What is your time and labor worth?

DO YOU WORK?  

IS YOUR INCOME REGULATED BY THE GOVERNMENT?

WHAT PRIVATE BUSINESSES SHOULD BE REGULATED AND THEIR OWNERS' INCOME BE MANAGED BY THE STATE? (Utilities not included) 

MAYBE YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL AND CHARGE BY THE HOUR, SHOULD THE STATE  DECLARE THAT YOUR CHARGES BE REGULATED AND DEFINE WHAT YOUR LABOR IS WORTH?

IF YOU WORK FOR A PRIVATE BUSINESS, SHOULD YOUR BOSSES' INCOME BE REGULATED SO THAT YOUR INCOME IS AFFECTED TOO?  

HOW CAN PROPERTY OWNERS' RIGHTS TO EARN AN INCOME BE DISPLACED BY TENANTS' SO-CALLED "RIGHTS" TO HAVE A SHARE OF THAT INCOME?   

WHAT IS ANY PERSON'S LABOR WORTH?  THE CONSTITUTION SAYS EACH OF OWNS THE FRUITS OF OUR OWN LABOR.  HOW DOES THIS SQUARE WITH RENT CONTROL?  

Tenant protection bill now before
state Senate
By: Chuck Slothower in Real Estate and Development May 9, 2017 11:22 am 

A bill that would lift Oregon’s pre-emption on local rent control, require landlords to pay relocation expenses and limit no-cause evictions had a hearing before a Senate committee last week. In the Senate, the legislation has attracted chief sponsors Michael Dembrow, D- Portland, Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, and Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham. The House passed the bill, H.B. 2004, on April 4 by a 31-27 vote. Landlords have fiercely opposed the legislation, fearing it would limit their flexibility to get rid of disruptive tenants and raise rents to fair market value.

“Oftentimes you don’t know a tenant or their entourage until they move into your property,” Alex Ianos, a Portland-area landlord, stated in written testimony. “The no- cause notice allows flexibility to rehab a property and also protect other tenants living on the property. A for-cause eviction is an extremely difficult process.” The legislation comes on the heels of Portland’s emergency ordinance requiring landlords to pay tenants’ relocation costs. Landlords have challenged the ordinance in court; a ruling has yet to be issued. Portland tenants have complained of steep rent hikes forcing them to leave their neighborhoods. Advocates say tenants have little protection from sudden displacement. Groups such as the Community Alliance of Tenants have become more vocal as the housing crisis has deepened. Landlords should use the existing for-cause eviction process, CAT Executive Director Katrina Holland said in an interview. “We cannot understand why no-cause evictions are so near and dear to someone’s heart,” she said. “If some tenant is violating the lease and bothering other tenants, there is a very clear for-cause statute in our law that allows landlords to hold someone accountable.” One Portland tenant, Brenna Bell, recalled how she was issued a no-cause eviction in 2004 a week after giving birth to her first child. “The first month of my daughter’s life became a time of intense stress rather than the period of peace I long imagined,” Bell wrote to legislators. The bill would also give municipalities the ability to cap rent increases, which are unregulated at present. The bill appears to be headed for a work session and then a floor vote, said Alison McIntosh, deputy director for policy and communications at Neighborhood Partnerships,

a Portland-based nonprofit. “That is our hope, and we’re working really hard to make that happen,” McIntosh said. The bill’s hearing Wednesday was before the Senate Committee on Human Services. Bill sponsors were not available for comment on Friday.

Oregon PR staffers outnumber Capital reporters

When government starts looking for ways to save money, this shocking article from The Capital Insider should be a warning about waste of public money.  The next time you hear a politician or public employee talk about "branding" or "marketing", follow the money.

The Capital Insider is an online newsletter from the State of Oregon available to anyone who signs up to receive it.

If you have a news tip send us an email at: tips@oregoncapitalinsider.com

Agency PR staffers outnumber Capitol reporters 10-to-1

Created: 25 May 2017 | Written by Capital Bureau

Organization raps state for number of agency public releations reps.

Take a look at the state of Oregon's advertising and you'll quickly wade into a very expensive cesspool of absurdity — one that came under ridicule this week by a conservative transparency organization. 

While we concede that some public relations may have to do with educating constituents about state services, some of the millions of dollars spent on PR every year goes to projects like the infamous Cover Oregon ads, one of which features cellists, saccharine lyrics about taking care of each other, and, of course, references to "The Oregon Way." 

It's hard to make a public interest argument about that kind of spending, especially in the context of a $1.4 billion budget shortfall in the next two-year budget, and when Cover Oregon was a spectacular failure. 

There's very little hope that the gravy train for the state's spin doctors will stop soon: In fact, the Oregon Capital Insider had the privilege this weekend of meeting a young fellow who has a contract with the state to make a "concept album" about Oregon's beaches, which featured free stays at Oregon State Parks cabins on the coast during the winter.

Adam Andrzejewski, of Open The Books, an organization that has pursued prior reports on spending by state agencies, published an editorial in Forbes earlier this week on his findings. 

According to Andrzejewski, among 87 state agencies, there are 303 state public relations and communications employees, which cost the state $110 million in salaries between 2012 and 2016. 

The state has employed 2,200 outside firms for advertising purposes, spending $168 million on outside vendor payments for marketing and PR between 2012 and 2016, according to Andrzejewski's findings. 

For context: There are approximately a dozen journalists covering the state politics and government beat full time in Salem, with some additional reporters floating in and out or reporting from Portland. 

If we assume, generously, that at any given point, double that amount — including local journalists — are doing work that requires interacting with state government, that is a ratio of 10-to-1 paid PR professionals to journalists, not including private contractors doing PR. 

Adding a layer of irony to the mix, the Senate Republicans' spokesperson rather gleefully distributed the report via a press release this week. But, we ask, what is his job? And who pays his salary?