Library Labor, Literature, Lawsuits, and Lies about taxes: Frann Michel hosts this episode which features these segments:
Fort Vancouver Regional Library Workers Struggle
Joe Clement shares news about the Fort Vancouver Regional Library workers struggle for a living wage, drawing connections with regional library systems and national library privatization firms.
A four year old Mi'kmaq girl vanishes from a berry field in Maine. The Berry Pickers is a 2023 novel by Amanda Peters. It is both a historical novel and a mystery. Larry Bowlden reviews.
Left and the Law: Taking Oil Companies to Court
There are now 30 lawsuits against oil companies underway in cities and states around the US, including here in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, a case was filed by Multnomah County around damages from the 2021 heat wave and fires and a lawsuit was recently filed by the Makah Indian Tribe and Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe in Western Washington over their loss of habitable land due to acidification, hotter temperatures, droughts, and other climate damages. In their Left and the Law segment, Jan Haaken and Mike Snedeker discuss legal advances in recent lawsuits against Big Oil and the significance of these advances for the climate justice movement.
Don't Believe the Hype! Portland does NOT Have the Highest Taxes in the Country!
Local economist Mary King de-bunks the business lobby talking point that we have the highest taxes in the country. Actually, Oregon’s in the middle of the pack for state and local taxes that businesses pay. For households, our taxes per person are well below the highest tax states of New York and California, and among the most equitable in the country, largely because we don’t have a sales tax. The less income you have, the more of it you’ll pay in a sales tax state. What’s more, the downtown building owners griping loudest about their local tax bills get all kinds of federal, state and local tax breaks.
Click through to the individual segment pages for more information.
- KBOO