Street Roots • July 7-13, 2017
O p in io n
Page 3
Legislative session leaves little for the poor to celebrate
he 2017 Oregon legislative session
started with big promises this past year.
Both the business community and
legislatures said they would find a way to
avoid massive cuts to safety net programs by
creating a revenue package that would tax
large corporations.
Unfortunately, the legislative session is
ending this week without much to celebrate.
It’s not surprising.
The message sent
to the residents of
Oregon is that
government and big
business care more
By Israel Bayer
about politics and
protecting the profits
of large corporations
than they do about
Oregonians in general.
Of course, people smarter than me could
argue that’s not the case. Maybe they are
right. Maybe they aren’t.
Look, I don’t want to add to the chorus of
non-believers who believe government has
failed us.
I believe in the idea that without
government it’s impossible to have a healthy
society. Unfortunately, it’s clear that the
needs of the many have been set aside in
Salem for the benefit of the few.
I’m sure there are a thousand reasons why
a revenue deal wasn’t created this legislative
session. I’m sure many of them are valid. It’s
easy to cast stones without knowing all of the
moving parts and barriers faced by legislators.
Saying that, it won’t be legislators or
lobbyists stuck in small communities or the
big towns in Oregon not taking a vacation this
summer. It won’t be legislators or lobbyists
feeling the hardships of a family member that
doesn’t have adequate mental health care or
access to good schools or has to worry about
paying the rent or being evicted from their
homes for being poor.
You tell me how only months after watching
Donald Trump becomes the president of the
United States that blue Oregon wasn’t able to
deliver on a revenue option and basic tenant
rights.
It’s not surprising in the least that we have
poor Oregonians around the state turning to
more radical political movements that believe
many progressive Oregonians are out of touch
with reality.
T
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach h im a t
israel@streetroots. org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
Ask any number of people who can no
longer live in their neighborhoods, towns or
cities due to rising rents and the lack housing
opportunities.
The number one priority for housing
advocates going into this legislative session
was passing laws that would help protect
renters from massive rent hikes and help
prevent homelessness throughout Oregon by
finally standing up to the landlord lobbyists.
Of course, some people will blame Portland
advocates like myself for not understanding
the politics of rural Oregon. Fair enough.
Looking in the mirror, it’s clear that housing
and social justice advocates have a lot of work
to do to organize the folks in rural Oregon.
We’d do much better having community
organizers at bike rallies, truck stops and
trailer parks than we would hiring more
lobbyists in suits to get us the same results.
The reality is poor Oregonians won’t be
enjoying craft beers at breweries across
Oregon, or wine tours in the Willamette Valley
or short-term rentals in Cannon Beach this
summer. Most poor Oregonians will be
drinking cheap beer and eating shit
underneath bridges, in trailer parks or back
behind the shed trying to figure out how to
pay rent next month and scrape enough
money together to feed their broken and
restless families.
I hope Oregon lawmakers see the writing
on the wall. Even the Trump supporters can
read it, believe it or not. It’s time for change.
Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasmk
Reporters Emily Green, Suzanne Zalokar,
Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Jared Paben,
Amanda Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke
Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode,
Arkady Brown
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chairman Brad Taylor
Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Dan Jones
Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson,
Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Nets Johnson and
Alison Hallett
Volunteers
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