In many ways this legislative session was a success, especially when you think about just how far to the right the rest of our country continues to be on social justice issues.
Creating policy that gives hard-working Oregonians time off for sick leave, trying to tackle racial profiling and police accountability, and giving people easier access to birth control are just some of the important steps Oregon took this past legislative session. Legislators also supported nearly $72 million dollars for affordable housing and programs, worked to improve our health care system and made community college more affordable to Oregonians.
Street Roots has long advocated that state government pick up the pace and take more of a responsibility for creating and maintaining more affordable housing and increasing wages for all Oregonians.
“Oregonians in all parts of the state are realizing that housing needs to be a priority,” says Janet Byrd with the Oregon Housing Alliance. “Housing is the foundation of our success: We need safe, decent and affordable housing options near employment, near school, near our families and friends. It’s time to move housing to the top of our policy agenda and to hold our public systems accountable for meeting housing needs. This means evaluating every choice we make in light of how it improves our ability to meet housing needs for every Oregonian. It also means evaluating every public leader as they ask for our support and our vote against the test of whether they’ve done all they could possibly do to prioritize housing for those who need it most.”
Yes it does.
Of course we applaud elected leaders and community efforts for all the hard work this year on many important issues. Saying that, I can’t help but be disappointed that Oregon continues to play small ball on policy issues that matter most: housing, wages and job opportunities for lower and middle class folks. These issues should have been prioritized yesterday. Unfortunately, poor and working people are still unsure about tomorrow.
It was extremely disappointing to see the failure of a bill on inclusionary zoning, a policy that would have helped combat displacement and gentrification, especially in urban environments. Moreso, Gov. Kate Brown’s request for $100 million dollars for affordable housing cut down to $40 million dollars. It may sound like a lot of money, but in the context of supporting Oregonians to maintain housing, it is a drop in the bucket.
Then there’s the wage conversation. I’m convinced that many lawmakers simply aren’t in touch with poor and working people and can’t comprehend the devastating impact of not raising the ground floor on wages. It has everything to do horse-trading and politics and little to do with the people. It’s a tragic affair. With the rising cost of housing and stagnant wages, we are collectively saying service workers, the poor and many others simply don’t matter. It’s unacceptable.
“Oregon has no plan for reducing poverty and has no state agency held responsible for and accountable for the extent of poverty in Oregon,” says Chuck Sheketoff with the Oregon Center for Public Policy. “There’s a lot of talk about addressing poverty, and they know it is a driver of other costs, but they refuse to give an agency ultimate responsibility or adopt a plan to address the issue.”
It’s true. It’s time we changed that narrative and make a state that’s equitable for everyone.
