A message from Unite Oregon:

For generations, working families and communities of color in Oregon have been told that what's good for big business is good for everyone. But we know better.

And this Friday, March 20, we have a concrete way to make that case directly to the people shaping Oregon's economic policy.

Governor Kotek's Economic Prosperity Council is collecting public input through a survey that will influence Oregon's economic policy for years to come. The Council was designed with 14 business representatives and only 2 labor representatives, a structure that reflects who has historically had the most access to economic policymaking. We believe every Oregonian deserves a seat at that table.

The survey is asking what "prosperity" means to Oregon.

That's our question too, and our answer looks different from what corporate interests are pushing. We know that real prosperity is not built on tax giveaways to the wealthy or opening up farmland and forests for development. It is built by investing in people.

What they want to use this survey to push:
• More tax breaks for big corporations (expanding enterprise zones from 5 to 13 years)
• Cuts to local taxes on the wealthy that currently fund preschool, housing, and climate resilience
• Opening up farm and forest land for development
• Reducing income taxes for the most affluent to benefit CEOs, not working families

What we know actually works:
• Raising per capita income, the single best measure of a state's economic health
• Well-funded education from cradle to career, including job-linked training and apprenticeships
• Affordable housing with access to transit
• Universal, free, high-quality preschool, which delivers a 3-to-1 return on investment, raises family incomes by roughly 22% on average, and is a three-generation poverty reducer

Oregon's Preschool for All program is a national model. It is one of the smartest investments a community can make — for children, for families, for workers, and for our regional economy. We cannot let this survey be used as cover to defund it.

Local taxes on the wealthy that currently fund preschool, affordable housing, and climate resilience represent exactly the kind of community investment that produces lasting prosperity. We should be expanding that model, not dismantling it.

Take the survey now:
https://www.research.net/r/OregonProsperityCouncilSurvey
or
https://www.research.net/r/OregonProsperityCouncilSurvey?lang=es

The survey has three sections: Business Climate, Workforce, and Tools for Growth. You'll be asked to start with one section, and then offered the chance to complete the others. Do as many as you can.

You might also note the lack of public notice and involvement and the very quick deadline as problems with this process of getting public input.

Then share this with everyone you know who wants working families, not corporate lobbyists, to shape Oregon's economic future.

The deadline is end of day Friday, March 20.

In Solidarity

#Oregon #Prosperity #FPfA #Governor ORpol #climate #capitalism