Talk it Up
With ballots soon to be mailed the pressure is on to get the real information out about measures 66 and 67. The business lobby is spending millions on ads trying to dupe us into believing the only way out of our current economic mess is to protect the status quo and vote no on these crucial measures. The idea that corporations doing business in our communities and making millions should not have to contribute to protecting essential services is beyond antiquated. How long will the working people of Oregon be expected to make do with less so that the highest paid individuals and corporations can enjoy privileges unavailable to working people?
Time and again the responsibility for maintaining the cost of our social fabric-schools and teachers, care for the elderly and sick, fire and police the services we need to have an even reasonable quality of life-is shifted to the population most affected by the economic crash. The economy that collapsed was not created by working people, on the contrary it is our work, sweat and tax dollars that bailed out the creators. It’s time for Oregon’s corporate elite and wealthiest citizens to step up.
Measures 66 and 67 will ensure a bit of equity be introduced to help cover the services that compromise 90% of the state budget. This attempt for fairness is being framed by the well funded business lobby as an attempt to ruin small businesses and drive what is left of the local economy over the nearest boarder to a friendlier tax environment. Guess what it’s not true, for the real deal on the made up numbers being used to convince people these measures are death to small businesses check out the links to Vote Yes for Oregon or Oregon Center for Public Policy.
A well financed campaign based on mistruths and misleading information is a powerful tool but can’t match the power of one on one conversation. Talk to your co-workers, your neighbors, members of your congregation and neighborhood groups. Better yet volunteer at a phone bank or on a door to door canvas. People talking straight to people is how we defeat this anti middle class and working family rhetoric. We need an economy that works for those who contribute the most. Ballot measures 66 and 67 will begin to correct the current inequity by requiring corporations and the wealthiest Oregonians to contribute to the services that support all of us.
Yes on Measures 66 and 67. Talk it up!!