Not long ago, the suggestion that we should increase taxes on the wealthy was quickly shut down as un-American. Remember the Tea Party? Not the 1773 Boston Tea Party, but the anti-tax, small government one of the 2010s. 

Well, times sure have changed. The rise of populism in policy debates has forced those in power to put working people front and center. Whether it’s lip service or serious policy ideas, both ends of the political spectrum seem to recognize that our economic system is heavily tilted to favor the rich. 

We’ve known this for decades, but there seems to be a national awakening happening: a recent poll by Pew Research Center shows that a solid majority of Americans, people from across the political spectrum, say there is too large of a financial gap between the wealthiest and poorest households. People are demanding structural change to fix this problem.

Economic inequality has been growing for more than 40 years, and continues to grow. According to the Pew Research Center, wealth inequality has risen sharply since the turn of the millennium, with upper income households increasing their wealth by 73% while low-income households only increased their wealth by 8%. In Oregon, data from recent years shows that the “top 10 percent of Oregonians collectively own more than $1.2 trillion, more than 75 percent of all wealth in the state,” according to a report by my colleagues Tyler Mac Innis and Juan Carlos Ordóñez. Put simply: three billionaires in Oregon own twice the wealth of the bottom 50% of all Oregonians.

Meanwhile, hard-working Oregonians continue to struggle to make ends meet. As my colleague, Kathy Lara points out, many jobs in Oregon simply don’t pay enough to pay the bills.   

Wealth inequality has been designed into our economic system. Tax policy has favored the top income earners and the wealthy since the early 1980s. By gaming the system in ways inaccessible to the rest of us, the ultra-rich pay less in taxes than most hard-working Americans. One way the ultra-rich avoid paying taxes is by borrowing against their assets and using these low-interest loans to finance their lavish lifestyles. Corporations also push the IRS regulatory envelope, as Meta has tried to do by claiming that data centers are a risky experiment that could fail, and thus qualify for billions of dollars in “research and experimentation” tax credits. Even the Trump-led IRS seems to think this is a tad much.  

It’s taken a while, but people have finally woken up to our economic reality. In a symbolic, yet fundamental way, the widespread opposition to data centers reflects a sense of loss of power by individuals and communities that cuts across political lines. There’s a recognition that the level of influence that corporations and the ultra-rich can wield on our elected representatives has led to a tilted economic system. 

We couldn’t agree more. And we’re rife with ideas and analyses for how we can begin to correct this imbalance and create a more inclusive economy that benefits all Oregonians, starting in the 2027 legislative session. These include: 

• establishing a wealth proceeds tax, a highly practical way of taxing sources of concentrated wealth; 
• enacting corporate tax transparency, to shine a light on corporations that exploit the tax system; 
• clamping down on the ability of corporations to artificially shift profits abroad; 
• strengthening worker protections through workforce standards boards; and
• strengthening the state’s child tax credit, so that families are better able to make ends meet. 

To do all this, we need to come together to demand more from our elected representatives. We cannot continue to claim this democracy works for everyone when money and power are concentrated in the hands of the few. We need to invite everyone to the kitchen table, including wealthy Oregonians who recognize that the greater good requires a rebalancing of the economic staples required to fill the pantry of every household. With more people waking up to the urgency of the moment, now is the time to create an economy that works for everyone. 

In solidarity,

Alejandro Queral

Executive Director