Policy for the People

As the number of elderly Oregonians surpasses the number of children, demand for long-term care is rising. But the workers who provide this essential care are underpaid, overworked, and leaving the industry at alarming rates. Melissa Unger, Executive Director of SEIU Local 503, which represents tens of thousands of long-term care workers across Oregon, describes the physically and emotionally demanding nature of care work, the low wages and poor benefits many workers face, and the devastating impact of high turnover on both workers and the seniors and people with disabilities they care for.The episode also explores a potential policy solution: workforce standards boards. David Madland of the Center for American Progress explains how these boards work, where they’ve already been implemented, and how they could help stabilize Oregon’s long-term care workforce.

We break down the latest data on income inequality in Oregon. OCPP policy analyst Tyler Mac Innis explains that the gap separating the rich and everyone else remains vast, even with the dip in income inequality seen in the two years following the peak set in 2021. That dip may have already reversed, given that the job-market factors driving the decline during the pandemic years have disappeared. And going forward, the budget bill enacted by the Republican majority in Congress earlier this year — a package containing massive tax cuts mainly benefiting the rich — threatens to worsen inequality in the years to come.Tyler highlights the long-term trends since 1980, the impact of inequality on health, economic mobility, and democracy, and why today’s disparities are the result of policy choices—not inevitability.For more information, read our recent report.

In this episode, we examine how the Trump administration’s decision to end the federal food security report threatens to hide the reality of hunger in America. Oregon Center for Public Policy analyst Tyler Mac Innis explains what losing this data means for families and policymakers, while Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality executive director Lelaine Bigelow discusses why poverty endures in one of the richest nations in history—and what it would take to end it.From data suppression to policy failure, this conversation reveals how political choices keep millions struggling to feed their families—and how we can fight back.

Starbucks does more business in Oregon than in just about any corner of the world. For one, the U.S. is the largest market for the world’s largest coffee chain.  And in the U.S., there are more Starbucks stores per capita in Oregon than any other state. So how much in profits does Starbucks make in Oregon and how much does it pay in taxes to the state? We don’t know. That information is secret. But one thing we do know is that Starbucks uses accounting tricks to keep its profits from being taxed where they were made.  In this episode of Policy for the People, we look into how big corporations like Starbucks hide their profits to avoid taxes. Jason Ward of Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research and Spandan Marasini of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy share stories about corporate tax avoidance and their insight into what to do about it. 

Rideshare drivers have had enough. Confronting low pay and tough working conditions, drivers for Uber and Lyft are organizing and fighting to change public policy. In this episode of Policy for the People, we speak with Nathaniel Hudson-Hartman and Joe Jackson, rideshare drivers and organizers with Drivers Union OR, about the realities of the industry and how drivers are fighting back. 

 Much of the progress Oregon has made in expanding health care access is at risk as a result of the federal budget reconciliation bill enacted by Congress.  In this episode of Policy for the People, we discuss the past, present and future of Oregon’s system of health care, including the threats posed by the federal budget reconciliation bill. Our guest is Dr. Bruce Goldberg. Bruce is a professor at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health and a nationally recognized health policy expert. 

It's hard to overstate the danger that lies ahead for many families in Oregon and across the country, especially the families already struggling the most to stay afloat economically, as a result of the budget reconciliation law passed by Congress. This law will leave many Oregon families less healthy, hungrier and poorer.

The reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House is truly monstrous, slashing health care and nutrition assistance to help pay for tax cuts that mainly would go to the rich. But there's more harm that would flow from the bill.One thing that hasn't gotten a lot of attention is the fact that the reconciliation bill threatens to shrink Oregon revenue collections, due to the way our state tax code connects to the federal tax code. As OCPP Deputy Director Daniel Hauser explains in this episode of Policy for the People, if the US House reconciliation bill becomes law and the Oregon legislature does nothing, Oregon will end up having less money to address the needs of Oregonians, just when there will be greater need due to the federal cuts to health care and nutrition assistance. 

Just ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation bill – a massive tax and budget package. If this bill ultimately becomes law, it will – among other things – force deep cuts to safety net programs, especially Medicaid and nutrition assistance.One of the members of Congress who voted no on the bill was Representative Andrea Salinas, who represents Oregon’s 6th Congressional District.We spoke with Representative Salinas about what the budget reconciliation bill would mean for Oregonians and the people of this country.

Food banks across Oregon are seeing record numbers of people coming in through their doors. Ever since the pandemic, the rising cost of living has been making it harder for families to afford food. And now, at a time when there is a hunger crisis going on, actions by the Trump administration and Congress threaten to make matters worse – far worse.In this episode of Policy for the People, we examine the dire state of hunger in Oregon. Our guest is with Andrea Williams, President of the Oregon Food Bank. Andrea discusses what food pantries in Oregon are seeing, the actions by the Trump administration that have cut support for food bank networks across the country, and the risk that Congress may weaken the nation’s most important nutrition program.We also talk about the kinds of policy changes that can take us in a better direction, including Food For All Oregonians, a policy that would ensure that all young children in Oregon, regardless of their immigration status, have access to nutrition assistance. It is a policy proposal premised on the recognition that food is a human right.