When the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial to deliver his famed I Have a Dream speech, he called for bold action that would open the “great vaults of opportunity” that America promised for all.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer recently issued a report outlining an ambitious plan to tackle the housing crisis in America. While federal action on many of the areas highlighted in the report would be a step in the right direction, the current political landscape makes it hard to see Congress acting with any sense of urgency. Clearly, Oregon cannot let up in responding to a housing crisis that is undermining the ability of Oregonians to make ends meet, let alone get ahead.
Fast food workers demanding the right to form a union. Grocery store workers voting to strike for higher, more equitable wages. Teachers taking to the street to pressure for increased school funding.
The Marlboro Man hung up his spurs and Joe Camel was put out to pasture long ago, but marketing by tobacco companies hasn’t gone away. Not by a long shot. In Oregon alone, Big Tobacco spends some $115 million a year peddling its deadly product, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Barred by law from certain forms of advertising, tobacco companies have also turned to social media to lure young audiences.
Low-income Oregonians will benefit from an increase in the tobacco tax to fund the Oregon Health Plan and tobacco use prevention programs. Tobacco use comes at a steep cost to the health and finances of those who consume it, as well as society at large. While legitimate concerns exist regarding the regressive nature of an excise tax such as the tobacco tax, low-income communities ultimately come out ahead through investments in health and prevention.
Underinvestment in Oregon’s education system has left generations of Oregon’s children without the services and support they deserve. The package of education investments proposed by the Joint Committee on Student Success promises tremendous strides towards addressing the long-term underfunding of Oregon’s schools.
The immigrant experience in this country is as diverse as the people who have come here, as varied as our motivations for leaving our homelands. Yet for those of us who call Oregon our adopted home, or for whom Oregon is the only home we’ve ever known (like thousands of Dreamers), there is a common theme: We all want to be a part of a community in which everyone feels like they belong.