Economic Fairness

By Scott Moore
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Dennis Richardson puts a bullseye on working parents

If you thought you were outraged about Rep. Dennis Richardson’s shameless new political spam enterprise, prepare to get madder.
 
On Tuesday, just as information was coming to light about his massive abuse of the state’s public records laws to harvest email addresses for his spam list, Richardson (R-Central Point) sent a mass email to Oregon accountants asking them if they’re aware of abuse of Oregon’s tax code.
 
But here’s the thing: Richardson isn’t looking to root out any of the large corporations who exploit the tax code in order to avoid paying taxes. He’s not looking to stop tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas or get tax breaks for jobs that never materialize. And he’s not looking to end the practice of subsidizing million-dollar mortgages.
 
No, instead, here’s his specific target: The Working Families Child Care Tax Credit.
 

By Scott Moore
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To the Ballot! Our Oregon begins signature gathering on corporate kicker reform

Our Oregon is launching a signature gathering effort to qualify an initiative for the November ballot that would send money to K-12 classrooms by reforming the corporate “kicker” refund.

For more than a decade, school advocates, teachers, and parents have talked about the need for kicker reform. Reforming the corporate kicker and putting those dollars back into our classrooms is an idea that has broad support.
 
“The corporate kicker has long been described as costly and irresponsible,” says Our Oregon Director Patrick Green. “Initiative Petition 35 is an opportunity for everyone who cares about schools to come together and finally do something about it.”

By Scott Moore
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ALEC, really exposed

In a sure sign that the grassroots campaign against ALEC is working, the corporate front group (otherwise known as the American Legislative Exchange Council) has made the blog pages of TIME Magazine.

By Alina Harway
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Income Inequality in Oregon

Yesterday, we shared a chart from the New York Times that showed wealth concentration nationwide. The chart shows that, in 2010, the top 1% of income earners increased their income by about 12%. The top .01% increased their income by about 22%!

By Scott Moore
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These Two Things Are Related

1. From an Op-Ed earlier this week in the New York Times by Steven Rattner titled “The Rich Get Even Richer”:

By Jenny Smith
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When Even Affordable Housing is Out of Reach

In one chart:

From the Washington Post

In Oregon, a minimum-wage worker must work 71 hours at minimum wage to afford a “modest, non-luxury, 2 bedroom rental unit.” Remember how we talked about the poverty line last year?

By Scott Moore
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Fixing The News: The Oregonian Gets it Wrong on Foreclosures

For weeks, the Oregonian’s editorial board was one of the strongest, loudest voices on the need for strong protections for homeowners facing foreclosure. With their help, the Oregon legislature last month passed a bill with a critical set of foreclosure reforms.
 
Unfortunately, today’s front-page article about housing counselors was based on a significant factual error that could lead to unfounded criticism of the foreclosure law.

The Oregonian flatly stated that homeowners seeking foreclosure mediation first have to meet with a housing counselor, and that this is a firm requirement. This is simply untrue. A few House Republicans pushed for mandatory meetings with housing counselors, but advocates and supporters of the protections made sure the final version of the law included an exemption--homeowners can bypass the housing counseling component if they are unable to secure a meeting with a nearby counselor within 30 days.

But the front-page article omits this completely, choosing instead to sound the alarm bells about theoretical backlogs at counseling centers, essentially implying the legislation is a failure before it even takes effect. 

By Guest Contributor
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Guest Post: Foreclosure Reform is a Major Victory for Oregon Homeowners

by Angela Martin, Director of Economic Fairness Oregon

Last week marked a big victory for Oregon consumers. The Oregon Legislature’s passage of SB 1552 shows that big banks can be drowned out by big voices. Thanks to a massive effort by everyday Oregonians to contact their legislators and demand action on foreclosure reform, the financial lobbyists were silenced, and meaningful policy prevailed.

Whether you’re facing foreclosure, your house is underwater or you’re a renter considering the plunge into homeownership – this legislation will protect you once it’s enacted. The bill that passed takes elements of two different concepts we worked on this session and combines them into one.

The amended version of SB 1552 will end the destructive dual track system in which a homeowner negotiating a modification with a bank is simultaneously on the path to foreclosure. It also requires that lenders sit down with homeowners and a neutral third party to discuss foreclosure-avoidance options.

By Scott Moore
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It's A Wrap!

What Did the February Legislative Session Mean for Oregonians?

The February legislative sessions resulted in progress for Oregon families, showing hopeful glimpses of a return to support for middle class priorities.

By Scott Moore
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Playing Politics with the Lives of Struggling Homeowners

Rep. Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver)For weeks, Rep. Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver) has been using his position as the co-chair of the House Consumer Protection Committee to block any movement on bills that would protect homeowners from the foreclosure abuses of big banks.

Hailing from Central Oregon, the epicenter of the state’s foreclosure crisis, you’d think Rep. Whisnant would feel the pain of struggling homeowners, but instead he’s remained steadfast in his opposition to these basic consumer protection bills.

He’s reportedly spent weeks getting angry emails from his constituents, and even the Oregonian editorial board called him out for refusing to budge on what is basically the biggest economic issue facing our state.

Whisnant killed the House versions of these bills outright, but when the Senate sent him two similar bills (SB 1552 and SB 1564) with a broad bipartisan majority, he decided to pull a fast one: Instead of killing these bills again, he and Rep. Matt Wand let the banking industry just up and rewrite them.

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