable sources by 2050.) You
described that in a “Think Out Loud”
interview as “a very fast pivot” and a “very
high bar to reach. ” What will get us there?
J.M.: It’s going to take working on every
level: for families to think about this, for
cities and counties to pursue reductions in
carbon dioxide - Oregon has been the first
state to ban coal electrons - and for the
federal government to work with and lead
the rest of the nations together. We’ve seen
some real changes. Paris was a very
productive meeting. India, a major
contributor to (carbon dioxide emissions)
and global warming gases, now has a prime
minister taking global warming much more
seriously. We’ve got to work in partnership
with nations across the planet. No nation
can do this alone. And we’ve got to think of
every way to attack it - insulate homes
more, design our cars so they drive farther,
promote electric cars.
A.W.: All the things you’re mentioning are
things we already know. Don’t you think there
needs to be more political will to attack it?
What will that take?
J.M.: This really highlights the problem
that we have with our republic having been
corrupted through the Citizens United
Supreme Court decision. The fossil fuel
industry and the Koch brothers are putting
hundreds of millions of dollars into the
political system to essentially buy the
Legislature. It stands the vision of our
republic on its head. The vision of the
republic is “we the republic,” in contrast to
government by and for the powerful. But
with Citizens United, “we the republic”
becomes “we the privileged and powerful.”
A.W.: Portland, much of Oregon and the
West Coast is experiencing a crisis-level
shortage of affordable housing and a
historically low vacancy rate that is affecting
the lowest incomes, even the middle class.
What are lawmakers in Washington, D.C.,
doing to alleviate the problem?
J.M.: The Portland-metro area and
Eugene are the most stressed housing
portfolios in the country. The vacancy rate
is estimated to be less than 1 percent. That
means there’s nothing available to rent
Section 8 certificates ... are out of date. One
of the things we have to do in areas where
the rents are changing quickly is have the
basis for Section 8 be able to be monitored
and adjusted more quickly, so the
certificates can actually be used. Right now,
if you’re so fortunate to get to the top of the
list and get a Section 8 certificate, you can’t
find an apartment A very high percentage
of the folks who actually get one can’t find a
property they can rent. It’s a major tool that
is ineffective right now. We have to restore
the effectiveness of it.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) speaks, to a crowds of postal workers on Veterans Day 2014 at Tom McCall V^aterfront
"The fossil tool industry and the Koch brothers are putting hun
dreds of millions of dollars in the political system to essentially
buy the Legislature. (The Citizens United Supreme Court decision)
stands the vision of our republic on its head. The vision of the
republic is 'we the republic,' in contrast to government by and for
the powerful. But with Citizens United, 'we the republic' becomes
'we the privileged and powerful.'"
U.S. SEN. JEFF MERKLEY
(DORE.)
A.W.: So you’re suggesting simply pumping
more funding into the Section 8 program to
allow for it to pay for higher rents?
J.M.: To adjust the market rate rent in
which the certificates are useable, so that
there are apartments that are available to
people. That is one piece of the puzzle. And
we have to construct a lot more affordable
housing. There was an estimate that I saw
that showed that of the last 20,000 units we
have built in the Portland metro area, less
than 5 percent are affordable for less than
80 percent of median family income. In
other words, everything that is being built is
for higher-income individuals. We have to
find a way to incentivize the construction of
units that are affordable to people who live
below median income, which, of course, is
half the population.
A.W.: What do you think those incentives
are?
J.M.: One of them is to strengthen the
tax credit program, the Low-Income
Housing Tax Credit program. What I really
like about this program is that the bulk of
the units are produced by nonprofits that
have a lot of pride in what the units look
like; they take good care of them over time.
It becomes a decent place to live at an
affordable price. Strengthening that
program, improving the Section 8 program,
recognizing that we need to do the same in
rural areas. Those are all things we should
be undertaking.
A.W.: There has been a lot of talk this
election cycle about incremental change versus
revolution and how much change should be
happening in the country right now. Those two
things come in waves in our country - there
was the antebellum period before the Civil War,
then the Civil War, which drastically changed
our country. Then there was the 1950s,
followed by the massive social changes of the
Civil Rights era. Do you think we’re on the
cusp of another major shift in culture?
J.M.: So, here’s the challenge. In the first
three decades after World War II, we had an
economy in which citizens really
participated in the wealth that they were
creating, ... (lifting) up the middle class. But
for the last four decades, from 1975 until
now, virtually 100 percent of the new
income has gone to the wealthiest 10
percent. That leaves nine of 10 Americans
in the cold. This is part of the reason we
have a housing crisis; we don’t have the jobs
and incomes to support the ability of the
middle class to buy or rent homes.
It has bred enormous frustration. And
frustration is what drives major changes. I
think it’s why we see Bernie’s message
about college resonating. So many jobs now
require college education. We need to treat
it as high school - a public good, an
investment in the next generation of
students, not a privilege for the few and the
wealthy. It’s why his message about building
infrastructure - that we should put people
to work building infrastructure - it’s why his
message about fixing the corruption of our
political system resonates. People can see
something fundamentally wrong when you
have decisions that serve the very best off.
The very best off don’t need more help, to
put it simply. As my father used to say,
there are two golden rules. One of them, of
course, is do unto others as you would have
them do unto you. The second is that those
who have the gold, rule. Right now, we’re
controlled by the second golden rule. It’s
not in sync with the vision of our country.
We need to change that This frustration has
the possibility to provide some majors
changes in how we approach politics and the
country.