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Helping
Mothers
^tíortlanh
(©bscruer Raise
Good
Established 1970
Kids
USPS 9 5 9 - 6 8 0
B y M ichael L eachman
In Oregon and the rest o f the United
STAFF
E d it o r
States, public policies that support
m others have not k ept u p w ith
changes in the econom y. W e have
fallen behind other developed na­
tions in this regard, and o ur mothers
and children are feeling the results.
in
C h ie f ,
P
u b l is h e r
Charles H. Washington
E d i
t
o k
B u s in e s s
M anager
Gary Ann Taylor
M ichael Leighton
E d it o r
Joy Ramos
C r e a t iv e
ford to live o n th eir savings, or
w hose partners d o n ’t m ake enough
incom e alone, to g o b ack to w ork
shortly after childbirth.
New mom sworidngfor small busi­
nesses and some working in part-time
jobs are prom ised no leave at all. The
exceedingly poorw om en w ho receive
A sst . P ublisher
C ort
From the m om ent they become
mothers, too m any w om en in Oregon
are forced to choose paid w ork over
the care and nurturing o f their chil­
dren.
O regon g u aran tees o n ly unpaid
leave, forcing m om s w h o c a n ’t af­
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
D ir e c t o r
Paul Neufeldt
cash assistance from the State must
begin w ork activities and put their
infants in expensive infant childcare
9 0 days after giving birth.
'Oregon’s single moms have it the worst;
about one in three ca n ’t always be sure they’ll
be able to pay fo r the fa m ily’s next meal, ’
— Michael Leachman, Oregon Center fo r
Public Policy
F or those fortunate enough to
qualify for it, the right to unpaid leave
has becom e less attractive as an em ­
ployee benefit as fam ilies increas­
ingly need the m other’s incom e just
to m eet their basic needs.
O regon’s jobs pay less than they
did tw enty years ago. A s a result,
even though em ployed w om en in
Orcgonaretypically w otking211 more
hours outside the hom e than they
were 20years ago, their families have
not m ade any real incom e gains.
The proliferation o f low -pay jobs
has taken aw ay the gains families
expected w hen m others joined the
paid workforce. At the sam e time,
housing and other costs have in­
creased.
Overthe 1990s. single-family home
prices rose about tw ice as fast as
household incom es in Oregon. The
average cost o f childcare increased
44percentfrom 1984to 1995,and has
continued to rise.
The result: the typical O regonfam -
ily is squeezed m ore for m oney and
time.
O u r m o th e rs a re e s p e c ia lly
stressed, since m o th ers still b ear
the bu lk o f h o m em ak in g chores.
O re g o n 's single m o m s h av e it the
w orst; about o ne in three c a n ’t
alw ays be sure th e y ’ll be able to
pay for the fam ily ’s next m eal.
If that w eren’t enough, the situa­
tion may be getting worse. In an
econom ic dow nturn, m others will be
turning to a safety net that is no longer
designed to catch them , despite all
their work. T hanks to welfare reform,
O regon now gets only a set am ount
o f money from the federal govern­
m ent to support very poor m others
w ho can ’t find work.
W h en th e eco n o m y sours and
the need for assistance to fam ilies
w ith ch ildren rises, O reg o n w ill
have to dig into its o w n b u d g et o r
refuse to h elp those in need.
M oreover, the outdated unem ­
ploym ent insurance program denies
benefits to m any m others w ho can
Jr. B lvd.
P o rtla n d , OR 9 7 2 1 1
5 0 3 -2 8 8 0 0 3 3
Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 - 0 0 1 5
e -m a il
U.S. Sen .Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
honored the Oregon organizers
and participants in the “Flight
fo r Freedom ” to New York City
with a statement on the flo o r o f
the United States Senate. Fol­
lowing is a transcript o f Sen.
W yden’s remarks:
“T h is w eek en d a n u m b e r o f
newsrsyxxtlaidobsefver.oom
subschpbon@txxtisDddxerver.cxirn
ads&portiaodobserver.oom
stro n g -w illed p eo p le o f m y state
are m o u n tin g an o p e ra tio n they
call ‘R ig h t fo r F re e d o m ,’ a n sw e r­
in g th e n a tio n al call fo r all o f us to
get o n w ith th eir lives an d co m e to
th e aid o f th o se h u rt in the attack s
o f S e p te m b e r 11.
P ostmaster :
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lication-isa m ember o f the National
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in 1885. and The National Advertis­
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Publishers. Inc. New York. NY. and
The West Coast Black Publishers
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K
“ In a sh o w o f so lid a rity w ith
th eir fello w A m erican s, m o re then
7 0 0 O reg o n ian s are m aking a state­
m en t to th e n atio n th is w eek en d
by h e a d in g to th e h o tels, B ro a d ­
w ay sh o w s, an d re s ta u ra n ts in
N ew Y ork C ity that are fighting for
e c o n o m ic su rv iv a l in th e after-
m ath o f th e atta c k s. O re g o n ’s
R ig h t fo r Freedom , w ith the people
o f m y state sta n d in g sh o u ld e r-to -
s h o u ld e r w ith th e c itiz e n s o f N ew
Y ork, is an effo rt to m ak e c le a r that
n o te rro rist ca n b reak th e A m e ri­
c an sp irit.
“ I w a n t to c o n g ra tu la te S h o
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O regon mothers need to be better
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Lim ited to sto ck on hand!
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Michael Leachman is a policy
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Public Policy.
Praising the Flight For Freedom’
4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin L u th e r King,
A
October 10, 2001
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1 84
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MON -FRI 9 00am-9 00pm
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503-252-9530
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