On May 18, Oregon lawmakers released a proposed budget that contains a whopping $2 billion in cuts to education, human services, and public safety.
Among the hardest hit are seniors and people with disabilities who depend on in-home care, working families who depend on childcare to keep their jobs, low-income families just struggling to make ends meet, and the folks who work hard to provide these services.
Legislators need to hear from you that in these tough economic times, it’s unfair and irresponsible to balance the budget on the backs of the people who are already hurting from this fiscal crisis. It’s time for corporations and wealthy Oregonians to pay their fair share.
Let’s make our voices heard and demand better!
Join a coalition of organizations on Sunday, June 7 for a march and rally in Downtown Portland to voice support for these vital services and fair treatment for the workers who provide them.
Sign up here:
[form 3 "United For Oregon March Sign Up"]
What: United For Oregon March
When: Sunday, June 7, 11:30am
Where: March begins at the Eastbank Esplanade (near OMSI between SE Main and Taylor), ends at Terry Schrunk Plaza for a rally at 2pm
Who: Oregon PTA, KBOO 90.7, SEIU 503, Jobs With Justice, Children First For Oregon, AARP, Oregon Education Association, Keep Oregon Working Coalition… and you!
Why: To voice support for protecting vulnerable Oregonians and fair treatment for the state workers who serve them
Sign up here:
[form 3 "United For Oregon March Sign Up"]
Keep Oregon Working is coalition of organizations and individuals who are committed to strengthening Oregon’s economy and protecting its people. We stand united in our belief that in order to weather the current economic crisis, Oregon must preserve jobs, protect the vulnerable and invest in the future.
The economic crisis has victimized hundreds of thousands of Oregonians. Rising unemployment, loss of wages, and the foreclosure meltdown have left Oregonians more vulnerable than at any time in recent history. The job losses–and the fact that corporations have been able to pay as little as $10 in income taxes since the 1930s–mean that the state doesn’t have enough money to pay for vital services like education, human services, healthcare and public safety. At the same time, demand for these services is at a record high.
But while so many Oregon families face the double whammy of being victimized by the economy and facing a lack of services when they need them most, corporations and the state’s wealthiest continue to get off the hook. Many large, profitable corporations only pay the $10 minimum income tax, and the wealthiest Oregonians pay a lower effective tax rate than people who make $20,000 per year.
Drastic cuts to the budget could lead to teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, shorter school years, seniors and people with disabilities being denied crucial healthcare and prison closures. State agencies have developed a plan to balance the budget that would require layoffs of 7,000 state workers, 9,000 care providers for the elderly and disabled, and more than 1,000 teachers and local government employees. These measures will only cost us more in the long run.
Instead, we need to lay the foundations for long-term growth and prosperity in Oregon with a solution that protects the state’s most vulnerable and doesn’t shift the burden to middle-class families. Our elected officials are fighting for a better plan to create jobs, limit the damage to the economy, and ensure that everyone shares the responsibility of moving the state forward with the goal of keeping Oregon working now and in the future.
We need your help. Sign up here to help protect Oregon’s future.
On Saturday, April 11, more than 260 people showed up in Gresham for the Keep Oregon Working Community Forum to hear about the state’s budget crisis, what it means for real Oregonians, and how we can get through this recession.
State Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson and Representatives Greg Matthews and Nick Kahl spoke about the tough decisions that are facing lawmakers, and about their commitment to protect the vulnerable and invest in the future.
Five other members of the community spoke about how their lives are impacted by state services, like childcare, public safety, education, child welfare, and care for seniors and people with disabilities.
Audience members signed postcards to their legislators in support of:
• Protecting services to vulnerable Oregonians
• Preserving and creating jobs
• Preserving education
• Making investments in our future, since deep cuts to education, public safety, and healthcare will only cost more in the long run
• Finding a solution that ensures that profitable corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share and stop getting off the hook.
The attendees supported the idea that given the extent of the crisis, elected leaders must look to a balanced approach to address the challenge. But in order to lessen cuts that will cost Oregon now and in the future, they believe it’s time for profitable corporations and wealthy Oregonians to pay their fair share to help protect services and aid in Oregon’s economic recovery.
The event also provided access and information to direct services for Oregonians undergoing tough times, like unemployment, foreclosure counseling, food stamps, prescription drug programs, and more. Forum attendees generously donated more than 400 pounds of food to the Oregon Food Bank.
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Keep Oregon Working
Community Access Forum
Saturday, April 11
11:00 am
Examining the impacts of the fiscal crisis and connecting residents to services and support
Are you concerned about how the economic crisis will affect your job? Your family? Your schools and your community?
Join lawmakers, community leaders, teachers, parents, frontline workers and more for the Keep Oregon Working Community Forum to find out:
• How long this recession may last
• Who it will impact
• What the crisis means for Oregon jobs
• How we can protect the long-term health of our state
• What you can do to help
• How to connect directly with employment services, food stamps, foreclosure counseling, health services, and more
What: Keep Oregon Working Community Forum
When: Saturday, April 11, 2009, 11am
Where: Gordon Russell Middle School
3625 E. Powell Valley Rd
Gresham, OR 97080
(just East of corner of 257th & E. Powell Valley Rd.)
Click here for a map.
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