Pacific Green Party of Oregon

The gap between the wealthy and the rest of us continues to grow wider. The US is engaged in wars and other military actions around the world. The climate crisis continues to worsen. The too-big-to-fail banks grow larger.

With these and many more problems, we can find solutions, but it takes acting together for the common good. This is something we can do but we must confront corporate power to make it happen.  Remember that the issue is not the individual issues but the whole system. Solutions come from that realization.

Healthcare is a human right

The Affordable Care Act has improved access to health insurance. But we don't need health insurance. We need universal, affordable access to health care. I suppose the current Congressional proposals for an improved single payer program to replace the current health "system". Such a system has been proposed in prior Congresses as HR 676. .

I support this statement by Physicians For A National Health Program:
"We propose to replace the ACA with a publicly financed National Health Program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans, while lowering costs by eliminating the profit driven private insurance industry with its massive overhead".

Tina Kotek, the Democratic nominee locked in a dead heat in the Oregon governor’s race, took time out from campaigning Oct. 10 to hold a “roundtable on campaign finance reform.” The event was occasioned by Nike co-founder Phil Knight writing Kotek’s Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, a check for $1 million on Oct. 6.

“Oregon is in danger of flipping red due to the influx of large donations from billionaires and corporate special interests looking to influence the election,” Kotek’s campaign wrote in an email publicizing the roundtable.

There’s some irony in Kotek’s newfound interest in limiting campaign contributions.

Democratic candidate for Oregon governor Tina Kotek on Monday pledged to make contribution limits a top priority if voters elect her, citing the ongoing role of large donations in state races.

“We’re going to put this at the top of the list,” Kotek said at a roundtable with campaign finance advocates. “The Legislature will pass limits and if they don’t, we’re at the ballot.”

Kotek and the campaign finance reform advocates pointed to the outsize role of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who has spent $6.9 million in the last year supporting a Republican effort to win more seats in the Oregon Legislature and unaffiliated governor candidate Betsy Johnson, a former longtime Democratic lawmaker who voted with Republicans against gun and environmental regulations.

League of Women Voters Video Guide Interview with David Delk

I support this statement by Physicians For A National Health Program:  "We propose to replace the ACA with a publicly financed National Health Program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans, while lowering costs by eliminating the profit driven private insurance industry with its massive overhead."

Responses to Oregon League of Women Voter's questionnaire

What do you think an improved tax system should look like?

An improved tax system would have an increase in the highest tax bracket to over 60%; it would include a/an:
*effective estate tax;
*increased tax on capital gains to be equal to that for taxes on wages;
*excess profits tax on war profits to discourage individuals and corporations from seeking material gain from war making;
*financial transactions tax to discourage short term speculative investing and to raise revenues;
*automatic calculation of tax returns for majority of taxpayer.

Election 2022: 5 candidates running for DeFazio's open seat in U.S. House District 4

Honest-Elections is a coalition of fantastic folk representing organizations like the Pacific Green Party, Progressive Party, Independent Party, the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party, Common Cause, OSPIRG, League of Women Voters, Portland Forward, COIN/Indivisible and individuals committed to ending the undue influence of money in elections.

We are aiming to have a petition drive in 2024 to ensure that Oregon has

1)  Proper Limits on money flowing in and flowing out of campaigns

2)  Disclosure of the real donors of "Independent Expenditures" (political ads, so called "Dark-Money")

3)  Matching public financing of campaigns

Please contact the coalition to get your organization involved and at the table.

U.S. Senate race: Republican, minor party candidates hoping to unseat incumbent Wyden

The last attempt at Campaign Finance Reform through the Legislature in Oregon was led by two of the most ethical and inspiring legislators I have met:  Andrea Salinas, now running for US District, and Jeff Golden, who is coming under fierce challenge financed by a lot of money.

It is no coincidence that so much money is being poured in Oregon to buy elections.  That our elections have become a marketing contest is death to Democracy.  This is especially problematic since the rates of literacy in the US has continued to decline:  54% of adults in the US as functionally or marginally illiterate.  Meaning they cannot read long words, comprehend paragraphs or tables.  This is a serious problem for the competitivity of the US and Democracy at large.