Salem, Ore. – More than 1,000 nurses, students, parents, teachers, business owners, care providers, faith leaders and community advocates rallied on the steps of the Capitol Tuesday to urge legislative action on new revenue.
With just one month left in the session, the crowd delivered a atrong message – the demonstrators said Oregon can’t wait to invest in its schools and services. They said the time to make big corporations pay their fair share in taxes is now.
Because Oregon has such low corporate taxes, the legislature is faced with making cuts to vital services or balancing the budget on the backs of teachers and public employees. A proposal was introduced Monday to cut benefits and salaries. From town halls to public hearings, Oregonians have made it clear that they prefer increasing corporate taxes to pay for service investments
“The big business associations have been clear that they want to see the budget balanced on the backs of working people in Oregon through cuts to retirement plans, healthcare, layoffs in our public schools and universities, and cuts to services for seniors and people with disabilities,” said Steve Demarest, SEIU 503 president. “So it’s time for our legislators to do the work we elected them to do: Make game-changing investments in Oregon families.”
Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, made the case that investing in Oregon families is more than just a sound economic investment — it’s a moral imperative. For nearly 30 years, the burden of funding our schools and services has fallen disproportionately on Oregon families and small businesses, allowing big corporations to pay less and less. Today, Oregon has among the lowest corporate taxes in the country.
“Our state budget is a moral document,” Santos-Lyons said. “It reflects our core values of who benefits and how we share responsibility. It is time that Oregon’s budget better reflects the ideal that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable residents. And it is time for corporations to join us hard working Oregonians in investing in the communities from which they profit.”
Without new investments, schools across Oregon will face more layoffs and cuts to core programs.
