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There’s room in Oregon’s economy for all to be secure

COMMENTARY | Minimum-wage increase would tackle root problem: not enough income Ariel, a home care worker without the means of fixing her car’s transmission. Tai, an immigrant factory worker worried that rising rents may put his family out on the streets. ...

11 Feb 2016 - Tyler Mac Innis
The minimum wage fight you don’t know needs to be fought

Commentary: Oregon nonprofits and businesses currently utilize this statute to pay thousands of individuals a subminimum wage I’m here to sound an alarm. The minimum wage is not, it turns out, actually the minimum wage. You may not know this, but there’s ...

7 Dec 2015 - Stephen Marc Beaudoin
Working to cut poverty in half

David Riemer and the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute have a plan that would allow poor Americans to earn wages they need to get out of poverty Reducing poverty by 50 percent sounds like a bleeding heart liberal’s dream. Saying that people shou ...

24 Jul 2015 - Amanda Waldroupe
Dispelling perceptions about the working poor

"Hand to Mouth" author Linda Tirado speaks with Street Roots about her own experiences living in poverty In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to rolling a boulder to the top of a hill, an act that required the greatest exertion, only to ha ...

14 Mar 2015 - Jared Paben
Let your voice be heard in support of $15 an hour

Did you know that to afford a lower-end, one-bedroom apartment at 30 percent of your income in Multnomah County you would need to make about $31,960 annually. That’s about $14.88 an hour. Thinking of something a bit more spacious, maybe with a view? Accor ...

16 Jan 2015 - Israel Bayer
Can 31 cents per hour change the world?

There has been a lot of discussion about income inequality in our country lately — we are living in a time when wealth is concentrated among the richest Americans, and the gap between the richest and everyone else is the widest it’s been since the 1920’s. ...

1 Dec 2014 - Michael Buonocore
Smart money: State Treasurer Ted Wheeler on where to put our tax dollars to work

Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler admits that most Oregonians know very little about what he does — he said even he didn’t know much about the job before he took it. But it’s an important position, and as financial concerns grow across the state, his dep ...

17 Jul 2014 - Emily Green
Minimum wage: A stronger economy from the ground up

Around the state, a grassroots movement is calling for a higher minimum wage and a fair shot at economic opportunity. They’re right. The truth is that our wage floor is too low. As Labor Commissioner, it’s my job to ensure that Oregonians are treated fair ...

15 Jul 2014 - Brad Avakian
Bold moves a good start to prioritizing people

Bold. That’s the word we would use to describe Multnomah County right now. Multnomah County Chair Marissa Madrigal and the County Commissioners are going big. A new $1.4 million mental health program to prevent people experiencing mental health problems f ...

9 May 2014 - SR editorial board
Solidarity in city salaries: Seattle’s new council member ponies up her own paycheck toward the $15 minimum-wage movement

Kshama Sawant took her oath of office Jan. 6 in front of hundreds at Seattle City Hall. She plans to take home an “average worker’s wage” and donate the rest of her $120,000 annual salary to a campaign to create a $15-an-hour minimum wage and other social ...

22 Jan 2014 - Aaron Burkhalter