With the end of 2024 quickly approaching, it’s a good time to reflect on the last 12 months and preview the year ahead. 

We started the year fresh off a huge legislative victory in 2023 – the establishment of the Oregon Kids’ Credit, which supports very low-income families with young children. This legislative success – the result of a deep collaboration with community partners like Family Forward, Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), the Urban League, and many others and legislative champions like Rep. Lisa Reynolds and Rep. Andrea Valderrama – meant that families that were having a hard time paying for diapers or medicine could now qualify for the credit and get up to $1,000 per child under 6 years old. 

But we knew that to actually make this policy change a reality for kids and their families, we had to spread the word about it.The Department of Revenue quickly implemented the bipartisan bill and OCPP worked closely with DOR and others to promote the credit through a multi-media campaign in several different languages. As the end of the year nears, more than 35,000 families together have received nearly $40 million. 

In the fall, election season put the spotlight on several ballot measures, including Measure 118, which portended massive changes to Oregon’s tax system. Although we appreciated the sentiment behind a measure that would have raised taxes on big corporations to put cash in the pockets of Oregonians, ultimately the measure would have caused more harm than good. OCPP explained to Oregonians what the measure got right and what it got wrong – a message that spread far and wide. We’re pleased to have played our part in convincing Oregonians to vote down the measure.

The end of 2024 will usher in more challenging times. Many of the gains made at the federal level — key investments that support families, modernize our infrastructure, and mitigate the effects of climate change – may be in danger. In fact, programs like Medicaid and nutrition assistance are at risk of being slashed in order to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and big corporations. Take a moment to think about what this would say about our values as a country: take away food and healthcare from low-income, working families, so that very rich people don’t have to pay their fair share to a country that enabled them to become fabulously rich. 

While much uncertainty remains about the extent to which the next administration will erode democratic norms and institutions, the fiscal policies they seek to implement will certainly hurt workers and middle-class families. OCPP is committed to working with Oregon’s congressional delegation to prevent the worst harm from materializing.

Playing defense at the federal requires us to play offense at the state level. If the states are indeed the laboratories of democracy, I say the time is now to experiment, to be bold and visionary. OCPP has been at the forefront of pushing big and bold ideas over the last 25 years and we are ready to push the envelope once again. 

The next legislative session will provide such opportunities. Some of these ideas may sound familiar to supporters of OCPP, like renewing and increasing the state’s Earned Income Tax credit (EITC). But we will also push the legislature to expand who qualifies for the credit — younger workers without children and workers older than 65 – and will seek to broaden access to the credit for people who work for no pay (think at-home caregivers whose sole job is to take care of a family member unable to care for themselves). No other state is exploring such an approach, so our success could lead the way for others to follow.

Yes, the uncertainty and the threats to our democracy are real. But so is the possibility that our state could pursue a more innovative path to advancing the economic freedom and security necessary for a healthy democracy. OCPP will be at the forefront of setting out a bolder vision for the state.